- The Hollow hold or hollow body
The hollow hold is a great exercise that can create core stability in any movement.
How to execute:
Lie on the floor in a supine position. Actively/aggressively press your lower back into the floor and push your belly button into your spine. Keep your shoulder blades off the ground and your chin in neutral and look up towards the ceiling. Keep your hands and heels as low to the ground as possible, while still pressing your lower back into the floor. Keep your abs, glutes and quads braced, and your feet pointed. Make it easier by bending your knees, if straight legs are too challenging. Hold this position for 5 to 30 seconds to complete one set.
2. The Pallof press
The Pallof press, named after physical therapist John Pallof, is one of the best anti- rotation core training exercises you can do. This core exercise teaches resisting movement instead of creating it. Specifically, the Pallof press works local and global muscles to limit any rotation of the spine. You can start working the Pallof press from a tall kneeling position, as taking the legs out of the equation limits any compensation from the lower body.
How to execute:
Get a band or cable anchored somewhere between waist and shoulder height. While standing or kneeling perpendicular to the anchor and holding the handle with both hands, press your arms forward away from your chest until your elbows reach full extension. Hold that position while keeping your hips and shoulders square facing forward, then bring your arms towards your chest, and repeat. You should feel your core on fire! Don’t forget that you need to step away from the anchor until there is enough resistance, but not too far where you can’t maintain optimal form. Do not let the resistance rotate your upper body, keep your arms straight and hips facing forward.
There are many Pallof variations you can incorporate to your training, such as half kneeling, standing, split stance, isometric lunge position, standing with shoulder flexion, and 3D Pallof presses.
3. The Woodchop
Chopping is a pattern of flexion and rotation, probably best illustrated by the actions of chopping wood, or, from an athletic standpoint, throwing a baseball. It is important that athletes are able to prevent rotation before we allow them to produce it. The thoracic spine, not the lumbar spine, should be the site of greatest amount of rotation of the trunk. When you practice rotational exercises such as the woodchop, think about the motion occurring in the area of the chest.
How to execute:
Stand straight with your feet shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell or medicine ball with both hands. Rotate your torso to the right and raise the dumbbell until it’s over your right shoulder. Lower your body in a squat like pattern as you rotate your torso to the left, and bring the dumbbell diagonally across, till it’s close to your left hip. There are many variations such as standing, kneeling, half kneeling, low to high, high to low, banded or cable chops.
4. The dead bug
The dead bug exercise is a popular way to build core strength and stability. It helps build a solid, stable foundation that protects the spine.
How to execute:
Lie on your back with your arms extended above your shoulders. Lift your legs so your knees are directly over your hips to a 90-degree angle. Tighten your abs and press your lower back into the floor. Take a deep breath, brace your core, and as you exhale, slowly extend your left leg toward the floor and bring your right arm overhead. Keep your abs tight and don’t let your lower back arch. If you are a beginner keep both arms above shoulders, throughout. Slowly return your arm and leg to the starting position. Repeat with your opposite arm and leg, and keep alternating. There are many dead bug variations such as dead bugs with fit ball, wall resisted dead bugs, weighted or banded dead bugs.
5. The Bird dog
The Bird Dog has been a popular core and spinal stabilization exercise. Made famous by low-back specialists and functional training experts Stuart McGill, Gray Cook and Mike Boyle, the Bird Dog has been shown to be an effective movement which reinforces proper spinal alignment and core recruitment.
How to execute:
With your spine neutral, kneel on the floor in a quadruped position, with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. Raise your opposite arm and leg straight out, keeping your abs braced, as if you are punched in the stomach. Keep your whole body in one straight line from head to foot. Try to resist rotation in your pelvis.
6. The Plank
The ability to resist or to prevent rotation is more important than the ability to create it, thus you should aim to prevent rotation before you start producing rotation. Sharmann concurs: ” During most activities, the primary role of the abdominal muscles is to provide isometric support and limit the degree of rotation of the trunk which is limited in the lumbar spine” 70.
Front plank should be the starting point for all plank variations. Planks should not last more than 20-30 seconds, if your aim is to execute an active and not a passive plank.
How to execute:
Place your hands, elbows and forearms to the ground. Extend your legs by squeezing your quads and glutes. Push the floor with your forearms and tighten your abs. To make it easier just incline; use a bench to place your elbows, to reduce your relative weight. If you start mastering the front plank, then move on to some progressions such as plank reaches, fitball planks and rollouts, side planks, plank rows etc.
Remember that the core is a cylinder. It has a back, sides and a front. Incorporate all sides into your programming. You can’t just do 100 sit ups if you want to achieve real core strength!