Vertical core training for bike riders
When people say core training, people still think of crunches. It’s one of those things that just won’t die in the fitness industry. Fitness magazines still put them on the cover. There are crunch challenges on Facebook and Pinterest. It’s not that if you do a crunch you are a bad person or your spine will explode. It’s that there are 562 better ways (I counted) to train your core.
Doing 1 Crunch won’t hurt your back but there are studies that show repeated flexion (crunching forward) is a mechanism for disc herniations. The experts still argue the details on this study and how bad or if it is bad to flex the spine but we do know one thing… we should be training our core in various ways.
Our cores need to produce as well as limit movement. We need to create tension and also maintain stability while breathing. We need to flex, extend, rotate, side bend, and a combination of all these things. To do these well we need to do more than just some crunches.
Progression Of Core Training
One way to think about how to progress and regress core training is looking at the human developmental sequence. When we were babies we just laid there and turned our heads, kicked our feet and moved our arms. Then one day we figured out how to grab our feet and eventually roll over onto our belly. From there we will learn to crawl and eventually stand. We progress from the easiest position (lying on the back) to more challenging positions until we can stand on one foot at a time (walking).
We can perform our core training the same way. So Crunches train our 6 packs but since it’s such an easy position, we don’t learn anything. And, really core training isn’t as much about building muscle as it is training our nervous system to react to forces more appropriately.
This is not to say I don’t use laying on your back as a position to train the core. I do. In fact, it’s fantastic for people who don’t have the context of what’s going on with their spine, ribcage, and pelvis as they move. Being on the floor is awesome because it gives you some tactile feedback during movement. But eventually, you want to progress to more demanding positions if you want the training to transfer over into your sport
Vertical Core Training For bike riders
Once you have basic control over you spine, ribcage, and pelvis, it’s time to get off of the floor and try all 4’s, knees, one knee or standing. Today I’m going to show you 3 different exercises in the standing position.
First up is Farmers Walks. These are great because they work your entire body in about the most “functional” way possible. They are super easy to coach and perform. They will help you get that old man strength (it worked for many farmers without gym memberships) and improve your conditioning simultaneously.
Second is a Farmers Walk on one arm with a Waiters Walk on the other arm. This is great because it makes our core stabilize not only forward and backward but side to side as well. With the Waiters Walk, you also build your shoulder stability.
Third is a fun one that is great as a warm-up or in your core program… The Halo with a Lateral Lunge Woodchop. If it sounds like a lot is going on, it’s because there is! The Halo is an awesome exercise for the core and shoulder mobility too. When you add in the Lateral Lunge and Woodchop you get a great lateral hip exercise along with core as you return it back to the Halo. Give these a try, they’re pretty fun!
There are so many options for training the core while vertical so don’t limit yourself to these. But I definitely use the Farmers Walk as a staple to my strength training.
Want some more help?
I have many more fun exercises that can make you stronger than ever before! I have a few spots left to fill for my online training. Need some help with program design? How about someone to keep you accountable?
Please message me for more information and to see if we are a good fit to work with each other.