Your body’s core is an integral part of your golf swing, as it is a power source, a rotational force and can be vital in preventing back pain. This week’s episode of Golf Fitness Academy_Online provides explanation and exercises for taking care of your core, so it will take care of you and your golf swing.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Learn how these effective push-ups not only strengthen your upper body but the core as well! Find more core exercises at: www.pilates-back-joint-exercise.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Back Strenghtening Exercises
Article by Kim Mason
If you dealing with back pain sometimes your best way to reduce this pain is to strengthen the muscles in your back through exercises that target your core muscles. These back strengthening exercises are not only for increasing your strengthen though, they can also increase your flexibility, and range of motion. By doing this your back is better able to support not only the spine but the rest of your body and this can lead to a reduction in how much pain you are in.
Please be aware, if you have back pain, back strengthening and neck strengthening exercises should only be done if you have the consent of your doctor or physical therapist. This is because not all exercises and stretches can be used and it will depend on your underlying issue that is causing your back pain.
When doing any of these exercises you will want to keep in mind a few things so that you do not injure yourself further.
* All exercises and stretches should be slow and fluid, never want to bounce
* Do not overdo it, only do the exercises that you are told to do, anymore than that and you may injure your back further
* Do not neglect your exercises or stretches, it will do you no good if you are only doing them a few times a week
* Start at the top and work your way down, that means start with the neck and work down your body
* For your exercises make sure you do at least 5 reps and for your stretches make sure you hold them for at least 10-20 seconds
* When stretching make sure you are slow and gentle, while you might already have back pain it should not increase in severity due to stretching
* Don’t stretch just one side of your body and then the other, mix it up a bit
* Don’t hold your breath while you stretch, try to inhale before you stretch and exhale as you hold your stretch
* Try and incorporate low impact aerobics into your routine so that you do not neglect the rest of your body
* If you are at all unsure whether you are doing your exercises correctly consult with a physical therapist
* Do not expect instant results, it may take weeks or even a month or two before you start to notice a difference in your back strength and flexibility
Remember that this should be just a part of your treatment plan for dealing with your back pain. You may also need to rely on other treatments and therapies such as, oral medications, massage, acupuncture, ice therapy, heat therapy and the most important thing, time. It may take you a few weeks to notice a change in your back pain and you must give your back enough time to begin healing. So keep in mind that most back pain will resolve itself within a few weeks time and as long as you adjust your lifestyle and take the time needed to follow up on your treatment plan you should start to see results.
About the Author
To learn more please click this Heal Back Pain Now link.You can also find more information on Homeopathic Back Pain Treatments here.
Revolved Abdominal Pose is a yoga pose for lower back pain relief. This lower back exercise is from the Yoga Tune Up® Quickfix Rx DVD available at www.yogatuneup.com
Video Rating: 5 / 5
www.ExercisesForCore.com This upper back strengthening core exercise targets the muscles between the shoulder blades. It’s great for fixing poor posture! By engaging your abs you can get a really nice isolated upper back workout without any low back strain.
www.nestacertified.com This animation shows the proper technique for a popular strength training exercise.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
The Most Important Core Exercise for the Transversus Abdominus
Forget about crunches, sit ups, hanging leg raises, russian twists, or stability ball exercises. The drawing-in maneuver to engage the transversus abdominus is the most important core exercise to master if you want to develop core stability.
If you’ve never heard of the transversus abdominus I wouldn’t be surprised. It the deepest of the four anterior abdominal muscles and so you can’t see it. It lies underneath the rectus abdominus (the muscle that forms the 6 pack) and the external and internal oblique muscles.
As its name implies, it runs across the abdomen. It is often referred to as your internal weight belt or your natural girdle because its only job is to brace your lower back and pull in your belly button, like a girdle.
Why is targeting the Transverse Abdominus so important?
A group of physiotherapists in Australia studied back pain by looking at muscle coordination patterns. They wanted to see if there were difference between people with no lower back pain and those with chronic lower back pain. What they found is that when healthy people with no lower back pain move their arms or legs the transverse abdominus is the first muscle to fire.
