Strengthening Your Core

Building a strong core is a prerequisite to becoming strong in other lifts, and reaching your ultimate goal of being the strongest person in any given room. Simply put, having a strong core will allow you to lift more weight, reduce your risk of injury, and allow you to maintain proper form throughout your lifts. Also, if you have been ignoring your core, you may have reached a plateau in your lifts, and incorporating some core workouts will help you blast past that plateau. Many lifters will either ignore their core or they will waste their time on inefficient workouts. I have found that the following workouts give the best results:

It is important to include static and dynamic lifts to strengthen your core. Static lifts are those that do not use any weight or movement, and dynamic lifts use weights and movement.

Static Lifts:

• Front Plank: This lift engages your entire core. For this lift, you lay down on the floor and support your weight on you elbows (look up a video on YouTube if you are confused). It may seem easy at first but after 10-15 seconds you will feel its effects. You want to make sure you keep your body straight and hold the plank for at least 30 seconds. As your core becomes stronger, you should extend this amount of time all the way to an entire minute. As with any lift, do four sets of planks with a couple of minutes of rest in between sets.

•  Side Plank: This lift should also be performed on the floor like a front plank. Except, you rotate your body till you are laying on your side and you support yourself on one elbow. For this lift, you also want to keep your body straight and maintain the plank for at least 30 seconds. After doing one side, switch to the other. This lift should also have four sets per side.

Dynamic Lifts:

• Leg Lifts: This lift is performed by lying on your back and keeping your legs together as you slowly lift them up and down for reps. It is important to make sure your back and shoulders stay on the ground, and you should also lower your legs far enough to feel a stretch in your abdomen but your feet should not touch the ground.

• Ball Roll-Ins: You perform this lift by placing your hands on the ground and your feet on top of a ball. You should slowly bend your knees and bring the ball towards your arms. Remember to focus on your abdomen as you perform this lift. 

To read more about strengthening your core, please visit: Core Strength: Your Ultimate Guide to Core Training