Ultra-FIT magazine

Todays article lists our top 6 exercises for developing a stong, functional and athletic midsection. Why not tell us your favourite core exercises? Maybe we’ll add them to our list!

1) Dead lifts
Not strictly a core exercise in the strictest sense of the word but none the less an excellent exercise to strengthen and develop the erector spinea muscles of the lower back. Dead lifting requires you to coordinate the efforts of your legs with your lower back and as such is a truly functional core exercise. A weak midsection will present its self during the dead lift as a rounding of the lower back so if you experience this you should reduce your training weight to avoid injury. If you don’t know how to dead lift, get some qualified instruction!

2) Cable Russian Twists
Rotational strength is vital in all sports and twisting sit ups and, worse still, broom stick twists are ineffective for developing strength. To develop strength we need to apply a significant overload to the muscles in question and twisting sit ups just won’t do it! The cable Russian twist allows us to load up the obliques – the muscles responsible for rotation – which is essential for strength development. To perform the cable Russian twist, adjust a cable pulley so it is set at about shoulder height. Stand side on to the cable and hold the handle in both hands. Keeping your legs slightly flexed and your arms straight, rotate your spine whilst imagining your upper body as a tank turret. Rotate through a full 180 degrees keeping your arms, chest and head all in perfect alignment. Repeat for 6-20 reps before changing sides.

3) Swiss ball crunches
Whilst traditional crunches on the floor will provide a minimal challenge for most fit sports people, performing crunches on a Swiss or stability ball should make the common crunch much more effective. The instability of the ball as it wobbles from side to side will “fire up” the abdominal muscles far more effectively and make the exercise much more challenging. To perform this exercise, sit on the ball and then walk your feet forwards until you are lying across the ball and it sits in the natural curve of your lower back. Place your hands either at your temples, crossed over your chest or on your legs. Make sure you start from an extended position – i.e. your head should be lower than your hips. Starting with your head, curl up one vertebra at a time until your abdominals are fully contracted before slowly inhaling and returning to your starting position. If you can perform more than 20 reps, try holding a weight plate or medicine ball on your chest. If you do perform the weighted version of this exercise you may need to anchor your feet to avoid rolling off the ball.

4) Saxon side bends
This exercise, named after Arthur Saxon – a historically famous English strongman, is super effective for working all of the core musculature. To perform Saxon side bands stand with feet hip width apart and hold a single dumbbell or medicine ball held overhead in both hands. Avoiding any forward, backward or twisting movements, lean to one side whilst keeping your arms extended overhead.  Bend to the side as far as your flexibility allows before returning to the middle position. Immediately bend to the other side and continue for the desired number of repetitions. The secret to this exercise is the long lever provided by holding a weight above your head.

5) Swiss ball mountain climbers
This unusual exercise is a dynamic stability exercise which requires you to maintain core control despite the movement of your legs. This is a primary function of the core muscles in sport and is a valuable exercise for all sportsmen and women. Place your hands on either side of a medium Swiss/stability ball and walk your feet backwards so you are in a press up position. Brace your abs as hard as you can to maintain core tension. Alternately pull one knee and then the other into your chest whilst making sure your midsection doesn’t move but be careful not to hold your breath. The faster you more the legs the more “wobble” you’ll need to stabilise and the more demanding the exercise will be. To make the exercise even more demanding, try elevating your feet on an exercise bench.

6) Barbell or ab wheel roll outs
One of the most challenging core exercises you can do is called the roll out and can be performed using a loaded barbell or an ab wheel device designed especially for this exercise. If you are using a barbell, place a 5-10kg weight plate at each end of the bar and secure them in place with collars. Kneel on an exercise mat in front of the bar and place both hands at about shoulder width apart with an overhand grip. Simultaneously extend your hips and shoulders to lean forwards and push the bar away from you. Keep your core tight throughout and avoid extending your spine – if you feel any discomfort in your lower back you have gone too far. Pause at the most extended position you can manage for 1-2 seconds before bending your hips and using your abs and shoulders to pull yourself back to the kneeling position. This exercise will challenge even the strongest core! If you get to the point where you can do 20 perfect reps on your knees, you’re ready to try this exercise from the standing position but, be warned, you may find you can barely perform a single rep of this ultra-hard exercise.

