We move

Core Lore & Skitz Core Secrets

View previous posts in this series, ABsolutely Core Crazed.

If you have been following this series, then you have a lot to keep you busy for awhile working toward those ripped abs! More importantly, you will be making the trunk of your body stable and strong. Strong arms and legs are great but without a strong center structure from which those limbs sprout from, you are inviting injury and fatigue.

As I said in Part I, if you work your core for no other reason than to prevent back problems, that’s a good enough reason.

When it comes to core work, here is what I DON’T recommend: Read more

Planks reveal the truth about your core strength.

View previous posts in this series, ABsolutely Core Crazed.

You wouldn’t think that an exercise where you stay perfectly still could make so many body parts stronger.  There are many versions of the plank, many I will illustrate here. In a nutshell, you straighten your body like a board and hold it there.

This simple exercise works your entire core, back, quads, ankles, arms, shoulders, butt, and brain.  A stationary pose that looks so easy can be downright torturous!  It’s a hoot to see big, strong guys drop to their knees in agony when I challenge them in a plank contest.  I haven’t lost one yet!

If you promise to try these plank variations to improve your core strength, I’ll share a few of my secrets to holding a plank longer in my final post of this series next week.  Then make sure and write me when you challenge Hercules at the gym and win!

Read more

Stability balls and stand up abs challenge the entire body.

View previous posts in this series, ABsolutely Core Crazed.

There is no end to the usefulness of a stability ball.  This is one fitness device that has stood the test of time and for good reason.  My favorite uses are for stretching and core work.  So let’s get rolling! Read more