Better Core Strength
- Thread starter gb155
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
............or go diggin up your own garden.henshaw11
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Walton-On-Thames
Tho' I would add, thinking that you know what you're trying to engage and actually doing it isn't always the same thing unless you've already a decent degree of body awareness - to that extent I'd suggest getting at least a good handful of lessons with a Pilates instructor - it usually takes at least that much for people to get it. You'll do a lot of the aforementioned stuff (including ballwork) but with someone checking your form and proper alignment. There's always harder and easier variants of each exercise according to ability.
That '8 core' thing has a reasonable collection but it's missing a few things - in particularly *stretching* the muscles being worked. (#7 catapult is probably a bit dangerous if you're not already strong in the core..like straight-backed situps,it sounds like it could put a lot of strain on the lower back).
smokeysmoo
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bolton, not very far from Nob End
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
Press Ups. Seriously, press-ups. They strengthen chest, shoulders and core, and definition in your upper arm starts with the tricep.
The great thing about press-ups is that you can do them to suit you, in the privacy of your own home without kit or equipment. If you can't manage them from a full press-up position you can do them at an angle (table or sofa edge) or off your knees. Once you can do a few in a row you'll have improved immensely anyway.
Guy with your determination should enjoy this Gary
http://hundredpushups.com/
The great thing about press-ups is that you can do them to suit you, in the privacy of your own home without kit or equipment. If you can't manage them from a full press-up position you can do them at an angle (table or sofa edge) or off your knees. Once you can do a few in a row you'll have improved immensely anyway.
Guy with your determination should enjoy this Gary
http://hundredpushups.com/
lulubel
Über Member
- Location
- Malaga, Spain
That table or sofa suggestion is great, thanks. I had started doing them from my knees, but since I damaged my knees, it's going to be a long time before I can put any weight on them. I thought I was going to have to resign myself to having a wimpy upper body forever.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
As others have said ,pressups.,planks,crunches and i also have one of these...
http://www.totalgym.com/c-38-toms-training-tips.aspx
oooh..
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-iTqc60_kM
http://www.totalgym.com/c-38-toms-training-tips.aspx
oooh..
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-iTqc60_kM
Pilates (easier) or Yoga (really, really hard) are both excellent for core strength whilst staying lean. Go to a class with a proper instructor and they will make sure you do it right. They are not for everyone though.
If you prefer a more manly way and want to build larger rather than leaner muscle then press ups, chin ups, pull ups, dips, squats, dead lift, bench press and overhead press all workout the core. Start with just a bar and then progressively load (slowly) For the bodyweight exercises you can press upwhilst on your knees and if you have a chin up bar you can loop a resistance band around it and your knees to provide assistance.
Please do not go down the route of allowing a personal trainer trying to get you squat on a swiss ball with a light dumbell as a way to improve your core though!!
If you prefer a more manly way and want to build larger rather than leaner muscle then press ups, chin ups, pull ups, dips, squats, dead lift, bench press and overhead press all workout the core. Start with just a bar and then progressively load (slowly) For the bodyweight exercises you can press upwhilst on your knees and if you have a chin up bar you can loop a resistance band around it and your knees to provide assistance.
Please do not go down the route of allowing a personal trainer trying to get you squat on a swiss ball with a light dumbell as a way to improve your core though!!
henshaw11
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Walton-On-Thames
>They are not for everyone though.
Well, if the dancer/gymnast look isn't your thing, then mebbe
>Pilates (easier) or Yoga (really, really hard)
Hmmmm...not really, whilst there's some commonality you're comparing apples and oranges. (Ok, mebbe quinces...)
Flexibility/balance ? - quite possibly. Strength ? - possibly not. (Probably depends on what variant of yoga as much as anything.) Pilates concentrates on core strength/alignment with stretching to keep muscles elongated and balanced, whereas yoga tends to be a little more about flexibility, with core strength as a result - some/many of the exercises in yoga are intended to massage the internal organs. If you find Pilates easy, then it's probable that you haven't got the appropriate version of the relevant exercise, or you're simply not focussing enough (or else you're a gymnast or dancer). Pilates borrows from yoga/dance/gymnastics and was originally devised as a rehabilitation method (Contrology) - the original 34 'classic' exercises now have many more counterparts to gradually build control/strength (and in some cases avoid injury compared to the originals), and there's several 'schools' (or, to be cynical, franchises). What most people see in gyms is the matwork variant, but there's assorted kit that Joseph Pilates devised, that tends just to be in studios 'cos it's big - but you'll see some versions of it of varying quality on assorted shopping channels.
eg cadillac:
http://pilatescadillac.com/
Cybernight's jobbie is kinda like a reformer:
http://pilatesreformer.com/
Being more familiar with Pilates I can't comment that much on yoga, but way of comparison, have a look at
http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/pilates/h_pilates_classic.htm
and the groups of moves/poses here:
http://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/asana-vinyasa-series/
..many are pretty similar.
