What’s the best exercise you can do for core strength ?
This is not an uncommon question that we get in the clinic whether its from clients that have back pain or just want to prevent against issues with their back.
The answer is really dependant on what you need to do and make it specific to your needs. However there are some very good exercises that can get you on the right path.
The McGill big 4 core strength exercises.
Stuart McGill is a biomechanistic who has researched back pain and muscle activity extensively through the past few decades.
Working with everyone from your weekend gardening warrior to international athletes in various sports including the strongman competitors he has compiled a few basic “must do exercises”.
These exercises recruit the core and teach great movement skills without putting stress on the back.
Really that’s a triple win situation and if its good enough for a strongman its got to be good enough for you ?
So lets get cracking.
The curl up :Abdominal muscle core strength exercises.
Here is the entry level exercise for the abdominals. You’ll be surprised at how hard this can get.
This video also contains more advanced variations:
How to do it:
- Lie flat on the ground with hands under your low back.
- Flatten the lumbar spine.
- Keep everything still from the pelvis to the sternum (breast bone)
- Slowly curl up round the sternum
- Pause at the top and slowly lower down.
- Don’t let the low back move, try and keep a constant pressure on the hands.
The Bird dog : back extensor core strengthening.
Its time for the bird dog. why’s it called bird dog you ask ? well apparently its to do with the dog that hunts rabbits in bugs bunny cartoons ! i digress.
Bird dog series
How to do it:
- Go in all fours, keep equal weight between hands and knees.
- Think about pushing one leg back leading with the heel and push the opposite arm out in front of you. I like to imagine pushing my knee along the floor as long as possible.
- The key is to keep your weight central and not shift it onto the supporting leg.
- Pause then come back to the middle.
a video looking at the bird dog and progressions for this exercise:
Planks and side planks for core strength : Don’t forget the sides.
This counts as 2 exercises , (remember left and right side).
- Lie on your side
- Elbow directly under your shoulder
- Opposite hand pulls down into the shoulder.
- Top leg in front and bottom leg behind.
- Lift hips off the floor and pause.
Last but not least the most important core exercise you will ever do
That’s right its the one you do consistently, just like anything else.
Putting it all together
A few rules;
- Never sacrifice technique for fatigue.
- Always maintain a ” neutral posture” which means try and keep the chest up and pelvis slightly tilted under.
- Start with doing each exercise for 8-12 reps, add 2 reps per week until you can do 20.
- When you can do that we need to change it up.
- Exercise should never worsen symptoms , if it does stop and get in touch to make sure its the right one for you.
We recommend doing these exercises 3-4 times per week. You can do it as a circuit by going from one to the next and repeating it 3-4 times. Or just crank out 3-4 sets before going to the next exercise.
This is a very good basic no nonsense core program that we have used successfully with a lot of our clients that have back pain or just wanting to get a stronger core. Once you mastered this we can easily progress this to challenge you more and on getting you fitter and stronger.
Enjoy these exercises. If you need a further challenge struggling with a back injury feel book in with a member of the team here.
Thanks for reading and watching
Cheers
Dave
