photo © Magen Petit

Ok, you want me to perform four sets of 12 reps and superset these two exercises, then do a drop set on my next three exercises? Wait, what?

Does this ever happen to you? All the bodybuilding and workout jargon leave you confused and almost frustrated that you just want to walk out on your workout?

Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll have a better understanding as to what you’re reading prior to your next training session.

The Basics

Let’s start with the basic terminology – exercise, reps and sets.

Exercise: When you’re reading a workout routine you found online or in a magazine, the first thing you’ll probably see is the exercise, which is what you will be performing in your workout. For example: squat, overhead press, bench press, tricep kickback, etc.

Reps (Repetitions): Reps are the amount of times you will lift and lower the weight of an exercise. For example: you pick up a dumbbell and lift and lower it 12 times for a bicep curl exercise. Each time you’ve lifted and lowered the dumbbell this counts as one full rep, so doing it 12 times you’ve completed 12 reps.

Sets: Sets are a group of reps. The 12 reps you just did for bicep curls? That was one set. This is when you take a 30-second or 1-minute rest. You pick your weight up and do another 12 reps – there’s your second set!

Are you still with me? Good, because I’m moving on to something a little more confusing.

Other Workout Jargon That You’ll Likely Want to Know

You’ve probably heard of terms such as superset, failure, drop sets, forced reps, partial reps, giant sets, and even 21s. But what does it all mean?!

Let me break it down for you:

Superset: A superset is a combination of one exercise performed right after another with no rest in between.

Failure: Failure is literally when you do reps of an exercise until you physically cannot perform to a fully contracted position.

Drop sets: Drop sets are sets where the weight is decreased in each following set in a group of sets. For example, you can decrease the weight and increase the number of reps or decrease the weight and keep the number of reps the same. Drop sets can also be referred to as reverse pyramid sets because you begin with the heaviest weight and reduce it.

Forced Reps: When performing forced reps you need a spotter, which is someone to guide you while you perform an exercise. When doing a forced rep your muscles are fatigued and it can become unsafe. You perform a forced rep after doing your normal repetitions. Usually two to three reps with the help of a spotter are added on to your set.

Partial Reps: Partial reps are reps that are done in a particular range of motion (ROM). Partials are usually done toward the end of your regular set and can sometimes be more effective than full-range reps. Partials help build strength and really burn out the muscle.

Giant Sets: Giant sets are great for people looking to burn extra body fat in a shorter period of time. They usually consist of four sets of four different exercises that work the same muscle group with very little rest in between. At the end of a giant set, rest for a minute or two.

21s: 21s is when you perform an exercise with three different ROMs for 7 reps within the same set for a muscle. For example, it’d be 7 reps at the bottom of the ROM, 7 reps at the top of the ROM, and 7 reps for the full ROM.

Give yourself a pat on the back; you’re now more knowledgeable with workout jargon. You should be able to easily read and understand a workout log from magazines or a workout journal. Congratulations!

Photo © By U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class William R. Goodwin.

I think we can all agree on one thing: being sick sucks.

Personally, I hate getting a cold (and not just a couple sniffles with a cough, I’m talking about sinuses all jacked up, you can’t hear out of both ears, and you’re lucky to go 10 minutes without coughing or sneezing… and don’t forget your eyes watering and nose running like a faucet!).

I was recently asked how to deal with getting a cold while training and making sure you keep on your diet. My initial response was: listen to your body, rest, drink plenty of water, take Emergen-C^®, and continue eating your meals as best as you can. A few days later, what happens? I get sick. Awesome.

I woke up on Tuesday morning with a scratchy throat and didn’t think anything of it. I dragged my butt to the gym and put myself through a pretty intense leg workout followed by some light cardio. I went home, enjoyed my daily breakfast (oatmeal, blueberries, egg whites, and coffee), and drove myself to work. As my day progressed, I felt my throat getting sorer. You’ve got to be kidding me?

So, my water-pounding and green tea-chugging day began. By the end of it, I guzzled nearly two gallons of water and at least four cups of green tea. Despite having no appetite, I still ate the meals I packed – chicken with green beans, protein shake with rice cakes and peanut butter, and fat-free cottage cheese. By the time I left work, I needed some soup! My throat needed it! I was wondering what type I’d get and I really was in no mood to spend a ton of time figuring out which would be best for my diet.

