Everyone has heard or been told at some point that it is important to strengthen your ‘core’ and so you dutifully do some crunches, sit-ups or other similar exercises on a semi-regular basis, often at the end of a work-out. Sound familiar?
While this approach won’t do you any damage and you may see some small gains in your abs, your ‘core’ is so much more than your abdominals and by enhancing how you train your core will give you way more benefits than just defined abs.
After this 3-part blog series you’ll be armed with the knowledge of why and how to train your core to its full potential. In this first part I’m going to give you a quick overview on:
- what your core really is;
- why it is important to train and strengthen your core properly;
- 3 great exercises to get you started.
What is your ‘core’?
Your core includes the muscles and bones of your spine, hips and pelvis, the tops of your lower limbs and your abdominal complex (1). More simply – your whole trunk and pelvis. Which is a large part of your body – starting to see why those crunches aren’t cutting it?
The muscles of the core can be split into 3 types:
1. Local Stabilisation System – muscles that connect vertebrae to vertebrae in your spine.
2. Global Stabilisation System - muscles attaching your pelvis to your spine.
3. Movement System – muscles attaching your spine or pelvis to your limbs. (2)
Why is it important?
Today we’re focussing on type 1 – the Local Stabilisation System. The key muscles here are the Lumbar Multifidus, the Transversus Abdominis, the Internal Obliques, the Pelvic Floor and, the Diaphragm.
The main jobs of these muscles are to maintain spinal stability and to increase intra-abdominal pressure (1). Let’s look at those two jobs separately and how they relate to you when you’re skiing (or doing any other sport):
- Spinal stability is the ability of the spine to return to a neutral state after being acted on by a destabilising force (3). Think bringing yourself back upright after hitting an unexpected mogul or bump; or being able to recover after catching an edge; or even maintaining a strong position after brushing a GS gate slightly harder than you intended.
- Intra-abdominal pressure is what you create when your draw your tummy in. This action produces a cylinder around your spine increasing stiffness and stability. Given all the forces involved when skiing – particularly in a fast, carving turn – this is very important to ensure your maintain postural control and balance (2).
As a bonus, it has been shown that core stability training can be preventative of and used in rehabilitation for back pain (4).
So how to get these great benefits of core stability? Here are 3 of my favourite exercises with varying levels of difficulty:
1. Plank
Plain and simple, the plank isometrically engages all the muscles of the local stabilisation system. Now, I hear you, planking can indeed seem rather boring and unimaginative, so to spice it up here are a few variations to try:
The start position for all the variations is the standard or high plank which you can see in the video below. Place your elbows (standard) or hands (high) directly under your shoulders. Stretch your legs out behind you, resting on your toes. Draw your tummy in and engage your glutes (bum muscles) and your legs. Your body should be in a straight line from head to heels. Keep your torso as still as possible and avoid lifting your bum or dropping your tummy.
Plank Saws
Set up in the standard plank position. Then slowly move your weight forwards, tipping onto the tips of your toes, then move your weight backwards, press your heels back. Keep your body rigid throughout the movement.
High Plank Shoulder Taps
Set up in the high plank position. Lift one hand and tap it to your opposite shoulder. Replace on the floor then repeat on the other side. Continue to alternate hands. Keep your hips as level as possible while you do this.
High Plank Opposite Reaches
Set up in the high plank position. Reach one arm out in front of your and at the same time lift the opposite foot off the floor. Balance for a second then replace on the floor and repeat on the other side. Try to keep your hips as still as possible and keep your bum low.
2. Glute Bridge
A good glute bridge is all in the set up – make sure you activate your core properly before you lift your hips. To do this: draw your tummy in so that you feel your lower back connect with the floor and engage your glutes.
Glute Bridge Hold
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, hip width apart, close to your bum. Activate your core as described above then lift your hips up so your make a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Hold here focussing on keeping your tummy drawn in and squeezing your glutes.
Glute Bridge March
Set up as for the regular glute bridge. Once in position raise one foot off the floor, bringing your knee towards your chest, then replace and repeat on the other side. Continue ‘marching’ your legs. Keep your hips as still and stable as possible.
Raised Straight Leg Glute Bridge
This time lie on your back with your legs straight and feet resting on a raised surface about knee height (sofa, chair, coffee table). Activate your core as described above, then lift your hips to make a straight line from shoulders to feet. Again focus on drawing the tummy in and squeezing the glutes.
3. Side Plank
It’s important not to forget the sides of your core as well – the obliques – which is where the side plank comes in.
Modified Side Plank, Arm and Leg Raised
Lie on your side with your knees together, lower leg bent so your foot is behind you. Support your upper body with your hand placed under your shoulder, or slightly in front of it. Lift your hips to form the modified plank position. Keep your tummy drawn in and glutes engaged. Now lift your upper leg and point your toes away from you and reach your upper arm overhead.
Side Plank with Leg Raises
Start lying on your side again, but this time both legs out straight, one on top of the other. Support your upper body on your forearm, elbow under your shoulder. Lift your hips into the side plank position. From here start to slowly raise and lower your top leg.
Extended Arm Side Plank
Start as above, but this time support your upper body on your hand with an extended arm. Add the leg raises here too if you’re feeling well balanced!
Try choosing one variation of each exercise and put it into a mini core circuit at the start of your workout – do 30 seconds of each exercise for 3 rounds. Fancy a challenge? Up the time every week until you can do 60 seconds (or more!) of each exercise for 3 rounds!
If you want to get the next instalment of this Core Series (and other info packed blogs) to head straight to your inbox just add your email to the subscribe box below!
References:
1. Kibler, W. Ben, Joel Press, and Aaron Sciascia. "The role of core stability in athletic function." Sports medicine 36.3 (2006): 189-198.
2. Clark, Micheal, Brian G. Sutton, and Scott Lucett. Nasm Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. , 2014: Chapter 9, 224-230.
3. Norwich, Andreas Tørum. The relationship between performance in core exercises and performance ability in ski jumping: a cross-sectional study of competitive ski jumpers. MS thesis. NTNU, 2017.
4. Haugen, Thomas, et al. "Effects of Core-Stability Training on Performance and Injuries in Competitive Athletes." Sportscience 20 (2016).
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