But what is Core? And why is it so important?
(Please, please, stop doing crunches and sit-ups. They do nothing for you. Completely useless.)
Core is your front abdominal wall, your obliques, all muscles on sides of your trunk right up to your armpits, your lower back, your mid back, your lats and all the small stabilizing muscles around your pelvis. Yep, all those is "Core".
Four months ago I was super lucky because after 20 years of almost zero communication I accidentally reconnected with my university Buddy and found out he has been an Ironman for many years, logging in some insane bike volumes a week (200+km (124+m)). We discussed training and he asked me if I could give some advice on strength training. I asked him what he needed the most. He replied: "Core".
Since prescribing him some core exercises he reported back he no longer has low back pain, he is more stable on the bike, less side-to-side shifting and legs seem to be more powerful.
So ... what does your Core do? The primary function of your Core is to support your body and resist all kinds of rotations, twists and bendings. That's how people use Core for thousands of years while they drag, lift, press, push, pull, etc. Your core is a stabilizer and supporter and core exercises should reflect that.
Ironman?
Wanna run for 2-3 hours with stable hips and upright posture? You need strong Core.
Wanna bike for 4+ hours with lots of power, minimum shifting and zero back pain? You need strong Core.
Wanna swim 3+k with no back pain, whole body one strong unit? You need strong Core.
My TOP 5, feel free to comment:
1/ one-hand dumbbell farmer's walk
Grab a heavy dumbbell, keep the other hand close to your body and walk trips. 3-6 trips. Your opposite side of trunk, traps, glutes, forearms, grip, all will be on fire creating a super-strong core and not only. Go heavy.
Human:
M: 30kg (66lb) DB
F: 15kg (33lb) DB
Animal:
M: 40kg (88lb) DB
F: 20kg (44lb) DB
Beast:
M: 50+kg (110+lb) DB
F: 25+kg (55+lb) DB
2/ Pallof press
search Youtube. Keep hips stable and do not use your arms much. You should feel it in all those small muscles around your hips. And in glutes as they fight hard to stabilize your hips. Slow controlled tempo.
3/ Dynamic side plank
Fantastic for hip stability and your whole trunk. Tons of vids on Youtube
4/ Ab wheel
Put a plate on your back, will you? and do sets of 8. Men with 10kg plate of their back, women with 5kg plate. Can't do them? Congratulations, you found your weakness and can work on it now for weeks to come :-) You WILL be very sore next few days when you do them the first time. Don't panic, your body will adapt soon.
5/ Seated Barbell Good Mornings
Sit on a bench with wide stance. Bar on your back same as with squats. Brace core and bend over. Hips muscles and mid back should be worked hard. Yep, they are safe because you rotate in hips, not in lower back. Work up slowly with weights, this is not an ego builder. 5 sets of 5.
Pick two exercise and do them weekly for a couple of hard sets. Then pick another two. And so on. You get the picture. It should be hard and uncomfortable. But you know what? You will thank me after couple of weeks later after your comfy 4+hrs bike ride :-)
Cheers :-)
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