To my surprise, I stumbled upon Progresso’s Light Chicken Vegetable Rotini. In one serving, it had:

• 70 calories
• 15 calories from fat
• 1.5g fat
• 10g carbs
• 1g dietary fiber
• 2g sugar
• 5g protein

And there were two servings in the can. I looked over the ingredients and realized I could pronounce everything on there and was familiar with it all, too. WOW! Can this be? I purchased it and took it home and ate the entire can (of course, after emptying the contents in a microwaveable-safe bowl and heating it up) – all 140 calories, 3g fat, 20g carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 4g sugar, and 10g protein of it! Because, for me, it wasn’t enough protein, I decided to cook myself a couple of egg whites, which brought me up to 20g of protein and only an extra 50 calories, which I could definitely spare for that meal – still less than 200 calories!

Thankfully I already worked out in the morning so I just planted my mouth-breathing self on the couch next to a box of tissues and watched Lifetime movies.

Day two was the most brutal day. I called in to work (not a bad thing, per say!) and took myself to the doctor where she prescribed me with some antibiotics and sent me on my way. I’m not gonna lie, I was definitely dressed in my workout attire and was thisclose to going to the gym, but then I thought of all the innocent, defenseless people working out who weren’t sick. If it’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s people bringing themselves to work or the gym while they are sick and hacking up a lung and sneezing every two seconds. I certainly did not want to be that person so I parked it on the couch for the remainder of the day and got two naps out of it!

All in all, when you’re sick listen to your body! If you do not feel well enough to go to the gym, don’t go. Or, if you’re contagious, don’t go! Some people might say sweating it out is good for you and while I don’t necessarily have an opinion on that, I’d just much rather take a day to rest and come back with more strength and a better mentality to have a kick-ass workout!

I personally believe the best way to get over being sick is to try your best to stick to your regular schedule. I continued eating the same way, but I did increase my fluids, which is what I needed anyway. Obviously, I skipped a day in the gym and I’m glad I did because I know my body thanked me. My first workout back in the gym, I didn’t kill myself because I knew I still wasn’t 100 percent. Instead, I did the routine I planned, but just did it lighter than normal. I did sit in the sauna for a while, and maybe it’s a mental thing, but I felt a lot better after!

What are some ways that help you get through being sick? Share them with me in the comment engine below!

Happy training!

photo © Daryl Furuyama

“Aren’t there days you just don’t feel like working out or eating clean?”

“How do you find the motivation to workout?”

I get asked questions like these all the time. Here are my answers:

Yes, of course I have days where I don’t feel like working out or eating a clean meal every 2-3 hours. I am human! But, on those days, I dig deep and remind myself of my goals and where I want to be at. Once the day is over, I feel a sense of accomplishment that I sucked it up and still gave 110% toward my workout and diet even though I didn’t feel like doing it. It will only reflect in my results, and put me that much closer to my goal anyway. (This is also why I make sure I have a cheat meal on Saturdays.)

I find the motivation to workout through magazines, photos, Facebook pages, websites, knowing my goals and what I want, and quotes. I also find the majority of my motivation through people who have been following my journey. I can’t explain the feeling I get whenever I receive a message from someone wanting to learn more about my journey, how I did it, how they can do it, congratulating me, and the most heart-warming messages of them all – the ones where they are telling me that I inspire and motivate them!

I am always doing research on training, eating clean, and fitness shows. My Facebook and Twitter newsfeed is full of fitness models’ and fitness magazines’ updates. They are constantly posting motivational quotes and photos. I especially love Pinterest for this. I have a couple of boards on there named Fabulous Fitness and Eat Clean Get Lean. They are filled with photos and quotes pertaining to fitness and staying motivated to workout.

I want to share with you my personal top 10 favorite quotes that help me get and stay motivated.

Motivational Quotes

1. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryuh
2. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” – Fred Devito

3. “Fear is what stops you. Courage is what keeps you going.” – Unknown

4. “Clear your mind of can’t.” – Samuel Johnson

5. “Just do it.™” – Nike

6. “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

7. “The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That’s what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they’ll go through the pain no matter what happens.”- Arnold

8. “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” – Taras Brown.

9. “To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” – Buddha

10. “There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success.” – Paul Bear Bryant

Do you have favorite quotes you like that help you stay focused and motivated? If so, share them with me!

Happy training!

Photo © Thomas Rosenau

Photo © Magen Petit

Confused as to what to eat after your workout? Simply put: carbs and protein.