This is far from being an exhaustive list of exercises but each one will provide you with plenty of “bang for your buck” and challenge your core muscles to become stronger. Don’t try and do them all in the same workout though – chose 2-3 a day on non-consecutive days and perform 2-3 sets of each for best results.

Your spine consists of 33 individual vertebrae which are separated by intervertebral discs and held together by inelastic ligaments. Often, because of poor posture or a sedentary lifestyle, the spine can lose some of its mobility which can lead to back pain and loss of function. Perform these exercises on a daily basis to maintain the mobility of your spine.

Standing Twists
To mobilize your spine, stand with your feet hip-width apart, legs slightly bent and your arms hanging down by your sides. Keep your arms loose and relaxed and turn your upper body to the left, allowing your arms to swing around to the left side of your body. Reverse direction turn your body to the right allowing your arms to swing the other way. Try to rotate slightly further each time and allowing the gentle swinging action of your arms to help take you further into the twist. Repeat until you have completed 10 repetitions on each side.

Hump and Hollow
Kneel on all fours with your hands directly beneath your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips. Breathe in and lift your back up towards the ceiling to form a hump. Slowly exhale and allow your abdomen to descend towards the floor to form a hollow. Continue alternating between humps and hollows in time with your breathing and complete 10 repetitions in total. This exercise can also be performed in a standing position by slightly bending your knees and leaning forwards with your hands braced on your lower thighs.

Quadruped Side Bends
Kneeling on all fours, slowly walk your hands around to the left side of your body, bending your spine to the side and trying to look behind you. Hold the furthest position you can comfortable achieve for two to three seconds before walking your hands around to the other side. Continue walking from one side to the other until you have performed five repetitions per side.

 

 

Spinal Rolls
Lie on your back on a soft exercise mat. Slowly pull your knees into your chest. Maintaining this tucked position, roll up onto your butt. Immediately roll backwards and up onto your upper back/shoulders. Continue rolling back and forth until you have completed 10 repetitions.

Stability Ball Circles
Sit upright on a stability ball with your feet flat on the floor and your hands by your sides. Keep your body upright. Try to draw a anti-clockwise circle with your pelvis by pushing your hips to the left so that your weight is on your right butt cheek, pushing your hips backwards and leaning forwards slightly, pushing your hips to the right and shifting your weight onto your left butt cheek and finally pushing your hips forwards, tipping your pelvis slightly under. Immediately make a clock-wise circle by rotating your pelvis in the opposite direction. Continue until you have made five circles each way.

Straight to the point with no fluff or stuffing, in this series of articles we’ll tell you the three best exercises to give you maximum benefits from your workouts…

Can you imagine having to narrow down all the hundreds of ab exercises into just three? It wasn’t an easy task. To make our list, the exercises had to be multifunctional, multidirectional and enjoyable to perform which is why you won’t see any crunches or ab rollers or other similar dull exercises!

Stability Ball Mountain Climbers

Place your hands on a stability ball and walk your feet back so that you are in a press-up position. Keep your abs tight and your arms straight. Keep your right leg straight and pull your left knee into your chest. Extend your left leg and put it back on the floor. Now pull your right leg up to your chest while keeping your left leg in place. Continue alternating (and remembering to breathe) for the duration of your set. If you fancy a real core challenge, you can elevate your feet by putting them on a sturdy exercise bench. This makes this exercise super tough!

Cable Russian Twists

Focusing on your obliques, this exercise requires either an adjustable pulley machine or a strong rubber exercise band anchored at hip height. Stand side on to the cable/band and hold the handle in both hands. Keep your arms parallel to the floor and your hips facing forward. With your arms straight and your head, chest and arms aligned, turn your upper body through 180 degrees by rotating your spine. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Imagine your upper body is a tank turret and your legs are the tracks and that the turret is turning independently of the body of the tank. Really lock those legs in place to emphasise your core!

