Hope this email finds you doing well. I've got a short - ish email for you this week - at least I think. Lol, sometimes you just to get writing and it just pours.
We are talking about the core today! Did you know that your core is pretty much your entire
body except for your limbs?
Women ask me all the time, how do I get rid of my belly? If you don't already know, it starts with your diet (what you eat and how much you eat). We all have abs; they are there, they may just be in hiding. Actually seeing 4 or 6 pack abs is largely genetic and being really diligent in your nutrition approach. Most women need really low body fat to see visible blocks, and of course having youth on your side
helps out.
Yes, you can work your abs and build the abs, but you won't see the fruits of your labor if a layer of fat is covering them. Secondly, I don't program a ton of ab work into my client's program, and when I do, I aim for back friendly ones and ones that are core-specific. Why? Because for one, our abs don't work in isolation and strength training works our abs better than getting down on the floor doing crunches and
sit-ups.
Think squats, pushing and pulling, hinging (deadlifts). Compound movements target our core as well. With that being said, I do program core exercises because I think it's important to address specific imbalances and weakness in the body.
However, when we talk abs/core - most folks think
crunches are the answer. They are not. It's very important to have a strong core and 100's of crunches don't build a strong core. But it's not sexy to talk about the core - the abdominals are part of the core. That burning feeling doesn't mean it's effective.
If you just work the abs themselves, that doesn't mean your core will be strong. Ab training is not core training.
If
we don't have a strong core, which again includes pretty much our entire body, we are more prone to injuries and imbalances.
Our core is responsible for stabilizing our spines - we want our core/trunk to be able to maintain position - to keep our bodies balanced and stable. Having a strong core is what allows us to do everyday tasks safely and efficiently! Some exercises to help you train this would be the dead bugs from my Movement Monday segment. Bird dogs are also a great exercise.
Pretty much all my clients do dead bugs as part of the workout and in
their warm up. It's such a great core exercise.
A few other core specific exercise include:
I put together a great core workout the other day for you. My core
and abs were all fired up after 1 round. Try and let me know how it goes. After you try it, come on the Beauty of Strength Facebook page and let me know. #DownToTheCore
You are my beta testers for my core program that I am putting together. So don't forget to let me know. Thank you so much
in advance!
The workout breakdown:
* 3 -5 rounds
* Rest as needed
* Be sure to engage and brace your core through all 4 movements
* The rep scheme is general guidelines- so, if you need to please be sure to scale the reps and rounds to fit your
fitness level. Over time you can work towards the rep range listed here.
* Have fun and train smart!
1a. Dead bugs - 6 reps per side/12 reps total
1b. Slow Slow Crossbody Mountain Climbers - 10 reps per side/20
total
1c. Downward Dog to High Plank with a hard glute squeeze! Really engage the core and squeeze your glutes in the plank -each and every rep. 10 reps
1d. Slow Slow Mountain Climbers - 10 reps per side/ 20 reps total
You can use this
core workout post workout or as a standalone workout on a non-training day.