Anti-Rotation During Anti-Rotation exercises you
actively prevent yourself from rotating at the lower back. Examples include:
• Anti-rotational cable front press variations (tall kneeling, half-kneeling, standing, etc.)
• Split stance cable lifts and chops. Anti-rotation exercises train virtually
every component of your core: internal/ex- ternal obliques, rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus, etc. The most challenging components of
these exercises are actively keeping every- thing tight and not allowing any rotation at the lumbar spine. On the cable front press exercises, focus on keeping the core and glutes tight, and maintaining a tall posture throughout – don’t crunch over to stabilize.
Hip Flexion with Neutral Spine During these exercises you actively
brace your core/lower back while bringing your knees to your chest. Examples include:
• Prone (front plank position) knee tucks with feet on a physio / Swiss-ball • Band-resisted (band around back and handles in hands) prone knee tucks
Putting These Exercises into Your Routine
Now that you have the exercise types,
let’s plug this into your current exercise program:
• If you’re exercising four days per week, the setup is simple – perform one exercise type within each workout.
• If you exercise three days per week stick with Anti-Extension, Anti-Rotation and Anti-Lateral Flexion on different days.
• If you exercise twice per week, focus on Anti-Extension and Anti-Rotation exercises, and you’ll get the most results.
Summing Up Training your core with these moves will
help give you the abs you are looking for, while helping you to strengthen and protect your lower back, and to perform at your best. It is the best of every world!
Cassandra Forsythe holds her PhD in Exercise Science and Nutrition from the University of Connecticut and is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). She runs fitness bootcamps in Man- chester, CT that focus on building a strong and solid core. You can learn more about her and her bootcamp classes at
www.cassandra-
forsythe.com.
Brian St. Pierre is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) who received his degree in Human Nutrition from the Uni- versity of Maine, and is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Di- etetics from the same institution. For informa- tion, go
towww.brianstpierretraining.com.
Knee Tucks with Feet in TRX Straps These are the most challenging category
of exercises, and should probably only be done once the others, especially the anti- extension, have been mastered. The focus on these exercises should be keeping your lower back straight and neutral, and not al- lowing it to flex or “tuck under.”
Proper technique is vital here; focus on:
• Chest up and out; again, no hunching over to brace
• Lock down your core/midsection – allow as little movement here as possible • Use your hip flexors to “pull” your knees to your chest in neutral spine position
• Keep your whole body as stable as possible
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