Barbell/Ab Wheel Roll Out

Probably one of the toughest ab exercises around, this low tech, old school ab exercise will give you a core of steel! Load a barbell with a 5kg plate at either end and fix the plates in place using collars. Make sure the plates can rotate freely. Kneel down on an exercise mat and place your hands on the barbell using shoulder-width overhand grip. Keep your abs tight and push the bar away from you and lower your body towards the floor. Go as far as you can but make sure your lower back does not arch. If you feel this exercise in your lower back you have reached too far. Lift your butt, flex your spine and pull yourself back to the starting position using your abs. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. You can perform this exercise using a commercially available ab roller which costs around £10.00

Got a fave ab exercise? Tell us about it!

Straight to the point with no fluff or stuffing, in this series of articles we’ll tell you the three best exercises to give you maximum benefits from your workouts… 

Many men and quite a few women want to develop their chest muscles or pecs. These are three of the best pec builders going and will hit your chest from three directions – upper, middle and lower. Perform a couple of sets of each for a complete chest workout!

Incline Bench Press
Performed using either a barbell or dumbbells, incline bench presses are considered by bodybuildings as an essential pec exercise. Adjust your exercise bench to a 30 degree incline and hold the weight over your chest at arms’ length. Keeping your elbows out and your wrists straight, lower the weight until your hands are level with your chest. Without pausing, press the weight back to arm’s length and repeat for the desired number of repetitions. Because you are holding a weight over your chest, use a spotter when performing this exercise to minimize the risk of injury.

Press-ups
Press-ups can be performed almost anywhere and are an effective pec exercise. To get the most from your press-ups, make sure your hands are placed wider than shoulder-width apart. You can perform your press-ups on your knees if the full version is too challenging. You can also elevate your feet if you want to experience a more challenging type of press-up.

 

 

Parallel Bar Dips
Using parallel bars or two sturdy chair backs placed 24 inches apart, dips target your outer and lower pecs. Dips can also be performed using a specialized dipping station found in many gyms which allows you to select the weight you wish to lift. Make sure you lean your body forwards when you perform your dips to put emphasis on the pec muscles. If you remain too upright, you will be using your shoulders more and your pecs less.

Straight to the point with no fluff or stuffing, in this series of articles we’ll tell you the three best exercises to give you maximum benefits from your workouts…

Who doesn’t want a butt that looks like a couple of hard boiled eggs wrapped in a handkerchief? A strong, toned butt will not only look good but is also important for hip function and lower back health as your butt – correctly called your gluteus maximus – is strongly involved in lifting. If your butt is weak, your lower back will have to do more work that usual and if your lower back is weak…you may end up hurting your back.

Supine Hip Lifts
No gym equipment? No problem! This simple exercise is very effective for strengthening your glutes. Lie on your back with your legs bent and your feet close to your butt. Without using your arms, push through your heels and lift your hips until they are extended and your body is straight. Pause in this most contracted position for 1 to 2 seconds before slowly lowering your butt back to the floor and repeat for 12 to 20 repetitions. If this exercise becomes too easy, try performing it using one leg at a time or by placing a weight across your hips. You can also elevate your feet by placing then on a stability ball or exercise bench which increases the challenge of this exercise.

 

 

Stiff Legged Dead Lifts
Yep – this exercise made it into our three of the best leg exercise article a few weeks ago but, no pun intended, it’s a top butt exercise too! Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your legs slightly bent but rigid. Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip in front of your thighs. Push your butt back and bend forwards at the hips. Lower the barbell as far down your legs as your flexibility allows. Make sure your lower back is not allowed to round as this may lead to injury. Pause in the most stretched position you can comfortably manage before pushing your butt forwards and standing back up into the starting position. This exercise can also be performed by holding a dumbbell in each hand.

Backward Lunges off of a Box
This is a great twist on the standard lunge exercise that will really hit you glutes. Stand on top of a 4” step box with your feet together and your hands by your sides. Keep your body upright and take a large step to the rear. Bend your back leg and lower your knee to within 1” of the floor. Push with your back leg to stand up and return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise leading with your other leg. Continue alternating legs for the duration of the set. Make this exercise harder by holding a weight across your shoulders or in your hands.

