help strengthen my core

[pupeye]

Besides dedlifts and ab work, what can i do to strenghten my core? Any books or websites I can look at for advice?

[Quasimoto]

Trunk twists, with weight in your grip, with your arms extended all the way out. i get onto a decline bench, hook my feet and go about half-way into a sit-up. These are gnarly for strengthening the intercostals/obliques. They can and do make your hips thick though if you do them too much with the angle just right. If you compete in BB shows, you'll want to keep these movements to a minimum.

[Phreezer]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Bent presses are awesome, as are one arm deadlifts.

huh?


Anyway, If you want to strengthen your core Here are some exercises designed just for that. I'd stay away from that one arm deadlift thing a ma jigger if I were you.


1. Good Mornings
2. Pull Throughs
3. Suspended Good Mornings
4. Glute Ham Raises.
5. Rack Pulls
6. Hyper Extensions
7. Floor Cleans

[Phreezer]

What the hell is it? Post a link or something.. And explain to me how they are so effective please!! I've never seen anyone do one arm Deadlifts..and I've lifted with some of the biggest and strongest guys out there (And yes, I do occassionaly still workout with BB's)
I'd love to see some studies that show this to be an effective exercise.. or just a couple of pro's (PL or BB) who endorse these things....

And come on man.. Bent presses are left over from about 60 years ago.. There are Much more effective ways to strengthen the core.. If he wants to be a Carnie strong man..or some kind of strength performer, and he needs to entertain the crowd with some bizzare lifts..then by all means.. He should train Bent Presses.. but if he just wants to strengthen his core..then he would do fine with the list of exercises I suggested above. Believe me or not, they are very effective at strengthening the core.

[Phreezer]

Sure dude.. whatever you say....

[Phreezer]

Again.. I've never seen a one arm deadlift, and untill you post a link.. or post some kind of EMG study, I'm going to say they are not as effective.. So the burdon of proof is upon you... Back up what you are saying with some kind of data.. Post something please!!!!

(sigh.. I know how you are) So I retract what I said...I now say you are king And Lord of the training forum Frosty.. And king of Lord of the Anabolic discussion forum..and King and Lord of whatever debate is going on in the General discussion forum.. You know all and are always right..even when you're wrong.. You are in other words.."Da Man" Even if I do hope you can find a job (any job) or anything that will limit your time here!!!

[Phreezer]

Your core is more than just your abs. Your core is comprised of the muscles that support the spine from the low back to the upper back, in front and in back. The muscles targeted include the abdominal, chest, hips and back muscles (Spinal Erectors, Hip Flexers, Obliques and Abs).

[Bob Smith]

Ive heard of one-arm DLs to the side, but never with the bar in normal DLing position. But there are many limitations to that movement that others, such as GMs and glute/ham raises, dont have.

Also, Ive never heard of OLers or PLers using bent presses. Ever.

[Freddy]

The bent press and side deadlift are good core exercises, but they're not great core exercises. You won't find MRI or EMG work saying they're the best, because it doesn't exist. There are simply better ways to do it, and thats all I'll say on the subject for now. The most efficient means of getting a strong core is to bust your ass with the competition powerlifts or Oly lifts, and supplement with some of the lifts from the list Phreezer laid out as accessory movements.

Two other fantastic movements are the reverse hyperextension and the seated goodmorning. However, few people have access to the first, and most are too wussy or self conscious to do the second. Those are damn good lifts though.

Also, I've been saying this forever now, but weighted side bends should be apart of every core routine. Everytime I mention this lift its either ignored or called gay, but Louie Simmons has been recommending it for decades. As the best powerlifting coach in the world, I might set aside the lifting prejudices some of you have accumulated over a year or two of recreational lifting and take his advice.

And if you need another reason to do weighted side bends...chicks love the look of obliques. It was one of the first comments I got when I "dieted" (re: cut back on beer) for the summer.

