Protect Your Back, Strengthen Your Core

Saturday Dec 14, 2013

 Prehab:

Monster walks 2×20′
Wall Extensions x15
Fire Hydrants x15

Warm Up:

Partner Run 400 m with Wall Ball (20/14)
Junk Yard Dog x5 reps
Partner Wall Balls x20
Partner Burpees x20 

Strength:

 15 minutes to establish 1 RM Turkish Get up

 Notes:  Use dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells.  A legit 1 RM need only be performed on one side and must return to start position after standing up.

Team Conditioning!

 Team of 3:

3 Rounds for time:

50 Power cleans (135/95)

1500 meter Row (must switch every 250 meters)

*One partner works at a time.

Cool Down: 

Max effort L-sit (rings) x3
Max effort Handstand Hold x3
Pigeon Stretch x1′
Couch Stretch x1′

Mama Cooney rocking Liam’s stroller as she also wins a max plank hold contest

 I have been getting a lot of complaints lately from our members about low back pain. Our programing can be quite challenging but I am truly convinced, that if you did as many “core” exercises as you did squatting or Olympic Lifting, you would never experience back pain. You also would have less shoulder/knee/hip pain because in order to have distal mobility, you first must have proximal stability. Oh and you would also improve your performance with every other movement that we do it the gym. To put it simply, if you lose your midline stability, everything else will breakdown. The solution then seems easy enough right? Strengthen your core (abs, hip flexors, glutes). I challenge you to spend more time thinking about keeping that hollow position when you perform pull ups, keep your back flat on the ground when doing hollow holds, and don’t immediately grab the weight lifting belt when your warming up your squats. Let your core naturally strengthen itself by doing exercises correctly and them supplement that six pack even more by working on one core strengthening exercise a day. I’ve including a link to some videos, but keep in mind, these only scratch the surface to what else is out there. If you have any more questions, always feel free to contact me at steve@paradisocrossfit.com

Core Exercises