I am way too bad at doing core work consistently. Today I did this session though.
6x60s plank
4x30s plank pushups
6x30s one arm plank with shoulder protraction
4x30s side plank
4x30s supermans
4x30s flutter kick
All on a 30s rest interval
It was doable and felt like a good session. What do you do for core work?
(The discussion of the value of core work could be left for another thread).
p90x Ab Ripper X… great core workout and only about 16 minutes.
Rowed for 1 hr
.
Cycling.
Squats.
Deadlifts.
Cycling.
Squats.
Deadlifts.
+swimming
Sometimes I do planks and garhammer raises.
12x 25 underwater dolphin kick on back.
Backstroke sets
iM sets
Fly sets
Breaststroke sets
Freestyle sets.
Kick sets.
You get the idea…
Squats, deadlifts, bent over rows, bench press, they all engage your core… Core specific I’ll do good mornings and planks.
I found doing core work like planks did very little to translate to my swimming. Certainly it strengthened my core, but I wasn’t generating power in the water or maintaining posture like I do now. It wasn’t until I got into a dry land program that emphasized core work in all planes that it started to pay off in the water. The dozen or so exercises we do with the core as our focus are attempting to destabilize our anchor to land and gravity by moving in different planes all while keeping control of the orientation of our hips, resisting the urge to collapse. Twisting med-ball lunges for example. Single leg Romanian dead lifts in a streamline position with/without a med ball will annihilate your core. As has been mentioned already other exercises that have some core benes are Olympic lifts, squats etc those are great too.
Single leg dealdift, how could I forget… Medicine balls are a great piece of kit, worthwhile investment at home (taking up little space). I wish I had the funds/space for a kettlebell set-up too.
Single leg dealdift, how could I forget… Medicine balls are a great piece of kit, worthwhile investment at home (taking up little space). I wish I had the funds/space for a kettlebell set-up too.
When you see a 13 year old girl with arms the size of pipe-cleaners doing an RDL with a 10 pound med ball overhead for a 5 count x 10 reps each leg you suddenly realize the difference b/t functional strength and gym strength…and that the core is driver of that functional strength. There are maybe 3 people in the entire class who can do that and all are elite national level juniors. The kid in question does about 55-65 pounds on bench press and can curl maybe 15 pounds a few times. She’s got a PR of just under 10 for the 1000 scy.