Incorporating Core Exercises in your Workout Routine
You must first establish a clear goal for your workout before deciding which type of exercises to include in your workout.
Exercise can improve 3 main areas:
#1 Coordination and Stability #2 Strength #3 Power, Speed, and Agility
ost people are sedentary, overweight, inflexible, and have bad posture, and all of these things can be associated with back pain.
In a study done by physiotherapists in Australia, the researchers concluded that people who suffered from chronic lower back pain could not efficiently contract and work their stomach and ab muscles.
In other words, they believed that an inability to efficiently contract/ flex the core muscles was connected with chronic lower back pain.
To improve core stabilization, the therapists used isometric exercises for stomach muscle activation as well as traditional strengthening exercises for the core and entire body.
In this study, there was an emphasis on the deep abdominal muscles, especially the transverse abdominus. Simply put, some of the abdominal muscles are organized in layers.
The superficial muscles are closer to the skin and the deep muscles are closer to the spine. Generally speaking, the superficial muscles help more with movement and the deep muscles work isometrically to help more with keeping the spine and lower back stable and supported by(note: they all work together to do both).
So in order increase the support for the lower back you must retrain the deep muscles and transverse abdominus to work more efficiently. In order to do this, I often recommend isometric exercises for stomach muscle activation. Click to jump to pictures of isometric exercises for stomach and abs
The Plank: The #1 Isometric exercise for Stomach Strength!
The plank is a great exercise to retrain your ab muscles to work more efficiently.
It is an isometric exercise for the stomach. "Iso" means "same", and "metric" means "length". Isometric literally means same length, or isometric simply means that you hold one position without moving.
The secret to getting the most out of this exercise is pulling your belly button towards your spine.
When you pull your belly button towards your spine, you engage and retrain the deepest abdominal muscle to support your back. When personal trainers and pilates instructors say to pull in your stomach, they are saying this to cue you to draw your belly button closer to your spine.
When I worked with Bounce Back Fitness (Boston’s First Outdoor Mom and Baby Bootcamp), the plank was a staple in our core and ab routine. It was always very challenging for new mothers whose babies were less than 8 weeks old.
When a woman is pregnant the ab muscles get stretched out and stop working as well as they should. After having a baby, new mothers need to focus on retraining their body and their core muscles to work again. And the plank is a great way to recondition your ab muscles.
When you are doing complex movements it is harder to truly focus on the abdominal muscles, but you can focus solely on your core when you're doing isometric exercises for stomach strength and coordination.
Similarly to having a baby, if someone is really overweight the tendency is for the ab and core muscles to be over-stretched, so it is important to build a strong foundation with exercises such as the plank.
Bodybuilders Beware
If you are like most guys, your weekly routine likely starts out with chest and bicep exercises on Monday and ends with chest and bicep exercises on Friday night before hitting the clubs.
It's all good, I'm a little vain too, so I always make sure I work my arms--in fact I have a pair of 25 pound dumbbells next to my desk in my office... they're perfect for giving me a postural break from the computer.
Anyway, so many big strong guys neglect their flexibility, balance, and core and that holds them back from making additional progress. So even if you have great pecs and great arms already, I recommend that you work your core a little also.
Client Story: I remember working with a huge 200 pound ripped guy a few years ago... he came to me because he was having trouble with his lower back during his workouts, especially during leg workouts. At any rate, part of my advice included working on flexibility and core strengthening.
He had never tried isometric exercises for stomach and core stability. The first time I had him try the plank exercise, he was shaking like a leaf after 15 seconds and could barely make the full 30 seconds.
He was amazed that his abs were so weak compared to the rest of his body. Because he was lean and had a 6 pack he thought his abs were strong enough, but I had to explain to him that even though his abs looked good that didn't mean that they're strong enough to support his back when he was squatting 300+ pounds.
After 1 month of stretching and a ton of core work, he was able to get through his entire leg workout without any back problems, and he attributed much of that to his new favorite ab exercise... the plank, which is the best of the isometric exercises for stomach strengthening and core stabilization.
