Yesterday, I explained the core muscles’ general responsibility to stabilize the spine in all directions. I then showed you one of the most basic core stabilization exercises, the forearm plank.
By all means, you can improve your core strength by a great deal by performing forearm planks. However, there is a way to take your core training to a whole new level, and the results are not only rock hard abs, but an improved posture, enhanced athletic performance, and a reduced risk of injury. The first thing you must understand in order to develop a dynamic core is what the phrase “dynamic core” actually means. In this case, the word dynamic refers to the ability of the core to react to varying levels of force at any given time. Take for example a football lineman. When a defensive tackle rushes for the quarterback, he gets usually gets blocked by an offensive lineman:
The defensive player’s core muscles, more than any other muscles in his body, must react EXTREMELY quickly to the offensive player hitting him. His muscles do not have time to contract in a slow and controlled motion like you see in a sit-up or crunch. The core musculature must react in a flash to whatever varying degree of force is placed on them. For this reason, traditional abdominal exercises such as sit-ups or crunches are extremely ineffective at developing a sports-specfic core.
So, if you can’t use crunches or sit-ups or other traditional ab exercises, what can you do to make your core reactive and dynamic?
The perfect solution to this problem: Resistance bands.
As a band gets stretched, it’s resistance gets progressively harder. This is different from almost all other types of resistance, such as free weights, body weights, machines, etc. By using a band as resistance, we are altering the force placed on the body based on how far the band is stretched. Lately, I have been experimenting with a TON of different exercises that use bands to get the core dynamically reacting to the resistance placed on it. There are a few things I love about these exercises:
-They’re all extremely sport-specific
-They’re performed standing, which is specific to sports and life in general
-They allow for strengthening of other areas of the body while strengthening the core
Here is the first video in the “Developing a Dynamic Core” series- Let me know what you think!
Functional Athletic Training 