Your spine is made up of five separate sections, all of which are curved. The inward curves are called lordotic curves whilst the outward curves are called kyphotic curves. When these curves become excessive you can develop problems with your spine such as back pain. Because of modern-day posture caused by long periods sat at your computer or watching TV, your upper spine can develop an excessive outward or kyphotic curve which presents as rounding of the upper back and a forward head position. There are a number of things you can do to avoid developing an excessive kyphotic curve, which is correctly termed hyper kyphosis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soft Tissue Release using a Foam Roller
Lying face up on a foam roller and performing soft tissue release can help to reposition your spine and is a lot like having a massage. Foam rollers are available from sporting goods stores and in 2010 cost around $15.00. You should spend 5 minutes a day using a foam roller to maximize its effectiveness but be careful not to overdo it. If you are overly aggressive with your rolling you may make your back sore.

 

 

 

 

Door way Chest Stretch
Kyphosis is, in part, caused by overly tight chest muscles. When your chest muscles shorten and become tight they pull your shoulders forwards and inwards which can increase your kyphotic curve. Stretch your chest by using a standard doorway. Standing in an open door way and place your elbows on the door frame at shoulder height. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees with your hands flat on the door frame. Keep your elbows in place and lean through the door to gently stretch both sides of your chest at the same time. As you feel your chest muscles relaxing, increase the depth of the stretch. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds and repeat 3 to 5 times every day.

 

 

 

 

 

Face Pulls
Strengthening the muscles in your mid-back can help to draw your shoulder blades back and lessen your kyphosis. Attach two rubber exercise bands to a sturdy anchor at chest height. Grasp a band in each hand. Keeping your elbows level with your shoulders and held out wide, pull the band towards your face-hence the name of the exercise. Concentrate on keeping your elbows up and your wrists straight. Pause for 1 to 2 seconds in the most contracted position before slowly returning to the start. Repeat for 15 to 20 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets. This exercise can also be performed using an adjustable pulley.

 

 

 

 

Standing Wall Angels
This exercises strengthens the muscles between your shoulder blades but does so isometrically. This means that although your muscles are working, they don’t actually move. Your muscles often work isometrically to maintain your posture. Stand 12 inches away from a wall and lean back against it. Keeping your head against the wall, raise your arms and place your elbows against the wall. Bend your arms to 90 degrees and place the backs of your hands against the wall. You should now be in a “stick ‘em up” position. Slowly slide your hands up the wall as far as your flexibility allows while pushing your elbows against the wall. Once you have reached up as far as you can, slowly lower your arms until your elbows are level with your shoulders. Perform 8 to 12 repetitions, resting 60 seconds between sets. 

Have you ever noticed the physiques of top-class gymnasts? They look amazing! Well defined muscles, very strong and also extremely flexible. Gymnasts, as a rule, seldom lift weights but they do a large amount of bodyweight training which is often referred to as calisthenics.

Although bodyweight training fell out of vogue in recent years because of the popularity of weight training machines, it’s making a comeback as more and more people rediscover the benefits of working out without the use of fancy gym equipment.

 

A routine of push ups, squats, chin ups and lunges using nothing more than your bodyweight can build an impressive figure or physique for anyone dedicated enough to persevere. Even though these exercises don’t use any adjustable weight training equipment they can be made as hard (or as easy) as is required and adapted to suit almost any individual fitness level.

The military has long been a supporter of callisthenic exercises. Because they don’t require access to expensive or cumbersome gym equipment soldiers can stay in shape wherever they are. Martial artists and boxers have used bodyweight exercises for years to get into great shape for their sport. If you are creative with your programme design and dedicated in your approach to training, you can develop a great figure or physique without the use of weights. A well equipped gym will make your exercise selection easier BUT focusing on bodyweight training means no more gym fees, no waiting in line for the machine you want to use and being able to train at home or anywhere else, whenever you want. To quote a famous equipment manufacturer…your body is your gym!

Pull-ups, performed with an overhand grip, are an upper body body-weight exercise that challenges your biceps at the front of your upper arm and your latisimus dorsi muscles of your back. Pull-ups also put significant stress on the muscles between and below your shoulder blades: your rhomboids and mid-trapezius muscles. Performing pull-ups also requires a strong grip as you will have to support your body weight with your hands. Pull-ups are a demanding exercise and there are a number of assistance exercises you can perform to improve your pull-up ability.

