THE KAYAKERS CORE – Part 8: Fundamental exercises for core stabilser strength
Introduction
Before we get into some specific core exercises, let me start by saying that almost every exercise in the gym can, and should be a core exercise.
If an exercise is performed with good form and a well-integrated and well-balanced core, then the core will be working to support the movement and spread the forces throughout the body. This is essential for being able to lift extremely heavy and avoid injury.
When it comes to specific core training, there are hundreds of different exercises to choose from, and a balanced program should include a variety of different types: static, dynamic, rotational, pelvic control, balance, dissociation, and breathing.
But where to start?
That depends on why you want to improve core strength. If you are trying to build a strong core for paddling, then my answer to this question is always – by building a strong stable foundation, in this case with basic exercises which strengthen the deep stabilising muscles around the spine, and teach correct alignment and bracing of the core – where full diaphragmatic breathing is mantained.
This is essential to paddling as it:
- helps build a strong/naturally stiff frame for the water phase (that doesn’t require the movers to take over a stabilising role which can limit rotation and breathing, among other things)
- supports good posture in the boat which allows for efficient technique
- aids the transfer of power from the legs to the torso
- distributes/spreads forces throughout the body (to prevent overloading specific joints and specific muscles and allow for an efficient paddling technique
However, if you don’t care about paddling, and are just trying to build an impressive looking core for Instagram, then you want to focus strengthening the external core movers instead (in which case you can skip this post as you’ll need a lot of crunches and dynamic core exercises).
To build strong stable core stabilisers, I favour exercises which take the arms and shoulders out of the equation wherever possible because when the movers are not being loaded, this leads to higher activation of the core stabilisers. Also because highly trained paddlers have often found a variety of ingenious ways to take over exercises designed for the core, with their strong arms, shoulders, upper back, pecs, or hip flexors.
Note – these exercises won’t automatically help build core stabiliser strength. The athlete first needs to know how to activate the the deep muscles of the core, primarily the transversus abdominis, while simulatneously switching off the core movers (particularly the rectus abdominis, 6-pack) nd maintaining diaphragmatic breathing. The warm up exercises and first two isometrics can be useful for helping learn this if performed well/under supervision.
While many of these exercises might seem easy/basic, performing them with good form can be challenging even for experienced athletes. To be of value, striving towards perfect form should always be the goal, and exercises should always be modified if you or your athlete can’t get close to good form reasonably quickly.
Do the simple things perfectly, if you want to do the difficult things well.
Strength, Control, Integration, & Activation
As firmly establishd in the othr articles of this series, core strength alone doesn’t guarantee any benefit to sports performance. Athletes always need to train in a way that:
- promotes appropriate levels of stiffness in the correct muscles at the correct times
- keeps the core integrated with the rt of th body at all times
- fires muscles in the correct sequence
- allows the joints to be in the correct position to work optimally.
Please note the exercises that follow are not intended as a complete core session, it’s just a collection of foundational exercises to help athletes build core stabiliser strength. Times are only a rough indication – if the exercise is unfamiliar, the time may need to be reduced considerably.
Warm Up
The focus of the warm up exercises is to engage and connect with the Transversus Abdominis while switching off the 6-pack muscles, and finding a neutral spinal position.
1. Swiss Ball Tension-Release
Sit on a swiss ball with both feet firmly on the ground. Tense all of upper body muscles including the core, cleanching your fists and lifting your shoulders up. Breath in deeply and hold your breath for 3 counts. Breath out quickly releasing all the tension in your body. If the deep core stabilisers are switched on, the shoulders and arms will relax down, but you should finish with a natural upright posture with the spine stacked in a neutral position. If the deep stabilisers are switched off, the body will collapse on release. Repeat as necessary.
2. Swiss ball Starfish
Starfish A
Starfish B
This warm up exercise is meant to dissociate the arms from the core and turn on the deep stabilisers. The belly/core and legs should remain motionless and relaxed throughout.
A) Hold both arms out in front, then slowly move one arm out to the side and return it to center Repeat on both sides.
B) Lift both arms above the head and slowly lower one arm down until it reaches the ball, return the arm to the top and repeat on the other side.
Once these two variations are stable, you can play around with different combinations of arm positioning and planes of motion.
Flat back check
Before attempting exercise 3. on the warm up list, or the first two isometric exerises below, check you or your athlete is able to position the full length of the back flat on ground. (If it’s not possible, then it’s probably time for some mobility and/or pelvic control work).
