lesser known exercises with great benefit

[Cote]

Hi,

I try to focus on fitness exercises that will encompase most activities we do in the CF (infantry). I've recently added in core training to my regime, and have notice some small improvements rather quickly.

Core training is for most people new in the fitness world, it involves developing smaller inner muslces around the core and lower back. These muscles are used to help stablize the body providing a strong foundation for the rest of the body. It follows logically that a stable base is important. Different kind of exercises are used to develope the core.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/core-strength/SM00047

Thats just a few exercsises.

Unlike working your bicept improving the core will benefit you in every activity that you may do from running, hiking, section attacks, ruk marches...

 

[foerestedwarrior]

Well core strength isn't exactly a lesser known exercise. There has been many many different exercises come around, and over the last few years there has been some more concentration on it in the last few years. If you want more info about it, there is lots of info on this site alone, let alone just google it and you will find lots of info.

 

[Cote]

I think that most people probally don't do 4-5 core exercises in a session.

 

[foerestedwarrior]

Though there is alot of exercises that that recruit your core muscles that people dont realise. Like the push up, recruit alot of core strength.

 

[Bo]

Stick with basic compound lifts and you'll get all the core training you need.

For example:

Squats
Deadlifts
Power Cleans
Bench Press
Barbell Rows
Standing Barbell Press

While isolation movements such as the ones you pointed out have their place in training regiments, I see far too many personal trainers using them as a substitute to compound lifts rather than as a supplement.

 

[paracowboy]

you're both right. There are a number of 'tweaks' you can do to "regular" movements that add more abdominal girdle work:

when doing a chest workout, do flyes with one hand, instead of two.

when doing rear deltoids, do them on a Roman chair, in the hyper-extension position.

same with flyes. Do them on a roman chair, or over a bench with your feet braced, in the horizontal position.

Do one-legged squats, with a foot on a bench behind you.

Do Romanian deadlifts, with one foot held up, and a dumbell in one hand.

Do push-ups on a wobble-board, or with your feet on a swiss ball.

There are variants to every 'conventional' bodybuilding-style movement, or powerlifting-style movement, that indirectly target the core, and with minor 'tweaks', will hit them more directly.

 

[SoF]

Doing pushups on 2 benches is also a good exercise for core strength. Put you hands on one bench and put your toes on the other bench. Also works out the chest more than a regular pushup because it stretches it more.

 

[paracowboy]

sorry, I seem to have lost the second part of my previous post.

I also agree with the pigeon, since the abdominal girdle is a drastically neglected area of the body in many people's workouts. It's probably the most important bodypart(s) to hit, though. It's the most important area for the body's normal use throughout an average infantryman's day.

So, I advocate hitting the core hard with several different movements at least once a week, and hitting it indirectly with 'oddball' variations of 'normal' workouts as indicated above.