Lat Pull Downs
Lat pull downs use the same muscles as the pull-up so if you lack the strength to perform pull-ups; this exercise is a suitable alternative. To perform the lat pull down, adjust the leg restraint so that it rest across your thighs. Sit down and lean back slightly and using a shoulder-width overhand grip, pull the bar down to the top of your chest. Keep your elbows directly below your hands and try to keep your chest lifted. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

Body Rows
Sometimes called inclined pull ups, Australians, or reverse press ups, body rows are an excellent alternative for regular pull ups, a great exercise in their own right and also a useful preparatory exercise when trying to develop your pull up ability. To perform a body row, set the bar on a Smith machine or squat rack to around hip-height. Lie beneath the bar and grasp it with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Extend your legs and lift your hips so that your weight is supported by your hands and heels only. Bend your arms and pull your chest up to the bar. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat. When you get more proficient with this exercise, try raising your feet to increase the load on your arms. The more horizontal your body, the more demanding the exercise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Band Assisted Pull-ups
You can use a strong exercise band to help you perform pull-ups. Secure the band (or bands) to your pull-up bar and place your feet the band loop. The band will provide assistance, especially at the bottom of the pull-up movement. You can use strong bands initially and progress to weaker bands as your pull-up ability improves. 

 

 

Negative Pull-ups
Negative pull-ups take advantage of the fact that you are stronger when your muscles are lengthening than they are when they are shortening. To perform negative pull-ups, use your legs to help your climb up to the top position of the pull up and then, using only your arms, slowly lower yourself under control to until your arms are fully extended. Repeat until you are no longer able to control your descent. You will find that negative pull-ups will quickly increase your strength with will transfer to your ability to perform regular pull-ups

Isometric Pull-ups
Your muscles can generate more force when they are static than they can when they are moving. This is called isometric strength. To perform isometric pull-ups, hand form the bar but hold yourself so that you are mid-way up and your arms are bent at 90 degrees. Hold this position for as long as you can before resting and repeating. You can target specific joint angles using isometric pull ups by holding your position at different points. If you feel you are weaker near the bottom of the pull up, perform isometric hold in the lower range of movement or if you find the getting your chin up to the bar is the hardest part of the exercise, perform isometrics in the upper range of movement.

Rest-Pause Pull-ups
Once you can perform one or two pull ups, you can start to group repetitions together into sets. One way to do this is to perform your repetitions using rest-pause technique. Rest-pause means that you perform one or two reps, rest for up to 15 seconds, perform another one or two reps and continue until you reach your target e.g. eight reps. As you get stronger you will have to rest less and will soon be able to perform larger groups of reps until eventually you manage your full eight reps.

When it comes to using cardio to burn fat and lose weight, there are 2 schools of thought…

In one camp we have the long, slow, distance approach or LSD for short. LSD is all about selecting an exercise and performing it for extended periods of time at a comfortable pace. Heart rate is kept around 60% of maximum so you are slightly out of breath but comfortable for the duration of your workout. You can chat to anyone nearby should you so choose and almost all of the energy you are using is coming from fat being burnt. LSD is almost 100% aerobic (meaning with oxygen) and very little lactic acid will be produced in your muscles so it’s quite comfortable to perform. On the downside, although fat is the main source of energy in LSD type exercise, you won’t be burning much of it as our body’s are very efficient at making fat go a long way.

In the other camp we have interval training which describes periods of high-intensity exercise alternated with periods of rest e.g. sprinting for 60 seconds, walking for 120 seconds, repeated 5 times. Interval training is more anaerobic (without oxygen) than LSD and generally tougher to do as there is lots of lactic acid produced which can be uncomfortable. However, the production of lactic acid produces an effect called EPOC (Excessive Post exercise Oxygen Consumption) which means that after the workout has finished the body uses oxygen at an elevated rate to clear out the lactic acid in your blood. This means more calories are burnt even though your workouts will be shorter when compared to LSD.

Which is better for fat burning? Interval training wins hands down for economy of training time but LSD training is certainly less demanding. The answer is probably to do a mixture of the 2 and get the best of both worlds!