If you want a strong core, this would be a good start:

Wednesday:
1.) Some kind of squat (back, front, box, etc)
2.) Some kind of pull (deadlift, powerclean, rack pull, etc)
3.) Seated goodmorning
4.) Weighted straight legged situp (dumbell or cable)
5.) Weighted side Bends

Sunday:
Do more or less the same thing, with minor changes as necessary. One could substitute with similar exercises for variety if desired. All sets should be between 3 and 6 and all reps should be between 3 and 10. This is just a rough outline of course. If you bust your ass doing something similar to this, give or take, I imagine you have a good core.

Lastly, I left out one of the best lifts for your core, period. I did so because I want some people to actually try the outline I have listed above, and I know that most will just omit this lift anyway. But its the overhead squat. Its really simple...you just squat holding a bar at arms length overhead.

If you don't believe me, take Animal Mass's word for it. He can attest just how brutally hard this movement will work your core. And your ENTIRE core at once too, your abs, obliques, spinal erectors, etc. Of course, few core movements isolate your core to begin with...but few also recruit all of the muscles as effectively. However, to do this lift in a commercial gym you have to be willing to set aside your ego, something I think most people have a problem with (if you're not gunna do side bends, I don't imagine you'll do overhead squats).

Anyway, all this stuff is great for working your core. The key to a strong core is to batter the hell out of it from all sides 2-4 times a week at first (more if you're an elite athlete, powerlifter, or Olympic lifter). Someone mentioned not doing this if you compete in bodybuilding. Well, thats true, judges tend to mark down for large cores.

However, how many of you guys actually compete? Thats what I thought, very few of you. Most just want to look big, strong, and healthy. You can't do that without a strong core. Oh yeah, and again...for shit's sake, chicks LIKE a big strong looking core, and thats what most of you care about anyway.

[Chip Bronson]

lmfao phreezer... :-)

Originally Posted by Phreezer

(sigh.. I know how you are) So I retract what I said...I now say you are king And Lord of the training forum Frosty.. And king of Lord of the Anabolic discussion forum..and King and Lord of whatever debate is going on in the General discussion forum.. You know all and are always right..even when you're wrong.. You are in other words.."Da Man" Even if I do hope you can find a job (any job) or anything that will limit your time here!!!

[Grizzly]

Originally Posted by Freddy

And if you need another reason to do weighted side bends...chicks love the look of obliques. It was one of the first comments I got when I "dieted" (re: cut back on beer) for the summer.

Guiness: It's not just beer, it's dessert. LOL

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by Grizzly

Guiness: It's not just beer, it's dessert. LOL

And breakfast.

[Gavin Laird]

Neat post Freddy. I have been toying around with a kind of "grappler" set up the last few days (like what Louie sells on his site but done on the cheap with 2 barbells jammed in to brackets) and it is bloody tough. Also doing OH DB squats, DB full snatches etc and finding out just how bad my oblique still is (it hasnt really healed much at all).

Agree with you entirely on the "ego" thing limiting people - I've had people not do exercises I've prescribed them because they "look dumb" before...lol. Amazing that people would have shit performance and look good doing it than actually be any good.

Cheers,

Gav.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by Gavin Laird

Neat post Freddy. I have been toying around with a kind of "grappler" set up the last few days (like what Louie sells on his site but done on the cheap with 2 barbells jammed in to brackets) and it is bloody tough. Also doing OH DB squats, DB full snatches etc and finding out just how bad my oblique still is (it hasnt really healed much at all).

Agree with you entirely on the "ego" thing limiting people - I've had people not do exercises I've prescribed them because they "look dumb" before...lol. Amazing that people would have shit performance and look good doing it than actually be any good.

Cheers,

Gav.

Thats a damn good core routine.

[getswoll]

Originally Posted by Freddy

Also, I've been saying this forever now, but weighted side bends should be apart of every core routine.

Amen to that. The weighted side bend crunch with a DB while standing is an extremely effective way to hit your obliques. The thing we always have to remind people though, is to get the full "crunch" on the opposite side when you are in the "up" position.