IT ALL ABOUT CORE SAYS MARCO Over the last two weeks we have had expert advice on how to train legs and Glutes, and this week we have Centennial Coach Marco Mastrorocco talk us through the core. Follow his guidelines and let the magic happen. When we talk about our ’core’, we are not merely referring to our abs or six pack, moreover the deep core muscles that help to support and stabilise our body. The core is made up of deep abdominal muscles, the pelvic floor, spinal musculature (especially in the lumbar region of the back), and the glutes. Building a strong core is essential to optimise sports performance and reduce the risk of injury to other areas of the body. It will help to improve your balance & stability, as well as assisting you to ensure that you are working the target muscles. The main function of the core is preventing unwanted rotation, flexion, (forward bending) and hyper extension (backward bending). When you are exercising the core you therefore want to ensure that all the muscles are doing their job; squeeze your glutes, activate your abdominals, and keep the trunk (middle portion of your body) still. The following are key exercises that will help develop your ’inner strength’... Plank On your elbows lift your knees off the floor and hold a plank, ensure that you squeeze your glutes and keep your abs as tight as possible. Rolling plank This will target the core and obliques (sides) too. Get into the plank position as above, take your right foot off the floor then dip your left hip down so that it makes contact with the floor, next spring up into the original plank, change feet and repeat on the other side. Be sure to maintain a nice straight plank position throughout making sure to not stick your bum in the air as this takes away the benefit of the exercise! Swiss ball tucks Get into a press up position with the Swiss ball under your feet, pull your knees to your chest and the ball in as close as possible, then roll it back to start position. Repeat. Make sure to do so in a controlled motion, don’t rush! Half kneeling pallof press Get down on one knee at the cable machine pull the handle in to your chest with both hands. Next press the handle straight out away from you until your arms are straight and at shoulder height, slowly return to your chest and repeat. Hanging leg raises Start with your legs hanging down, pull your belly button in to the base of your spine to ensure your abdominals are fully engaged. Next raise the legs straight up until you reach a 90 degree angle, slowly return to the start position. If this is too difficult try starting with your knees bent so you come into a tuck position. Land mines Standing with the bar at arms length so your core is fully engaged, rotate the bar to one side slowly and ensure your arms stay straight. Transfer the weight from one side to the other by pivoting from one foot to the other as you move the bar. When the movement is complete, bring the bar up and over to the other side. Control Control is the key with all core exercises. A strong core will not only prevent unwanted movements, it also provides the foundation for a solid stable torso, so training smart will lead to greater gains AND help you look better naked! Don’t overload yourself with weights in these exercises either, higher reps will benefit you more, go for 20-30 reps on all of the above, 20-30 seconds for the planks. Think Marco is as good as we do? Get in touch: [email protected] [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 22:04:46 +0000
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