Core Exercises

If you have been following along on the blog you are probably relieved in knowing that this is the last post in my Weight Lifting Routine series.

Today we finish up by talking about our core exercises.  In the past I would have included exercises such as sit-ups and reverse sit-ups and crunches.  But those were the olden days, no longer in my training do I prescribe any type of sit-up or crunch movement.

Today, we know more about the body, and how it moves then any other time in history.  We have science to back up some of our madness, where in the past it was all just hit or miss.  If it worked and produced results we did it, not really knowing the consequences the exercises may have been placing on the body.

Take a look at the two pictures:

The skeleton portrays the poor posture of 90% of Americans who sit at a desk all day.  Now look closely at my posture doing the sit- up.    In a perfect sit-up we can clean some of the rounding up.  However, the majority of people who do sit-ups and crunches have even more rounding than in my poor sit-up posture.

After looking at the two pictures why in the world would you want to continue doing sit-ups and crunches?  We need to correct poor posture not reinforce it.

The solution – exercises that increase strength and stability of the core so we can withstand the forces that are pulling us into the rounded posture.

With my Core Exercises chart you will notice there is not a Bilateral/Unilateral breakdown.  With the following exercises you want to work all areas of stability anterior and lateral.  We also want to work what I call anti-movements - anti-extension and anti-rotation.  We do not want our back to go into excessive extension when doing certain movements and we do not want rotation at the lumbar spine.

Train the core just as you would any other movement, the abs need a day off  as well.  It is easiest to do these movements using time instead of reps.  Keep in mind that exercises such as squats and deadlifts require quite a bit of core control so it is not a good idea to place core training ahead of these exercises.

I hope this series has been beneficial for you and will allow you create programs that will help you reach your goals.

Stay Motivated,

Karen

Related posts:

1. Knee Dominant Exercises
2. Hip Dominant Exercises