You should try your best to make sure you’re getting this meal in immediately after your workout. The maximum length of time I’d go is an hour, but ideally within 30 minutes of completing a workout. Personally, I eat this meal as I’m leaving the gym, but then again, I always have food with me. Can’t go around starving! That would do nothing for my muscles or my metabolism!

What Kind of Protein?

The best source of protein for your body after a grueling working is a whey protein powder. I mix Gaspari Nutrition’s Probiotic Myofusion with water in my BlenderBottle®.

Liquid meals digest quicker than a solid food like chicken or tuna, and the whey protein powder is the fastest digesting form of protein out there. In the end, your muscles will be happier and thank you.

What Kind of Carbs?

First, you should know that not all carbs are bad, especially after working out. After your workout, carbs will help your body restore your glycogen levels that were depleted. Eating carbs will help build any muscle tissue that has been broken down.

Another thing to note: “good carbs” aka complex carbs (oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes) contain fiber and other nutrients that slow down digestion. After working out, you want something that will digest quickly. Simple carbs do this, which means foods like white potatoes, white rice, or white bread are great choices for a carb source after your workout.

Of course, it’s even better if you can get it in a liquid form! The abovementioned will definitely do the trick, but if you want something that’s fast-acting, then I’d suggest dextrose. Dextrose is a type of sugar that is usually found in sports drinks.

Yes, you can actually have sugar, but in your post workout meal, which is when your body can handle this! My choice of dextrose, however, is not a sports drink. Instead, if you ever see me leaving the gym, you’ll notice I’m snacking on gummy bears. That’s where I get my dextrose. (The red ones are my favorite!)

About an hour-and-a-half after having my post workout meal, I’ll eat my next meal, which – for me – is usually my second-to-last or last meal before I head to bed.

Happy eating!

Photo © Flickr by philroeder

Looking for a kick-ass workout in a short period of time? Find a track (or a non-busy road)!

Luckily, I live a half mile from a university and they have a nice outdoor track. Since the temperatures have finally started to climb and it’s (sort of) beginning to feel like spring in New England, I plan to do a workout outside of the gym this weekend!

The Workout

I’ll jog the half mile to the track as a warm up, then I’ll just sprint right into it – pun intended!

I’ll perform a short distance sprint of 100 meters and I’ll do high knees on the way back. After a 25-second rest, I’ll repeat this at least another four times, or whenever I’ve maxed myself out. If you want to make it more challenging for yourself, try making each sprint faster than your last one!

After the sprints and high knees, I’ll move on to burpees. A burpee is performed in the following way:

• Begin in a squat position with hands on the ground in front of you.
• Kick your feet back into a push-up position.
• Immediately return your feet to the squat position.
• Jump up as high as you can from the squat position.

This is one full rep. Instead of counting these, I’ll do as many as I can for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds. I’ll repeat this for a total of 2-3 minutes.

Lastly, I’ll do squats with side shuffles. Since it’s bodyweight, I’ll likely perform outside of my normal 12-15 rep range and shoot for 20-25 reps, followed immediately by side shuffles. I’ll aim to complete five sets of these – or, again, until I max myself out.

As a cool down, I’ll either jog or walk back to my house! The workout should only take me 20-30 minutes to complete.

Do you have a track workout you do? Share it with me and other readers in the comment engine below!

1. Keep it Simple

When if comes to lifting weights, you don’t need to overcomplicate matters — at least, not at first. Once you become an advanced lifter, you can focus on more difficult lifts and rep/set schemes, but for now, simplicity is your goal. Focus on lifts that target your major muscle groups first, such as your chest, back, and legs. You can then narrow your program down to smaller, stabilizer muscles. Here are some easy lifts for each major area of the body:

Chest: Bench press, incline press, decline press, pushups

Back: Seated row, bench pull, cable row, lat pulldowns

Legs: Leg press, squats, knee extensions, hamstring curls, calf raises

Arms: Biceps curls, triceps pushdowns, shoulder raises, dips

Abs/Core: situps, weighted crunches, Russian twists, back extensions

2. Aim for Balance

Hit each of these areas of the body every time you go to the gym to promote balance. When you get some experience, you’ll want to focus on one are of the body during one session and then allow one to two days of rest while your focus on other areas. But for now, pick one or two exercises for each major area each session. If you focus only on your chest muscles, for example, it’s easy to develop a hunched posture that places excessive pressure on the thoracic spine.

3. Warm Up and Cool Down

Always start your workout with at least 10 minutes of cardio before you lift to get your heart rate and body temperature up. Mix up the cardio as well. Jog one day, bike another, and row on the third. I can’t tell you how many people I see in the gym who don’t warm up before working out, only to complain of nagging tweaks and aches in their bodies later on. You know you’re sufficiently warmed up if there is sweat dripping down your forehead.

