Dynamic core training for Athletes
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We know by now that crunches and sit ups are just about the most over rated and abused exercises out there to develop a functional core and trunk musculature.
Core stability is essential for safety while lifting heavy things, be it squats,farmers walk, deadlifts, or any overhead lifts. Remember to do specific core training after your heavy compound exercises, never before.
Re-read the post Core training for details.
After stability, especially relevant to athletes are rotations, and explosive movements mostly done from a standing position.
1. Exercises should be performed in a standing position: most of your trunk exercises should be performed standing up, since this is the position of most athletic movements. While you’re standing the exercises involve all the trunk-and hip-stabiliser muscles and not just the abdominals or low back in isolation.
2.Training should target endurance, strength and power: The trunk muscles are important for maintaining good posture and spinal alignment. This is a 24 hour, 7 days a week task - in other words, the trunk muscles have to perform this function all day every day and thus must have good endurance. The trunk muscles are also integral in power movements, e.g., throwing, jumping and hitting, and so strength and power must be developed. Thus, a trunk programme should contain a mix of low intensity/high repetition exercises with high-intensity and plyometric-type movements.
3. Exercises must be multi-directional: The trunk can (1) flex forward and extend back, (2) flex to the left and right side, (3) rotate about its centre, and (4) perform any combination of the above movements in three planes. Exercises that integrate these three planes will provide the biggest challenge and benefits to an athlete looking to develop functional core strength.
Kettlebells drills are great to reinforce and stabilize the core ( Strength and Endurance) .
Explosive movements ( Power) can be trained very efficiently with a tool know as the tornado ball. And I’ll show you how to make your own!
What is great with this light weight tool is that the amount of force you can can generate, as with kettlebell drills, can suddenly become incredibly high.
For example, in the Olympic hammer throw event, the men’s hammer weighs 7.25 kg and measures 122 cm. The forces generated by the athletes, a combination of leverage and speed, are in excess of 300 kg! This requires extreme core strength!
A similar kettlebell exercise you could do, would be the towel swing. Keep the towel length reasonable! The longer it is, the more it requires core strength and stability due to the extra forces generated, so you are warned! The same drill can be done standing.
Back to the tornado ball, Paul Check has put out a great article that I have reprinted below (after having removed some of the sales pitch from it)
Introducing the Tornado Ball! By Paul Check
The Tornado Ball is a product I recently helped develop that takes rotational training to a new level of intensity and effectiveness! Consisting of a solid polyurethane OOOF Ball with a length of sailing rope moulded directly into the ball, it’s virtually indestructible and is an awesome training tool. Not only will it improve your rotational power, it’s fun as hell to bash into walls and on the ground. I don’t know, maybe it’s a guy thing.
Among the numerous applications of the Tornado Ball, you’ll be able to:
• Train at virtually any speed from slow to explosively fast
• Improve core and extremity stability and strength
• Develop force in any direction or combination of directions
• Develop movement skill and coordination
• Enhance agility and quickness
• Achieve full concentric force development
• Develop eccentric to concentric force transfer—applicable to most sports.
If you don’t have access to a Tornado Ball, I’ve had some customers put a medicine ball in the end of a potato sack or sturdy pillow case and they claim it works great! However, I take no responsibility for any torn pillowcases or flying medicine balls using this method. I’ll let you decide which works best for you.
Regardless of whether you purchase a Tornado Ball or make one of your own, here are some dynamic exercises that will further improve your rotational ability and help you develop Tornado-like power!
Tornado Ball Exercises
Wall Chop
In addition to being an incredible exercise for anyone wanting to improve rotational power, this exercise will assist any implement-swinging athlete such as golfers, baseball players and hockey players.
Begin by standing a couple feet from a sturdy wall (once you begin this exercise you’ll see why it needs to be sturdy). Bend your knees, draw your belly button inward, and make sure you have a good grip on the rope; you may even want to anchor one end by slinging the rope around the back of one hand and holding on to it with both. Either way, hold on! Once you’re into position, start swinging! As you pick up speed and slam the ball into the wall harder and harder, you’ll likely have to bend your knees even further to lower your center of gravity. If you don’t, the centripetal force of the ball will be enough to pull you forward away from the wall.
Because this is such a ballistic exercise, you don’t want to do it for much more than 10 seconds or so—our goal is to target the explosive fast twitch Type IIB fibers. The faster you swing, the more challenging it becomes. You can also swing it at a diagonal or do a multi-directional chop (be careful not to hit a leg!), but I would save this until you’ve been performing this for a while.
For you competitive types, go out with a few buddies and see who can get more “chops” in during a ten second period. Believe me, you’ll be just as winded in 10 seconds doing wall chops as you would sprinting a 100-yard dash. This one is a killer!
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Supine Chop
It may not look tough, but this exercise will put you pretty high on the “stud” list and work your abdominals like never before. Additionally, it’s perfect for any wrestlers, football players and rugby players who need to improve their ability to throw an opponent while on the ground or that need to get off the ground quickly. Begin by sitting on the ground; I recommend putting a pad or thick towel under you so you don’t injure your back or spine on the concrete. Draw your belly button in and begin chopping back and forth to each side of you. The fun part begins when, while chopping back and forth, you slowly begin doing sit-ups. If you can do 8 sit-ups your first time out, you’re a bona fide stud. As with the other exercises, the faster you chop, the more intense the exercise becomes.
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Kneeling Chop
The final exercise I’ll introduce will work most of the flexor chain in ways that few other exercises can. The flexor chain is used during punching, throwing and kicking movements, making this exercise mandatory for anyone participating in sports containing these activities.
During this exercise you’ll likely require some type of padding to protect your knees from the ground. Begin by kneeling on the ground with the ball to the right of your feet—you’ll be chopping the ball in front of you while alternating sides during the back portion of the chop. With a good grip on the rope and drawing your belly button inward, swing the ball overhead until it bounces on the ground in front of you. Using the momentum of the bounce, swing the ball back overhead but have it bounce to the left of your feet. Bring it back overhead and once again bounce it in front of you. Continue this process for approximately 10 seconds or until your form begins to break down.
Now for the fun stuff, HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TORNADO BALL!
Ross Enamait has put up a PDF file to download with clear instructions.
And for those who prefer watching a video rather than reading…
Happy bashing!
