A Micro Workout For The Core

 When I trained at the gym back in my teens, I had no idea what Core Training meant or even understood the importance of it since all I knew back then was if you were to develop abs you had to do hundreds of crunches, that's really all I did for my abs. Although I did lift and all that, I rarely ever focused on the abs or obliques. Paid a price for it a time or two. When I transitioned to Bodyweight Exercises, it became very clear that there was more to Core Training than just upper abs, lower abs, obliques and lower back individually. They needed to be trained as a unit in order to perform better.

My first taste of really tackling those muscles was the bridging from Combat Conditioning and from there, I started gaining strength and flexibility in that area. I got Combat Abs and was learning the basic exercises from there, the next course I used in Core Training was Gymnastic Abs that Ed Baran put out which became a favorite. It had some cool stuff and really helped strengthen areas I was lacking from the others. It kept going from there.

One of the things that really tested my Core Strength and flexibility was doing the Bridging Gymnastics where you would fall back into a bridge, kick over and kick back. I was never into the Human Flag or those crazy barstarzz workouts but the Bridging Gymnastics was pretty fun to do. At a point in time, I was doing workouts 2-3x a week where I would do kickovers and flipping back on my head and hands in the bridge up to I think 30 reps in a workout and that was exhausting as hell. I stopped after a while and moved onto more of the Power Wheel, Ab Isometrics and Animal Movements.

Over the last few years, training the Core comes and goes and I'll do things like Bridging, V-Ups, various holds, the Ab Wheels to the point where I managed to do one standing rollout and back (haven't been able to do it since so maybe it's time to train that again), farmer's carries and hoisting up the 50 lb sandbell many times. I don't train necessarily for a 6 pack (not really my thing) but for function and resilient to injury as much as possible. One workout I've done on a few occasions is a Tabata Style Isometric workout that I learned from the Red Delta Project which you can find here...It's intense and it's only 4 minutes long. Another that I tried out was not only just as intense but I did it a little differently to make it interesting.....

It's based on the Gymnastic Abs exercises I learned and made them into a Tabata Workout with a 1 min finisher. It's very simple and you can do them in the beginning stages or advanced, depending on where you are.

Hollow Body Hold for 20 seconds

Rest 10

Side Plank (Start whatever side you want) for 20 seconds

Rest 10

Arch Body Hold for 20 seconds

Rest 10

Side Plank (Opposite side) for 20 seconds

Rest 10

Repeat this 1 more time for a total of 4 minutes. The finisher is 1 minute of V-Ups using as good form as possible on the reps. If you have the control, keep the legs as straight as possible with little to no bend in the knees and arms straight overhead. All together, this really is a 5 minute workout you can do practically anywhere and gives you a Core quite a kick. This is great if you're short on time or want something done quick before whatever it is you're doing. If you're ambitious and have enough strength, do the Iso Holds and V-Ups but add in the Gymnastic Bridge to really stretch the abs, spine and everything else. Just hold as long as you can even if its for less than 10 seconds, add 1-5 seconds per workout until you can do a minute or more. Including rest time, you can get a complete Core Workout in under 10 minutes. If you have progressed to more advanced holds and movements, work them in or do a workout on their own. It's up to you.

Hundreds of Crunches & Sit-Ups can get boring and some exercises can put a damper on your spine and neck so utilize Holds & Movements that help strengthen those areas instead of hurting them. A strong Core doesn't need to be a 6 pack, but strong enough to take a hit and/or perform better with all your other exercises along with resistant to injury. Having a bad back is no joke I've been there and it can be painful as hell and it becomes much more common as we get older, train your abs with intensity beyond just the muscles, strengthen the lower back, obliques and groin area (save the jokes). You don't need to do hundreds of reps of an exercise unless you have a goal in mind.

Build that Core, stay strong and keep being amazingly awesome. Looking for workout ideas to build your abs? Check out the Darebee Ab Workouts for FREE!!! Some of the best exercises for building Core Strength is from Movement 20XX from Vahva Fitness.

Lost Empire Herb Of The Day: Horny Goat Weed

A Playout That Turns Boys Into Men & Little Girls Into Strong Women

Many playouts can be challenging and having variety brings a great element of using your brain and your nerves to take in strength & endurance you didn't realize you had. To me such a playout is using a simple deck of cards that can be done in a variety of ways; you can go fast, go slow, do holds, modify and utilize different variations to your advantage and fitness levels.

A awesome playout with the deck of cards is just doing Hindu Squats & Hindu Push-ups. Just these two alone can get you in awesome shape and give you a level of conditioning second to none. The idea of this one is to beat the deck and go a little faster beating it each time but unless you're a pro athlete (Pro Wrestler or someone in Combat Sports specifically) you can only go so fast until you start to lose form and stop focusing on the breathing, the technique and paying attention to the body inside and out. At one point in time for a while I was doing 400 Hindu Squats & 250 Hindu Push-ups at a time with the deck and that wasn't always the best thing for me and ended up hurting myself due to over excitement and adrenaline not paying attention to my body. It's a learning experience and doing that high of reps is a great accomplishment but there's more to it than just hitting those numbers.

You can put any exercise you want with your own deck but don't just do repetitions and thinking that's the best way to get stronger; there is a line you don't want to cross and it'll either make you or break you if you don't pay attention. The deck I like best is the one made for students of Matt Furey and the exercises are Hindu Squats, Hindu Push-ups, V-Ups & Tablemakers. These 4 are the foundation for Combat Conditioning and can be done in great ways that don't always require speed. There have been playouts with this deck where I didn't go for reps but counted breaths or seconds with each card and that becomes a whole other ball game. Doing them in Isometric Fashion develops strength from another universal element and creating power you didn't think existed. It gives that extra spring in your step and puts you in a state of mind that is blissful, peaceful yet excitingly challenging.

You don't need the Matt Furey Exercise Bible to do these 4 exercises, you can put them on any deck you choose but how you apply them for the best intentions is up to you. I mean just the other day I did a total of 300 Hindu Squats  and 100 Hindu Push-ups, V-Ups & Tablemakers each and felt like a million bucks. It never gets easier but it does get more interesting once you're consistent with it. You can make it the most challenging Playout of your life or make it to where its not that difficult but yet still feel great. Make it play for YOU!!!

If you can't get your hands on that specific deck, here is a place where you can pick your own deck and have at it.....My personal favorite deck is here.