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I'll admit I have a fairly ordinary record on the core exercise front - I'm a lot better than I was (and I attribute core work along with stretching, which I'll cover in another post, with being able to run without the nerve impingement I was suffering six years ago). I'm building it back up again, which combined with losing a couple of kilo is coming along quite nicely!
I was hitting them pretty hard last year and I can remember one longer club race where I really felt them holding me upright late in the event, so I know there are definitely advantages to having a strong core.
I have three routines that I use, one base one of bridge/plank base that I can do whenever, another with an ab wheel, and another with a bosu board.
Bridges
The bridge/plank is holding four bridging positions, essentially front, left side, back side, right side, and then two sets of opposite arm and leg. I'm building up to about two minutes for the bridges, and half that for the opposites.
Front - it's quite easy to cheat on this, you need to make sure your feet are together, and that your upper and lower arms form a right angle at the elbow. Doing this ensures your abs are holding your body up and excludes other support.
Sides - again, arm position is important, and this can be a little hard on the shoulder. You need to be properly side on, and you should feel the load along your side if you're doing it properly.
Back (or glute bridge) - you need to concentrate on this one, as it's very easy to relax the glutes and let the hips fall out of position. You should basically be a straight line down the thighs down across your belly.
This is a good starter routine, and a good one to quickly knock over if you have a spare 5 to 10 minutes. As mentioned, I also do opposite arm and leg as part of this routine - this will be difficult initially, and can show up imbalances in strength.
As mentioned, this ideally would be my daily, or at least four to five times a week session. I don't tend to come up too sore or stiff afterwards.
To be continued...
I was hitting them pretty hard last year and I can remember one longer club race where I really felt them holding me upright late in the event, so I know there are definitely advantages to having a strong core.
I have three routines that I use, one base one of bridge/plank base that I can do whenever, another with an ab wheel, and another with a bosu board.
Bridges
The bridge/plank is holding four bridging positions, essentially front, left side, back side, right side, and then two sets of opposite arm and leg. I'm building up to about two minutes for the bridges, and half that for the opposites.
Front - it's quite easy to cheat on this, you need to make sure your feet are together, and that your upper and lower arms form a right angle at the elbow. Doing this ensures your abs are holding your body up and excludes other support.
Sides - again, arm position is important, and this can be a little hard on the shoulder. You need to be properly side on, and you should feel the load along your side if you're doing it properly.
Back (or glute bridge) - you need to concentrate on this one, as it's very easy to relax the glutes and let the hips fall out of position. You should basically be a straight line down the thighs down across your belly.
This is a good starter routine, and a good one to quickly knock over if you have a spare 5 to 10 minutes. As mentioned, I also do opposite arm and leg as part of this routine - this will be difficult initially, and can show up imbalances in strength.
As mentioned, this ideally would be my daily, or at least four to five times a week session. I don't tend to come up too sore or stiff afterwards.
To be continued...