Lie on the ground with the knees bent and feet flat on the ground. If there is space under the lower back, tilt the pelvis to remove this space. If this is too difficult, bring the knees towards the chest to remove the space, then slowly lower the legs back to the floor without losing the connection between the lower back and the floor. Remember to keep the 6-pack muscles relaxed and switch on the deep stabilisers.
If you or your athlete struggles to activate the stabilisers during the basic form of this exercise (video in the link above), they may need reminding to relax the 6-pack. It can also be helpful to place the fingertips on your hip bones to check the pelvis isn’t rolling around.
Isometric holds
What is an Isometric hold?
An isometric hold is a static exercise which places the muscle/s under tension for an extended period of time, without continual lengthening and shortening.
The two core isometric exercises at the top of my list focus on strengthening the deep stabilisers, in particular, the often neglected Transversus Abdominis, and other lower abdominal muscles.
These exercises can be very humbling for anyone with weak anterior stabilisers (a common issue with paddlers), making them a good test to pick up core imbalances with experienced athletes. (Excessive shaking is often a sign that the movers are working hard trying to stabilise instead of the stabilisers).
1. The 45 degree leg hold
Nadica demonstrates the perfect, effortless 45 degree leg hold with a correctly braced core*
Instructions: Start lying on the floor with the knees in towards the chest, make sure the back is pressed into the floor, then slowly stretch out legs to 45 degrees and hold. The full length of the back should remain long and pressed into the floor at all times. You should be able to comfortably keep talking throughout.
Cues: let your back melt into the floor, keep the legs straight, lengthen the spine, breathe, let the 6-pack relax, expand the core
Check: the back and shoulders don’t lift from the floor and that the shoulders stay relaxed (and that you can talk comfortably during the exercise)
Sets and reps: 4 sets on a timer: Beginner: 30-45”, Junior: 1’-1’30, Elite: 2’00+
Easier: raise the legs slightly
More difficult: increase the duration
* If the athlete struggles to place the entire back flat on the floor, they may suck the stomach inwards to try to flatten the back. Instead they should tilt the pelvis and expand the core just as Nadica does.
2. The hollow body hold
The no. 1 staple of gymnasts core training, the hollow body hold is a full body exercise that focuses on strengthening the deep stabilisers and lower abdomen. Among others things, it can help with improving strict pull up form. In contrast to the 45 degree leg hold, the shoulders are lifted from the floor and legs are lower, with toes pointed.
Cues: pin the lower back into the floor, tighten the legs*, point toes, stretch out through the fingertips, let the core expand
Check: the lower back never lifts from the floor
Sets and reps: 4 sets on a timer. Beginner: 15-30” (in the beginning, it can be useful to do 10”on/3”rest or similar) Junior: 30-45″, Elite: 45”-1’
Easier:
- arms by sides + knees bent
- arms above head with knees bent
- arms at sides with extended legs
More difficult: increase time
Variations: hollow body rocks, weighted holds
* If an experienced athlete has a habit of over stabilising with the movers, they may over activate the core movers when they squeeze the legs and stretch the arms (you’ll be able to tell because they won’t be able to talk and will start shaking or going blue in the face very quickly). If this is the case, they first need to learn to engage the deep core muscles while relaxing the movers. It can helpful to allow the legs, arms, and bellly relax until the the athlete has better connection with the deep stabilisers (legs and shoulders should still remain elevated off the floor).
You’ll find more in the Coaches Corner below on why I think the hollow body and 45 degree holds should be perfected before any kind of leg lifts are added to a kayak strength training program.
3. Plank
Despite being possibly the most well known core exercise, the common plank is often performed with poor form (and can be easily cheated by experienced athletes). However if executed well, this anti-flexion exercise works the deep core stabilsers and can be easily adpated for different levels.
Top Tip: For juniors and anyone struggling with poor form/banana backs, squeezing a ball or foam roller between legs can help activate the core correctly.
Time: Beginner: 30”+ Junior: 1’+, Elite: 1’30+
Basic variations: high (on hands), low (on elbows)
Advanced Variations: Long (hands in front of the shoulders), feet raised, swiss ball under hands/elbows, swiss ball under feet, walk outs, shoulder taps, weighted, plank side-walking (to name a few of many).
Cues: push the floor away, engage the legs and glutes, expand the core
Check: don’t collapse into the wrists, shoulders, or lower back, and don’t hold yourself up with the arms and shoulders – you should feel that the floor and core lift you up.