You must first establish a clear goal for your workout before deciding which type of exercises to include in your workout.
Exercise can improve 3 main areas:
#1 Coordination and Stability #2 Strength #3 Power, Speed, and Agility
ost people are sedentary, overweight, inflexible, and have bad posture, and all of these things can be associated with back pain.
In a study done by physiotherapists in Australia, the researchers concluded that people who suffered from chronic lower back pain could not efficiently contract and work their stomach and ab muscles.
In other words, they believed that an inability to efficiently contract/ flex the core muscles was connected with chronic lower back pain.
To improve core stabilization, the therapists used isometric exercises for stomach muscle activation as well as traditional strengthening exercises for the core and entire body.
In this study, there was an emphasis on the deep abdominal muscles, especially the transverse abdominus. Simply put, some of the abdominal muscles are organized in layers.
The superficial muscles are closer to the skin and the deep muscles are closer to the spine. Generally speaking, the superficial muscles help more with movement and the deep muscles work isometrically to help more with keeping the spine and lower back stable and supported by(note: they all work together to do both).
So in order increase the support for the lower back you must retrain the deep muscles and transverse abdominus to work more efficiently. In order to do this, I often recommend isometric exercises for stomach muscle activation. Click to jump to pictures of isometric exercises for stomach and abs
The Plank: The #1 Isometric exercise for Stomach Strength!
The plank is a great exercise to retrain your ab muscles to work more efficiently.
It is an isometric exercise for the stomach. "Iso" means "same", and "metric" means "length". Isometric literally means same length, or isometric simply means that you hold one position without moving.
The secret to getting the most out of this exercise is pulling your belly button towards your spine.
When you pull your belly button towards your spine, you engage and retrain the deepest abdominal muscle to support your back. When personal trainers and pilates instructors say to pull in your stomach, they are saying this to cue you to draw your belly button closer to your spine.
When I worked with Bounce Back Fitness (Boston’s First Outdoor Mom and Baby Bootcamp), the plank was a staple in our core and ab routine. It was always very challenging for new mothers whose babies were less than 8 weeks old.
When a woman is pregnant the ab muscles get stretched out and stop working as well as they should. After having a baby, new mothers need to focus on retraining their body and their core muscles to work again. And the plank is a great way to recondition your ab muscles.
When you are doing complex movements it is harder to truly focus on the abdominal muscles, but you can focus solely on your core when you're doing isometric exercises for stomach strength and coordination.
Similarly to having a baby, if someone is really overweight the tendency is for the ab and core muscles to be over-stretched, so it is important to build a strong foundation with exercises such as the plank.
Bodybuilders Beware
If you are like most guys, your weekly routine likely starts out with chest and bicep exercises on Monday and ends with chest and bicep exercises on Friday night before hitting the clubs.
It's all good, I'm a little vain too, so I always make sure I work my arms--in fact I have a pair of 25 pound dumbbells next to my desk in my office... they're perfect for giving me a postural break from the computer.
Anyway, so many big strong guys neglect their flexibility, balance, and core and that holds them back from making additional progress. So even if you have great pecs and great arms already, I recommend that you work your core a little also.
Client Story: I remember working with a huge 200 pound ripped guy a few years ago... he came to me because he was having trouble with his lower back during his workouts, especially during leg workouts. At any rate, part of my advice included working on flexibility and core strengthening.
He had never tried isometric exercises for stomach and core stability. The first time I had him try the plank exercise, he was shaking like a leaf after 15 seconds and could barely make the full 30 seconds.
He was amazed that his abs were so weak compared to the rest of his body. Because he was lean and had a 6 pack he thought his abs were strong enough, but I had to explain to him that even though his abs looked good that didn't mean that they're strong enough to support his back when he was squatting 300+ pounds.
After 1 month of stretching and a ton of core work, he was able to get through his entire leg workout without any back problems, and he attributed much of that to his new favorite ab exercise... the plank, which is the best of the isometric exercises for stomach strengthening and core stabilization.
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