Hard-Core Training

I know the pun is overused.

Anyway, lets talk about training the core. What is the core? Literally speaking, it is the midsection of the body. It includes a huge variety of muscles such as the Abs, the obliques, the lumbar spine, the transverse abdominis, the internal obliques, the serratus, the hip flexor muscles and various hip stabilizers that function with the glutes. Each of these muscles carry out a separate function.

The present day obsession with the "Six Pack" makes me sick. It takes away from the true meaning of mid section training- ultimate functional power. Only if you have engaged in hard manual labor or are a wrestler or a boxer will you understand the true value of the mid section. I myself was a boxer and I can tell you this, the true source of striking power is the twisting force of the hips and torso. This force is generated and transmitted by the midsection. No fighter was ever a hard puncher without a powerful gut. Ask any fighter and they will tell you that the 3 greatest movements that improves their punching power are Deadlifts (or a similar movement like Kettlebell Swings), leg raises or sit ups and punching a Heavy Bag (Twisting torque). Medicine ball work has been a part of combat training for decades. Real fighting power has less to do with your legs or arms and more to do with your lumbar and core muscles.

So basically the core has the following functions-
1. Stabilizing (and to a degree) flexing the Spine
2. Holding and Defending the Organs.
3. Rotating the spine and torso.
4. Bending into and Straightening the spine from a sideways position.
5. Rounding  and Arching the Lower Back.
6. Flexing at the Hips.

Before you embark on a core specialization routine, you must ask yourself if you really need to. Chances are, if you are doing a lot of compound exercises, you are already working the core hard enough. Unless you are a fighter, you probably do not have that much use for the kind of core power we are talking about.

If you decide you need additional core training, you can utilize the following basic exercises.
1. Bridges- I am Assuming you are already performing this exercise as a part of your routine, or some variant, like deadlifts. Even if you are deadlifting, it would probably be better for you to take up some bridging. I discuss this in detail in my previous post on bridges.
2. Leg raises- This movement works the hip flexors and the external obliques and the abs very hard. The Abs have to fire to stabilize and partially flex the spine, while resisting changing leverages as the legs are being lifted. If you pause at the top, like you are supposed to, the abs are fried. The hip flexors work very hard and perform the actual movement of lifting and lowering the legs. many people believe that the hip flexors must be isolated out of most movements. Anyone who as trained seriously will tell you that strong hip flexors are essential for most movements. The real problem is a lack of hip flexor flexibility and a weakness in the glutes and the abs, both of which are taken care of by Bridges, squats and Leg raises. Besides if that was the logic, we should all stop bench pressing right? (Pec and upper back flexibility and strength imbalance).
The transverse abdominis has to also work very hard to hold in the gut.
3. (Optional) Planks- This isometric hold is not essential, if you are already doing a lot of compound exercises. But a lot of people are interesting in just training their cores, to prevent injuries or to get back from pregnancies. I still advice them to at least take up squatting (bodyweight squatting at least- See the post on Squats), but if they don't want to, this exercise becomes important to train the Transverse and the abs as stabilizers.

Almost everyone will be using the above three exercises (Or a variant or substitute) in their training programs. What most people don't do right is selecting the appropriate training protocols, which we shall get into later. Also most people do not do the next motion (do them only if you really need specialized core training).

4. Train Twisting power- My favorite for this is the Russian twist. Set up an incline board upto its highest incline (about 45 degrees). Now Anchor your feet and get into sit up position. Now go just halfway up, such that your torso (hips and above) is parallel to the ground. Hold a weight with both hands right in front of your sternum with the arms straight such that your arms are perpendicular to your body and the ground. I like to use plates as the are easy to hold. Now, keeping your body parallel to the ground, rotate your torso to the left, such that you are looking to the left and your chest is now facing the left, while the arms are now parallel to the ground, such that the weight is at the same level as your head. Pause for one count and return to the starting position. Repeat in the other side. Keep your arms straight at all times.
This exercise will fry your entire core, but will kill your internal obliques. In my opinion, they are a must for any fighter or thrower. It builds real twisting power, and can easily be made progressive, by just adding weight.

The real key to mid section power is correct programming. Too many people train the midsection with high repetitions and low weight, saying that the ads are an endurance muscle. First off all, you are not only training the abs, but the hip flexors, lower back, obliques and transverse as well. The truth is you need only one endurance movement (or rather a Plank hold) to train the conditioning aspect of the abdominal muscles. As for all of the other functions, you have to train heavy and hard just like any other muscle group.

I personally prefer training hard exercises like Russian twists and bridges and leg raises in a separate workout. Start with Russian Twists for 4 sets of 6-12 reps. Then super-set leg raises with bridges for 4 sets for 5-12 reps. Finish with one plank until failure. This workout should be done twice a week- no more. If you already have a strong mid section even 1 workout a week will suffice to increase your strength.

Another option, if you have a weak core as such, is to spend 4-6 months specializing on your core. All other movements can be reduced to a once a week program, and you can increase your abdominal training to 3 times a week. These exercises don't put much pressure on the spine, and as such are easy to recover from, even if you train them really heavy.

The bridges progression has been given in a previous post. Leg raise can be made harder (and easier) by extending the knees. In a perfect leg raise, you will hang from a pull up bar with your arms straight and shoulders locked and lift your straight legs- knees locked, until the heels of your feet are higher than your hips. Hold for a second before lowering the legs. No swinging.

I will do a post on the leg raise progression soon.

If all you want to do is strengthen your core and be healthy as such, I would recommend the core workout I prescribed, twice a week, with one workout a week for just bodyweight squats (see my post on squats) and one workout for working up the pull up progression (see my post on pull ups) and push ups. You may also undertake some cross training in the form of running or skipping, though keep it under 30 mins a session. Also practice the twist hold progression (in my post on flexibility training), and the toe touch stretch every workout.

good luck and develop the kid of mid section on this classic figure.