4. Side Plank
Side plank variations are typically prescribed as anti-lateral flexion for the core (to prevent side bending). However for many athletes they can be more of a workout for the hips and shoulders.
Body aligment is everything with this exercise. Your entire body should line up over a straight line on the floor (like a plank of wood that has been turned on it’s side…).
Basic variations: high (on hand), low (on elbow)
Easier: spread the feet intead of stacking them. If this is still too heavy, bring the knees to the ground.
Advanced Variations: You’ll find hundreds of side-plank variations on YouTube. If you choose a dynamic version, make sure which ever limbs are moving are dissociated from the core, and the core remains stable.
Dynamic Exercises
Dynamic exercises require the coordinated interaction of numerous muscle groups. Therefore they athlete should make sure they are accustomed to engaging the deep core stabilisers and keeping the spine neutral, before loading these exercises with heavy weights.
5. Barbell Squat
Often overlooked in paddler’s strength training programs in favour of the deadlift, the barbell squat works the whole body, and is a great exercise for many reasons.
Whilst not a specific core exercise, it engages the Erector Spinae, Tranversus Abdominis, Rectus abdominis and obliques and makes this list because it requires good core stabiliser strength and integration to maintain a neutral spinal position throughout the movement.
The barbell squat also requires good mobility of the ankles, hips, shoulders (external rotation!), and thoracic spine. Poor mobility in one or more of these areas (common with paddlers) will almost always lead to poor form, and can place excessive tension on the lower back and knees. (However that shouldn’t be a reason for squat avoidvance – it’s just another reason for focused mobility work).
With a heavier focus on the quadriceps than a deadlift, the barbell squat is also helpful for balancing out the legs which tend to be rear chain dominant in highly trained paddlers (which can negatively affect pelvic positioning, core integration, and lead to knee issues).
When squatting, check:
- ribs and core are properly stacked before lifting the bar of the rack (and remain stacked and aligned throughout)
- weight stays evenly distributed over tripod feet at throughout the movement (tripod = heel, big toe, little toe)
- elbows stayed aligned with the torso and tucked into the body as much as possible
- knees track in line with the feet.
(Paddlers often worry they’ll get huge quads if they start squatting. Unless they decide to remove all other exercises from their strength program and start squatting massive weights 6 day a week, this is highly unlikely.)
6. Incline weighted sit up
This exercise focuses on strengthening the deep lower abdominals and lower back (not the 6-pack). The hands should hold the weight plate, but the weight should be supported by the core, not gripped by the hands/arms. For this reason I prefer athletes use a large weight plate that allows the shoulders sit in a natural position.
This is NOT a crunch!!! Unlike a regular sit-up or crunch, in the incline sit-up the back/spine should remain neutral and move as a straight unit.
Sets and reps: 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps
Weight: max weight the athlete can mage while keeping a neutral spine.
Check: arms stay relaxed, spine remains neutral on the way up, glutes activate before the lift.
Load Distribution/ Off-set training
Offset training places weight on just one side of the body. This teaches the body to distribute and balance the forces throughout the entire body in order to keep alignment, an essential skill for sprint kayaking.
Whilst being a more complex form of training, it can still be used with kids and juniors as long as the load is kept light enough, and not placed too far away from the body.
With all off-set exercises, the further the weight/load is away from the body, the more difficult the exercise will be.
7. Off-set squatting
Beginner
Advanced
Beginner Variation: One-sided Kettlebell squat
Advanced variation: Heavy Barbell offset squat (shoes OFF)
Type: anti-flexion, off-set
Cue: Before you start take time to imagine that your body will create the missing weight (rather than fighting to stop your body collapsing on the side of the weight).
Check: core doesn’t collapse to the side, and the pelvis stays level
Sets and reps: 4 x 6-10 reps on both sides. Elite: around 50% of 1RM regular back squat.
To increase difficulty: increase the weight, and place it further away from the body (ue a longer bar)
8. The Pallof Press
You’ll find more below in the Coaches Corner on why this exercise didn’t make my original list for this post (and why it’s No. 2 on another less favourable list). But if done well, it is a great anti-rotation exercise, so here it is, the Pallof press
Stand at 90 degrees to the cable/band with the feet slightly wider than hip width apart*. Hold the band with both hands just below shoulder height. Move the hands slowly backwards and forwards, pausing for 2-3 seconds when the arms are extended. Keep the body completely still.
