Functional Core Training

My schedule has been exceptionally busy this week.  Papers/articles to write, presentations to prepare, marketing to do, etc.  No complaints-I’m fortunate to spend the large majority of my day doing things I’m passionate about.  But because I’m limited on time, I’m going to keep it short and sweet today.

More on Core Training…
Core training receives more publicity than any other aspect of training.  I’ll spare you (for now) my long rant about how most people fall victim to the brilliant marketing of worthless products.  The fact is, even people with a great understanding of how to train the core for its true functions, stability and force transfer, still miss out on one thing.  In many instances, the core functions reactively.  In other words, some movement (sensory input) causes the core muscles to fire (motor output) to produce stability.  While I love planking, those exercises are limited in their ability to train the core to be reactive.  I go into this in a bit more detail in the Core Training Session (which is available for free download for a limited by entering your name and email address in the box to the right) of my Off-Ice Performance Training Course.  Over the next couple days, I’ll be posting my favorite reactive core exercises.  You’ll probably notice some similarities with other exercises I’ve presented in the past. Stay tuned…

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Must-See Defense

I’ve been a Flyers fan for as long as I could remember.  We’ve had our good years and our bad years, but one thing always seems to remain constant-just about every time there is a Flyers’ player in a highlight, it’s a poor defenseman or goalie on the losing end of a highlight reel play.  Not this time!  In all my years in hockey, I have never seen anyone pull this off in a game…

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Rotational Core Training and FREE Gift!

As promised…my favorite rotational core training exercise.  This is actually an ANTI-rotation exercise, developed by and named after physical therapist John Pallof.  Remember that the primary function of the core musculature is to provide stability in the presence of internal and external forces causing movement.  Essentially all this exercise involves is setting up something (like a cable column, resistance band, or mature partner) to provide a rotational force and actively resisting it.  Try to avoid just throwing a resistance band handle around a door knob, lest you are preparing for an America’s Funniest Home Video entry (trust me…DONT do that).

[quicktime]http://kevinneeld.com/videos/Pallof%20Press%20Hold.mov[/quicktime]  

You basically want to keep your hips and shoulders square, and centered between your feet during the exercise.  I’ve found that thinking of “spreading the floor” with your feet helps to maintain this position.  This exercise can be performed for reps (10 out and ins), time (30s hold out), or both (3 x 5s in/5s out).  Obviously the more time spent out, the harder.  I prefer the 30s holds, but play around with it and decide for yourself.

I’m currently giving away a copy of the session on Core Training from my new Off-Ice Training eCourse.  The session goes into more detail about some of the things I’ve talked about over the last week and has a ton of exercises in it.  Considering how many myths and poor training methods surround core training, you won’t want to miss this!  Just enter your first name and email address in the top right hand corner of my site and I’ll send you the download link ASAP.   

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Hockey and Love Handles

On Wednesday I introduced the Front Plank and went over why it’s an essential part of any hockey training program.  The Side Plank (video above) adds a greater emphasis to the lateral musculature of the core, including the muscles underneath what most people refer to as their “love handles.”  Will it help get rid of your love handles? No.  A clean diet and well-designed training program will, but no single exercise will ever get you there (note: be wary of the people that say otherwise…).  Regardless, this is another essential exercise for hockey players as the muscles worked in this movement help maintain pelvic stability (think hip control).  If you’re unsure what pelvic stability means, just know that pelvic stability is necessary to move efficiently (i.e. be explosive, save energy and minimize injury risk).

Adam is a great model for this because, like almost all hockey players, his hip flexors are very tight.  It may be hard to tell from the video, but he’s bent at the hip a little.  Try these coaching cues to help your athletes (or yourself) perform the exercise correctly:

  1. Keep your hips up
  2. “Squeeze your butt” to push your hips all the way through  
  3. Stay straight from your shoulders down through your ankles
  4. Stack your hips so your top hip is right on top of your bottom hip

This is just the tip of the iceberg for core training and hockey players.  Stay tuned for my favorite rotational core exercise…

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The Front Plank

On Monday, I wrote about why the core should be trained for stability and to resist movement, opposed to cause it.  One of the most fundamental core stability exercises is the front plank.  

The front plank is such a simple exercise that I think its merit is often overlooked.  In my opinion, planking is essential to any core stability program.  Beginners should use this as one of their main exercises; advanced athletes should still include a set or two as part of their warm-up.  There are more than enough variations to keep athletes progressing through this.  

Coach your athletes to brace their stomachs as if someone was going to kick them…and then kick them.  I know what you’re thinking, but it’s the only way they’ll learn.  If your an athlete and you don’t train in a team setting, I’m sure you can find someone at the gym that will be willing to help you out here.  It is also important to keep the hips level with the shoulders and the eyes looking straight down.  Three sets of 15 second holds is a great place to start with this exercise.  Progress to holding for 30 seconds, and then begin to add an external load or lift one leg up.  This can also be done on the ice, which steps up the intensity a bit as the players have to stabilize against the added weight of the equipment and keep their feet or forearms from slipping.

Till next time… 

 

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