I should start off by saying that the title is a little misleading. Unfortunately doing core work will not result in a six pack, but the title is a good hook to get people’s attention. A six pack is only achieved through proper nutrition and a well designed exercise program, not hundreds of crunches. The only thing between you and your beautiful six pack is a few inches of body fat. Spend the time to lower your body fat and you will have the abs of your dreams. To take a line from one of the most respected strength and conditioning specialists in the country, Michael Boyle, the best exercise in the world for a six pack is table-pushaways. To summarize the exercise, stop stuffing yourself full of food, and push away from the table.

That’s not to say that core work isn’t important, it just isn’t affective at spot reducing body fat. Spot reduction just isn’t possible, meaning you can’t work an area to burn body fat in that area. When performing core exercises the focus should be more on injury reduction and injury prevention. We live in society where it isn’t unusual to spend 10 or more hours a day sitting. Our bodies were not engineered to sit for an extended period of time. On top of that consider the fact that people have horrendous posture, and people start to develop low back pain. It is estimated that 80% of American’s will experience low back pain at some point in their lives. Instead of doing hundreds of crunches for a six-pack you need to focus on a few other exercises to prevent your low back pain.

The typical person’s core exercises revolve around performing high repetitions of either crunches or sit-ups. Unfortunately, this is a very one dimensional approach to properly training the core and can actually further the onset of low back pain. When training the core it is important to take a more comprehensive approach.

There are a few basic movements or exercises that should be incorporated into a well-designed core program. The primary function of the abs in daily activity is to provide support and maintain proper posture, meaning that the main function of the core muscles is to stabilize and neutralize, preventing unnecessary movement. In order to effectively train the stabilizers and neutralizers you need to perform isometric exercises like a plank.

The typical crunch can be referred to as a shoulder to hip flexion exercise, meaning your shoulders move towards your hips. To counter the shoulder to hip flexion exercise in the crunch, it is important to perform a hip to shoulder flexion exercise like a reverse crunch. Lastly, I feel that it is important to incorporate a rotation exercise. In order to properly train your core muscles you should incorporate four to five different exercises that focus on the different functions the core muscles perform.

Quadruped Draw-In: The first exercise doesn’t necessarily fall into one of the previously mentioned categories. The quadruped draw-in is an exercise that teaches you how to activate the transverse abdominus(TA). The TA acts as a natural weightbelt that helps protect your low back from injury. Any exercise you perform should involve, first, contracting the TA. Spend some time performing this exercise until contracting the TA becomes automatic.

Begin the exercise on your hands and knees, with your hands directly below your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine, or flat back throughout the entire exercise. Also make sure to keep your head aligned with the rest of your spine. Once in the proper position allow your stomach to completely relax, causing your stomach to distend towards the ground. Proceed by slowly squeezing your belly button towards your spine, resulting in a tight stomach and lower back. Hold this position for two to five seconds and release. Perform 5-10 repetitions for 1-2 sets to get your transverse abdominus properly activated.

Plank: If you are limited to performing only one core exercise it should be the plank. The plank effectively trains all of the stabilizing muscles in your body, from your shoulders, through your spine, to your hips and ankles. It is also one of the easiest and least intimidating exercises to perform, but don’t be deceived by its simplicity, it can be very challenging.

The plank is performed in a modified push-up position, starting from your elbows instead of your hands. Make sure to have your elbows directly below your shoulders while performing the exercise. You want your body to be in a straight line with your ear, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle in line. Ideally hold the exercise for 20-30 seconds for 2-3 sets. If this is a challenge perform five repetitions of five second holds. Do this for 2-3 sets. It is important to be able to perform the exercise with as little movement as possible, maintaining a stable posture for the entire time.

Stick Crunch: The stick crunch is an exercise that Mike Boyle popularized in his book “Functional Training for Sports.” The exercise is very similar to the standard crunch, but it is performed in a controlled manner throughout, whereas the typical crunch involves a lot of momentum.

Assume the same position as a standard crunch with your legs off the ground so your thigh is perpendicular to the ground and your shin is parallel to the ground. Maintain this leg position throughout the exercise. Lying flat on your back extend your arms out in front of you holding a broomstick, or something similar. Begin by drawing your belly button in, tightening your TA, and slowly flexing your shoulders towards your hips. This movement should take roughly two seconds. Once you have reached the farthest point possible, hold for two seconds, and then reverse the process taking another two seconds. The entire repetition should be performed in complete control without the use of any momentum. Perform 8-12 reps for 2-3 sets.

Reverse Stick Crunch: The reverse stick crunch is the exact opposite movement of the stick crunch. The stick crunch primarily works your upper abdominals and internal obliques, while the reverse crunch works the lower abs and external obliques.

To start, begin by getting in the same position as the stick crunch. I normally progress straight from the stick crunch to the reverse stick crunch. As with every exercise, begin by tightening your belly button. This time, instead of your shoulders moving, your hips move toward your shoulders. Slowly raise your hips off the ground rotating your hips so your toes touch the stick. Again, each part of the exercise should take two seconds. This version is much more difficult than the stick crunch because through the years of performing normal crunches we have neglected the hips to shoulder movement. You may need to stabilize your body by holding onto a fixed structure like a support beam or a bench while performing the exercise. The same number of repetitions and sets should be performed with the reverse stick crunch as with the stick crunch to ensure muscle balance.

SB Rotation: The last exercise you need to perform to adequately train your core muscles is a rotation exercise. In reality a rotation exercise and a stabilization exercise are much more important to perform than flexion exercises. So if you are pressed for time perform a plank and some form of rotation.

Start by finding a firm stability ball that allows you to sit on the ball with your hips in line with your knees or slightly above. Begin by sitting upright with proper posture. Slowly walk your feet away from the ball, lying down as your feet get farther away. Continue walking until you are completely reclined with the ball resting between your shoulder blades. Extend your arms above you with your hands touching. Throughout the entire exercise you want to keep your hips extended to the ceiling so your knee, hip, shoulder, and ear are in a straight line. From this position slowly rotate your body so your arms point directly to one side of you.

To properly perform this exercise your body does very little moving besides the rotation. The stability ball rolls underneath you as you rotate from side to side. The movement takes some practice to get used to. Begin by slowly rotating only a few degrees in each direction. As you get more comfortable increase the range of motion. Be sure to maintain the proper posture throughout. Transition from rotating from one side directly to the other completing 8-12 repetitions on each side for 2-3 sets.

By performing the above exercises, or some variation of them, you will effectively train the various functions that the core muscles perform on a daily basis. By implementing these exercises you should also notice a dramatic reduction of low back pain. There are other factors involved in the onset of low back pain, but this is a very good start at reducing the likelihood of suffering the often debilitating affects of low back pain.

Always remember that no matter how many repetitions you perform in hopes of spot reducing an area it just isn’t possible. Devote that time and effort towards more constructive pursuits like managing your nutrition, interval training, or progressive resistance training. Core work is just one small piece of the puzzle. Continue striving towards whatever goal you have set for yourself. Hard work and perseverance on the right path will result in the achievement of all that you hope for. Good luck.

Trackback URI |