Type: Anti-rotation, off-set
Warm up: Arm dissociation exercises with a stable core (something simple like arms swings with a static core)
Basic variations: static arms, moving arms
Make it more difficult: by narrowing the stance
Advanced variations: split stance, half-kneeling,
Cues: let the arms move freely, feel your feet in contact with the floor
*I prefer standing to kneeling Pallofs, as they help connect the core to the feet.
9. The Bermuda Triangle
This is an exercise which tests the ability to integrate the deep core stabilisers to support a weight held in the hand. It requires the core to off-set the weight and distribute the forces to prevent side-leaning or bending. This should NOT turn into an arm or shoulder strength exercise (the weight should feel like it dissapears into the body). If executed correctly, it will be challenging for the front and rear of the lower core, and the opposite leg will be very active.
Before working on this exercise, make sure you’ve done warm up exercise 2. (starfish) above to check you can move the arm to the side while keeping the core stable and quiet.
Instructions: Sit on a swiss ball with both feet flat on the ground (making sure you feel the whole foot in contact with the floor). Take a light weight in one hand and bring the arm straight out in front of you. Slowly move the arm out to your side keeping your cor motionless, then hold th weight at your side for 10″-1′. Repeat on both sides, working more on the weaker side if there is one (which is very common).
The hips (pelvis) and shoulders should stay level throughout the exercise, and you should be able to draw a vertical straight line through the middle of your body. I highly recommend using a mirror to check this!
During this exercise the whole body should support the weight and distribute the force.
If you hold the weight with the arm only (L), even a very light weight will become heavy VERY quickly. Because there is no support from the body, it can also place unecessary stress on the shoulder. (It’s the stress equation from PART 1)
Forces when the weight is held by the arm only
Bermuda Triangle forces – integrated core distributes weight
If instead you imagine a giant (Bermuda) triangle (R) that extends from the opposite foot, up to the opposite shoulder and across to the weight, and then use everything inside this triangle to support the weight, a light weight should feel relatively effortless for the arm and shoulder to hold.
When the core isn’t well intgrated, the athlete will usually do one of the following to protect the shoulder and arm:
A) tilt the pelvis down on the side the weight is being held, with all the weight going into the hip, losing good contact with the floor from the feet.
B) lean the body to the opposite side to counterbalance the weight.
C) collapse the side of the core (lateral flexion)
Easier: lighten the weight, and if it’s still too difficult, make the lever shorter by bending the elbow to 90 degrees (with the hand up)
More difficult: increase the weight or time of the static hold. Put the feet together on a raised object, like sitting in the boat.
Note: this exercise will often show athletes’ preferred boat management strategy by the core. It is also good for picking up and working on asymmetries in core integration.
COACHES CORNER
When it comes to core training: Form is Everything!
Core exercises performed mindlessly with poor form are about as useful as a pair of ice cleats in the Sahara.
Poor form strengthens a wide range of undesirable compensation patterns, and exacerbates muscle imbalances and poor biomechanics. This makes it extremely difficult to integrate the core well into paddling technique or other movements in the gym.
If an athlete can’t perform a core exercise with good form (ie. with the correct muscles), then it’s too difficult or heavy, and a simplified version of that exercise should be used until the athlete has built foundational strength and/or activation patterns needed.
Cueing core exercises
When it comes to training core stability and strength, there are a few rampantly used cues which can be extremely unhelpful in regards if the athlete favours stabilising with the movers and doesn’t know how to brace correctly. These are:
- Lock/block
- Squeeze/tighten
- Brace
Whilst this may indeed be the outcome you would like your athlete to achieve, the athlete’s automatic response to these words will probably be to over activate the movers (which are much easier to feel working), especially the rectus abdominus (the 6-pack) often leading to restricted breathing, and poor stabilisation and bracing stratgies.
Instead can be useful to ask the athlete to imagine what the desired end result might feel like for the stabilisers (for example, ‘imagine your body is supported by the trunk of a giant tree running through your centre’).
Exercise selection
In general I tend to prioristise simple core exercises executed with good form over flashy exercises from Instagram. That being said, circus tricks definitely have their place in a session as a fun way to break up highly focused work on the basics, and to challenge the athlete with new skills. Just be careful, that you or your athlete don’t fall into the habit of spending a lot of time surviving complex (or simple) exercises by using the wrong muscle groups.
