The 3 Moves You Need for a Bullet Prove Core
When you think of your core muscles, you probably think of your abs. But, more importantly, the core is what keeps you from twisting yourself into an injury.
If you think you don’t twist much during the day, that’s where you’re wrong. Every time you take a step, your body shifts and wants to twist towards the leg you are stepping forward. It’s your core muscles that prevent this potentially unsafe motion from taking place. To develop this stability-enhancing core strength, there’s nothing better than anti-rotational exercises.
Starting an Anti-Rotation Core Program
Chances are, you are already doing a few anti-rotation exercises, and you don’t even know it. Any one-leg exercise will target this hardcore. Here’s a list of the few you should be doing:
Single-Leg Deadlifts
Performed with or without weight, single-leg deadlifts are a prime example of a movement that requires core strength and engagement to prevent unwanted twisting. The goal is to keep your hips level and square to the floor throughout the exercise, even as you hinge from the hips and change your body’s position, all while balanced on one leg.
Slosh Pipe Walking Lunges
Doing walking lunges while holding a water pipe or slosh pipe adds an additional challenge because the water constantly shifts within the pipe. This forces you to brace your core to resist your body’s natural rotational inclinations as well as the changing pull of the water sloshing within the tube.
Single-Leg Cable Chest Press
Almost any single-arm upper-body exercise, particularly those targeting the chest, upper back, or shoulders, could be considered an anti-rotational exercise. For instance, single-arm kettlebell presses and renegade rows are two prime examples of movements that force the core to engage to prevent unwanted twisting. But if you’re looking for a challenge, try the single-leg cable chest press. This movement forces you to brace against two separate forces — the cable that’s providing resistance for the chest press on one side of your body, and the single-leg balance on the opposite side of your body.