Also, cool down following a lifting session by stretching. This helps initiate the recovery process and can improve the elasticity of your muscles. Perform about two to three separate static (holding the position in one place) stretches for each major body area. Hold stretches for a minimum of 10 seconds and repeat.

4. Use Machines

I never recommend machines to anyone except absolute beginners, but for safety and learning purposes, start out only using these helpful pieces of equipment. Machines typically have pictures of the muscle groups they target, making exercise selection fairly simple, and they come with a significantly lower risk of injury. If you want serious results, you’ll have to forget about machines later on, however.

5. Progress Slowly

There’s no need to rush it. Focus on the quality of your lifts versus how much you are lifting or how fast you are progressing. Start out by performing two, nonconsecutive weightlifting sessions each week. For the first month, focus on very light weights and don’t worry about increasing the load. Just perform each lift slowly and with an even tempo, making sure to use a full range of motion.

First Week Program

Here’s a sample program to get you started for your first week:

Session 1

10 minute jog on treadmill

5 minutes of dynamic stretching (arm circles, leg swings, windmills, toe touches, torso rotations)

3 sets of 10 reps of: bench press, lat pulldowns, leg press, dips

10 minutes of static stretching

Notes: allow 2 minutes of rest between sets, 3-5 minutes between exercises. Use about 50-60 percent of your maximal load for each lift.

Session 2

15 minute elliptical

5 minutes of dynamic stretching

3 X 10: Incline press, seated row, squats, decline press, calf raises, weighted crunches

10 minutes of static stretching

Notes: allow 2 minutes of rest between sets, 3-5 minutes between exercises. Use about 50-60 percent of your maximal load for each lift.

1. Garmin Forerunner 910XT

Why: It’s really, really cool. With all the features of its predecessors, the 910 XT is sleeker, smaller, and has a number of additional functions the previous versions don’t. Most of the previous GPS watches were incredibly bulky, making the watch awkward and annoying — especially if you plan to wear it when not working out. Plus, may people complained that sweat around the wrist caused the watch to malfunction (something I know firsthand from paddling). Apparently the 910XT no longer has that problem, and its barometric altimeter can help improve the mapping data during ascents/descents. Plus, the swim mapping features can be transferred to the kayak stroke — which is perfect for me. At a retail price of $449, however, this is not a cheap toy.

2. A Juicer

Why: Anyone who’s read my posts knows I’m not really into fad diets, but I’ve seen variations of the juice-diet work firsthand. My sister, my sister’s boyfriend, and my mom have all lost over 20 lbs. on juice diets, and have never looked or felt better. I’ve had the juice blends, and they’re quite tasty. If you’re looking for a quick and convenient way to pack an amazing amount of nutrients into a small, low-calorie meal, I highly recommend “juicing.” Juicers range from about $75-$200.

3. Vibram Five Fingers Bikilla LS Shoes

Why: I’ve begun to see these shoes more and more in gyms and on local trails and running routes. Designed to mimc the barefoot marathon runners of Kenya and Ethiopia, I’ve known many people who swear by these and will never return to regular running shoes. Evidently barefoot running, when executed properly, is better for the foot’s natural arch and curvature and many people say these shoes are substantially more comfortable than more traditional versions. Vibram’s latest version was recently named one of the top fitness products of 2011 by Health.com. You can generally find these for under $100.

4. A Lifetime Supply of MET-Rx Bars

Why: I tend to favor “real” food, such as roasted seeds, nuts, and fruit slices to boost my energy during long workouts, but I’ve also used MET-Rx bars for years. As I’ve posted in prior articles, you don’t need nearly as much protein to balance the protein cell degeneration cycle following a workout as nutrition suppliers would have you believe, and carbohydrates are probably more important both during and following a workout. Therefore, high-protein bars aren’t of much value, in my opinion. But I’ve always thought the classic MET-Rx bars have the best flavor and consistency of any workout bar on the market — much more easily dissolvable than the rubbery Power Bar. I recommend these if you don’t have time to prepare a real snack for your workout or training. The classic MET-Rx bar was also named Askmen.com’s top-rated fitness bar in 2011. The chocolate chip cookie dough flavor is my favorite, and a box is about $20.