Core training, (like all training), should be as athlete specific as possible. Don’t waste time on things you or your athlete can already do well, instead work on exercises which target areas of weakness.
Arm dissociation vs. Arm support
With core exercises that involve the arms, it’s important that arms are dissociated from the core in order to move (which should be done by the movers), but still remain supported by the core, for the distribution of forces (which should be done by the deep core stabilisers).
Adding an instability element to core exercises
Adding an instability element to core exercises (like a Bosu ball, wobble cushion, TRX etc), does not necessarily make the exercise more challenging for the core stabilisers. The biggest stabilisation challenge with these exercises is for the joints closest to the object be it wrists, shoulders, feet, ankles. These exercises can be useful for developing proprioception and balance, but can also lead strong and experienced athletes to develop compensation/cheating patterns when it comes to activating the deep core stabilisers.
The problem with Pallof
When I made my original list for this post, I consciously didn’t include the Pallof press. Not because it’s not a good exercise, but because it ranks No. 2 on my list of Core Exercises Paddlers Perform Badly (or as Eric Cressey calls them ‘Good exercises gone bad’..).
But it’s a great exercise, so let’s first talk about why highly trained paddlers often struggle so much with it, while your average active grandma at the local gym, can perform it quite well.
To fully understand this let’s unwrap the history of how this exercise became popular. (You might not have been looking for a history lesson when you started reading this post, but if you bear with me, hopefully you’ll see why it’s relevant).
The Pallof Press was invented in 2005 by an American physiotherapist called John Pallof. He showed what he called the ‘Belly Press’ to his mates Eric Cressey and Tony Gentilcore of Cressey Performance, who told the world about it (and renamed it after John).
If you know anything about Cressey Performance, you’ll know that aside from Eric being known as ‘THE Shoulder Guy’ they are most famous for working with baseball players.
When baseball players generate force during both batting and pitching, the arms are not fixed in place, they move very freely. Baseball players still need a strong core to be able to transfer power from the legs and generate speed, but they are much more accustomed to dissociating the arms and allowing the scapula to move freely on a stable core during the work phase.
In contrast, when paddlers generate force (for the water phase) they generally lock their arms and scapula into the core. Associating shoulder and arm stiffness with core stiffness, is one of the reasons paddlers so often take over many core stabiliser exercises with the arms and shoulders.
This means that when a baseball player does a Pallof press they will most likely naturally dissociate the arms and make it the anti-rotational core exercise it was intended to be, but when a paddler does a Pallof press, they frequently turn it into an epic battle for the arms and shoulders leaving the deep core stabilisers switched off like a DVD player that has been sitting in the attic for the last 10 years…
What’s missing from this list (and why..)
Rotation exercises
Rotation exercises are of course extremely important for paddlers, however if performed without deep core stabilisation, they teach the athlete to stabilise with the movers, which in turn sets up poor rotational patterns. Therefore, I prefer to first work on fundamental core stabiliser strength, then place rotation exercises with either sport specific training on land, or elsewhere in the program.
Leg lifts/raises
Leg raises in all their forms (lying, metronome/windshield wipers, elbow supported, hanging, etc) are a common exercise prescribed to paddlers to address weak lower abdominals. Whilst leg raises can be a good exercise, they top my list as the:
No. 1 Core Exercise Paddlers Perform Extremely Badly
If an experienced athlete can’t do decent leg and hollow body holds, they probably lack lower abdominal and deep stabiliser strength (or don’t know how to engage it)– this will lead them to will execute leg raises by compensating in an infinite number of different ways (contact me if you want a list – this post is excessively long already..). Performing more leg raises, won’t strengthen the target muscles, it will just ingrain the compensation patterns even further. To avoid this, the athlete should first make sure they can perform toe-taps and the two holds with good form, activating the deep core stabilisers.
Single sided farmer’s/suitcase carries
Single-sided farmers carries are a common anti-lateral flexion/off-set exercise used in core programs. They are good for kids/juniors, but if a paddler can bench press their own bodyweight (or more), there’s a pretty big chance their grip strength will give out before the weight plates they’re carrying get heavy enough for them to need to engage the core properly to balance the weight, instead they will just over-work the arm and shoulder.
Single-leg exercises
I’m a massive fan of single leg exercises. However as many of these are exercises dynamic, they are more focused on helping build control of the pelvis, good foot awareness and ankle control, rather than core stabiliser strength and stiffness. For this reason, I place them elsewhere in the program.