One particularly good thing about Pilates is that, since it was devised for rehabilitation, it accommodates injury fairly well - a lot of people come across it from the result of back pain or injury. If you're having a bad day, pick something easier or with better isolation. I've picked up odd niggly injuries (biceps, tennis elbow) that have kept me from the gym otherwise, but the one thing that's kept me ticking over is an hour or two of Pilates each week (for the last..err 10 years or more).
(As for the swiss ball...the point is to destabilise yourself so you work your core harder to stay balanced. Or to put it another way, it forces you to engage/zip-up your core to maintain stability...nothing wrong with it but it's as much an exercise in balance IMO.)
Hmm... 'manly' and 'larger muscles'.. all very well (in previous years I've spent several hours a week in the gym) but if you can avoid the need to feel macho then, as a cyclist you're better off (IMO) being fit/lean rather than big/bulky - you have to lug the extra weight up hills, after all. Tho' the extra padding's handy if you do much mtbing and crash a lot
You'll get some benefit in your core as a result of lifting weights (you're engaging/zipping up your core at the same time to stabilise yourself) but it's more as a by-product, rather than an aim in itself (tho' I suspect some may disagree). I'd views weights as a complement to Pilates (or yoga), rather than a replacement for. Certainly the breathing/body awareness carries over into doing weights.
Nowadays you'll see a lot people/instructors in the gym doing core stuff that's probably made it's it way over from Pilates (it's been around a long time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pilates) ..it's not unusual to see otherwise well-built guys doing the relatively easier versions
And *again* - loading muscles isn't the only thing - don't stretch enough and the muscles shorten. Cyclists often have shortened hamstrings as it is, and that in turn can lead to back pain.
Well, if the dancer/gymnast look isn't your thing, then mebbe
>Pilates (easier) or Yoga (really, really hard)
Hmmmm...not really, whilst there's some commonality you're comparing apples and oranges. (Ok, mebbe quinces...)
Flexibility/balance ? - quite possibly. Strength ? - possibly not. (Probably depends on what variant of yoga as much as anything.) Pilates concentrates on core strength/alignment with stretching to keep muscles elongated and balanced, whereas yoga tends to be a little more about flexibility, with core strength as a result - some/many of the exercises in yoga are intended to massage the internal organs. If you find Pilates easy, then it's probable that you haven't got the appropriate version of the relevant exercise, or you're simply not focussing enough (or else you're a gymnast or dancer). Pilates borrows from yoga/dance/gymnastics and was originally devised as a rehabilitation method (Contrology) - the original 34 'classic' exercises now have many more counterparts to gradually build control/strength (and in some cases avoid injury compared to the originals), and there's several 'schools' (or, to be cynical, franchises). What most people see in gyms is the matwork variant, but there's assorted kit that Joseph Pilates devised, that tends just to be in studios 'cos it's big - but you'll see some versions of it of varying quality on assorted shopping channels.
eg cadillac:
http://pilatescadillac.com/
Cybernight's jobbie is kinda like a reformer:
http://pilatesreformer.com/
Being more familiar with Pilates I can't comment that much on yoga, but way of comparison, have a look at
http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/pilates/h_pilates_classic.htm
and the groups of moves/poses here:
http://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/asana-vinyasa-series/
..many are pretty similar.
One particularly good thing about Pilates is that, since it was devised for rehabilitation, it accommodates injury fairly well - a lot of people come across it from the result of back pain or injury. If you're having a bad day, pick something easier or with better isolation. I've picked up odd niggly injuries (biceps, tennis elbow) that have kept me from the gym otherwise, but the one thing that's kept me ticking over is an hour or two of Pilates each week (for the last..err 10 years or more).
(As for the swiss ball...the point is to destabilise yourself so you work your core harder to stay balanced. Or to put it another way, it forces you to engage/zip-up your core to maintain stability...nothing wrong with it but it's as much an exercise in balance IMO.)
Hmm... 'manly' and 'larger muscles'.. all very well (in previous years I've spent several hours a week in the gym) but if you can avoid the need to feel macho then, as a cyclist you're better off (IMO) being fit/lean rather than big/bulky - you have to lug the extra weight up hills, after all. Tho' the extra padding's handy if you do much mtbing and crash a lot
You'll get some benefit in your core as a result of lifting weights (you're engaging/zipping up your core at the same time to stabilise yourself) but it's more as a by-product, rather than an aim in itself (tho' I suspect some may disagree). I'd views weights as a complement to Pilates (or yoga), rather than a replacement for. Certainly the breathing/body awareness carries over into doing weights.
Nowadays you'll see a lot people/instructors in the gym doing core stuff that's probably made it's it way over from Pilates (it's been around a long time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pilates) ..it's not unusual to see otherwise well-built guys doing the relatively easier versions
And *again* - loading muscles isn't the only thing - don't stretch enough and the muscles shorten. Cyclists often have shortened hamstrings as it is, and that in turn can lead to back pain.