5. A GoProHD Camera

Why: Ok, this isn’t really a fitness product, but it’s still a really fun toy. The world’s leading sports action camera, the GoPro is ideal for the extreme sports athlete who wants to recapture and relive their physical heroics. So why am I interested in it? Well, I am a kayaker and I’ve found that stopping to pull out a camera from my waterproof compartment is a bit of a hassle. Plus, most waterproof cameras take pretty poor pictures. While the GoProHD cannot match that of a really good non-waterproof camera, it’s close. Plus, with a camera mounted on either my boat or my person, I always feel inspired to work out harder and venture into areas I wouldn’t normally go. This may work for you, too. Like the Garmin, it’s pricey at just under $300.

There’s my list. I’d love to hear about your favorite fitness products as well. And if you’d like to know where you can send me gifts, please send me a message.

Circadian Rhythms

Circadian rhythms are the mental, physical, and behavioral changes that revolve around the 24-hour cycle of our daily lives. Similar to the concept of the “biological clock,” our circadian rhythms are primarily influenced by light cues. All living organisms have circadian rhythms, including people, primates, pets, and plants. Circadian rhythms can affect our body’s sleep cycles, hormone levels, body temperature, and a number of other physiological processes.

Effects on Exercise

In their review, Weipeng, Newton, and McGuigan (2011) found that circadian rhythms can influence your exercise results in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most significant finding was that enhanced exercise performance typically occurred in subjects during the early evening hours. These researchers also found that individual hormones, specifically testosterone and the stress hormone, cortisol, had their own natural circadian rhythms. Past research has shown a direct relationship between these hormones and exercise, with higher levels of testosterone boosting exercise performance, and cortisol hindering it.

Circadian rhythms were also significantly related to body temperature. Past research has demonstrated that prolonged warmups that allow the body to reach higher temperatures resulted in increased power output and decreased fatigue during exercise.

Finally, while Weipeng and colleagues did not discuss the issue of light, other research (e.g., Leproult et al., 1997) has demonstrated that increased lighting can enhance exercise performance, although this finding was significantly related to the amount of exposure time.

What This Means for You

Most people already know that warming up before exercising is wise, as it can prevent injuries. However, increasing body temperature appears to have a hormonal effect that can have you working out longer and harder than you ever thought possible. While each person has his or her own chronotype, or a specific, innate, time of day at which they function best, your hormonal profile is likely to be more conducive to optimal exercise performance during the twilight hours of the day, under bright lights, and after a sufficient warm-up.

If you’re a morning exerciser and find yourself in a lull, try working out in the evening. If you never warm-up before you hit the weights, make sure to get that body temperature up first. Finally, get plenty of sleep. Your body’s master clock, known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, controls the production of melatonin, the chemical that makes you feel sleepy. The SCN is located just above the optic nerve, which receives information about the amount of light coming in. When under dim lights, you are more likely to feel sleepy than when under the bright neon lights in the gym. The amount of sleep you receive has a significant effect on your hormone levels, which can be the difference between a good workout day and a bad one.

Graur Razvan Ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There is much confusion in fitness centres regarding what the best methods are for reducing body fat. So many people are using terrible training and nutritional protocols that I cringe every time I step foot in a gym! This article aims to help abolish some of the common misconceptions people have regarding fat loss, as well as offer some appropriate guidelines to achieving a more toned physique.

If I eat less and less, I will weigh less and less!

This is NOT the ideal method towards achieving fat loss! By starving yourself, you allow anabolic hormone production that is responsible for metabolism to go down. While it may be true that you will lose some weight initially, your metabolism controls the total amount of calories you burn on a day to day basis. Allowing your metabolism to slow down will actually make it more difficult to burn fat! There are several studies which examine this phenomenon. For example, one study held by the American Society of Clinical Nutrition measured the resting metabolic rate to lean body mass ratio in 6 six women over 3 weeks on a very low calorie diet. The study found that resting metabolic rate to lean body mass ratio decreased to an average of 82% of the original values within just 3 weeks! Assuming you had a basal metabolic rate of 2000 calories a day (the amount calories your body burns in a day), at 82% of that you would only be burning 1640 calories per day! So assuming you were to starve yourself, you may be able to lose weight at the beginning, but your metabolic rate would slow down and cause you to easily put the weight back on.

Graur Razvan Ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If I do Strength Training I will get Hyuuuuge!

Your body composition will change according to the amount of calories you put into it. People who are looking to burn fat are usually on a light to moderate daily caloric restriction and restricting calories is not conducive to muscle growth. For instance, you can strength train all you want, but you will not gain inches on your biceps if you are eating salads all day. However, strength training does have its usefulness in a fat loss program in that it can help to increase metabolism, and maintain fat free mass (lean muscle).

Aerobics are the Only Exercise I Need to Lose Weight!

Aerobics are an effective weight loss tool, but only when used in conjunction with strength training. Excessive aerobic exercise will cause you to lose muscle mass which is responsible for giving your body a healthy and defined look. So in other words, while you may be able to lose weight doing exclusively aerobic exercise, your body fat percentage will remain high because you will lose muscle mass as well. Strength training must be used in conjunction with cardio in order to attain a lean physique. Furthermore, the higher the intensity of the exercise protocol, the greater the effect on exercise post-oxygen consumption (EPOC). Your metabolism increases as your oxygen consumption increases, so what you ideally want is a large in increase in EPOC after exercise. Therefore, if you want to optimize your cardio, the best way to go about it is using high intensity exercise methods. I have my clients include interval training as cardio in conjunction with weight training. Aerobics alone are not as effective!

Guidelines for Effective Fat Loss

• DO NOT starve yourself! Your body needs calories in order to maintain a healthy metabolism and hormone production.
• DO perform strength training. A full body program which utilizes compound movements (exercises which work several muscle groups) will increase metabolism as well as maintain fat free mass.
• When performing cardio it is best to use high intensity interval training for fat loss. This method elicits a greater oxygen consumption response within the body which will in turn burn fat.

References

Effects of strength or aerobic training on body composition, resting metabolic rate, and peak oxygen consumption in obese dieting subjects

http://www.ajcn.org/content/66/3/557.short

Energy-metabolism adaptation in obese adults on a very-low-calorie diet

http://www.ajcn.org/content/53/4/826.short

Strength training increases resting metabolic rate and norepinephrine levels in healthy 50- to 65-yr-old men http://jap.physiology.org/content/76/1/133.short

The effects of intensity of exercise on excess postexercise oxygen consumption and energy expenditure in moderately trained men and women http://www.springerlink.com/content/rgk7421182182pjm/

Remember that core stability training is not the same as performing crunches or other traditional abdominal exercises. While these exercises are effective for improving abdominal strength, they do not improve stability in the lumbopelvic region of the body to the extent of specific ore stability exercises.

Free Weight Core Stability Training

This form of core stability training is performed on stable surfaces with the intention of increasing core strength and power. These exercises are simple and can be performed by just about anyone.

Examples of classic core stability exercises include the plank, side plank, bridge, and superman. Another great core stability exercise is the overhead press, as the muscles of the rectus abdominus must remain activities to maintain posture while the weight is supported overhead.

Perform these classic exercises unilaterally (using only one side of your body) to further improve the core stability effects. For example, perform a one-hand overhead press while standing on one foot.

Unstable Surface Core Stability Training

These exercises are performed on balance boards or air discs. Research has demonstrated higher core muscle activity when performing core exercises on unstable surfaces, as motor units within the smaller, stabilizer muscles must engage to not only lift weight, but maintain posture.

You can turn just about any traditional free weight exercise into a core stability exercise by using an unstable surface. For example, perform biceps curls or shoulder extensions on air discs to engage the core region. The BOSU balance trainer is also a highly effective device for improving core stability. Perform the plank with your feet and hands on air discs to increase the physical demand and core requirements of this exercise.

Swiss Ball Exercises

The Swiss ball is another too that forces the core muscles to activate at a higher rate to maintain spinal posture throughout any exercise. According to Cosio-Lima and colleagues (2003), using a Swiss ball to perform classic free weight exercises results in significantly greater activation of the core musculature.

As with air discs and the BOSU balance trainer, perform the plank, side plank, or overhead press on a Swiss ball. Try maintaining balance on the Swiss ball with your feet off the ground, and then perform shoulder presses, curls, and chest presses to promote core stability.

Medicine Ball Passes

A lesser-used strategy for enhancing core stability is to perform medicine ball throws. You will need a partner to perform many of these exercises, but you can also throw the ball against the wall.

Try the classic medicine ball twist exercise by sitting on the floor with your feet crossed and slightly off the ground. Holding the medicine ball, twist from side to side so you feel a workout in your abdominal muscles. For increased activation of the core musculature, perform this exercise on a Swiss ball (make sure to have your partner help balance the ball). Additional medicine ball exercises include kneeling passes and one leg twist passes, which can be performed on a Swiss ball or suing balance discs as well.