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That’s right! If you move your arms or legs, this core muscle contracts before your arm or leg muscles contract. Your body is naturally wired to be stable around the center first before you can move.
In contrast, people with chronic lower back pain displayed an inability to contract the core muscles before the arm and leg muscles. When you start to move before your spine is stable, more pressure is placed on the joints of the lower back.
This is one reason core training has become so popular. Core training can help to stabilize the pelvis and lower back while taking pressure off the spine.
When a personal trainer says to pull your abs in, they are often referring to drawing in and engaging the transverse abdominus.
You can focus on this muscle during all of your exercises. Maintaining good posture is a key to keeping your joints healthy.
The drawing-in maneuver is very easy to do. You can perform it while sitting in a chair, lying on the floor, standing, or even while balaning on your hands and knees in the quadreped poisition.
Simply pull in your belly button so that it moves towards your back. Hold for 10 seconds, relax and repeat 5-10 times.
This simple core exercise can help to improve your core stability and it’s the most important core exercise to master!
Dr. Charles A. Inniss, Jr. is a physical therapist and personal trainer.
Click the link to his website for free pictures and detailed descriptions of core exercises and free core workouts
The Most Important Core Exercise for the Transversus Abdominus
Article by Charles A. Inniss, Jr. DPT
Forget about crunches, sit ups, or leg raises. The drawing-in maneuver to engage the transversus abdominus is the most important core exercise to master if you want to develop core stability.
If you’ve never heard of the transversus abdominus I wouldn’t be surprised. It the deepest of the abdominal muscles and so you can’t see it. As its name implies, it runs across the abdomen. It is often referred to as your natural girdle because it’s only job is to brace your lower back and pull in your belly button, like a girdle.
Why is targeting the Transverse Abdominus so important?
A group of physiotherapists in Australia studied back pain by looking at muscle coordination patterns. They wanted to see if there were difference between people with no lower back pain and those with chronic lower back pain. What they found is that when healthy people with no lower back pain move their arms or legs the transverse abdominus is the first muscle to fire.
That’s right… If you move your arm, this core muscle contracts before your arm contracts. Your body is naturally wired to be stable around the center first before you can move.
In contrast, people with chronic lower back pain displayed an inability to contract the core muscles before the arm muscles. When you start to move before your spine is stable, more pressure is placed on the joints of the lower back.
This is one reason core training has become so popular. Core training can help to stabilize the pelvis and lower back while taking pressure off the spine.
The drawing-in maneuver is very easy to do. Simply pull in your belly button so that it moves towards your back. Hold for 10 seconds, relax and repeat 5-10 times.
This simple core exercise can help to improve your core stability and it’s the most important core exercise to master!
About the Author
Charles Inniss is a physical therapist and personal trainer. For diet and weight loss tips, descriptions of ab exercises and free ab workouts visit his website at All-About-Abs.com
The straight leg drop core exercise targets the transverse abdominal muscles and the obliques. Learn how to do the straight leg drop core exercise with tips from a certified fitness trainer in this free exercise video. Expert: Carol Ann Contact: www.StudioGroupX.com Bio: Carol Ann, known as the trainers’ trainer, has 19 years of professional fitness training experience and holds a master’s degree in exercise science and health promotion. Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz
Video Rating: 4 / 5
www.synergy-athletics.com – Travis visited Synergy Athletics to talk business, but we hit a complete leg and core workout. The exercises included deadlift (legs and posterior chain), strongman tire flips (legs, grip, and posterior chain), and a core circuit. The core circuit came from the Bull Strength Method – www.BullStrength.com – and it consisted of 1 minute of sandbag platform loading followed by 1 minute of plate moving bridges for the abdominal bracing. We went back and forth between these core exercises for 10 consecuative minutes. Finally we performed some rope climbing and back pulling exercises to finish off the quick and effective workout! The old leg muscles were feeling it after this lift. – Joe Hashey, CSCS – Keywords leg workout, core workout, leg exercise, core exercise, football workout, bridge, plank, ab plank, sandbag exercise, sandbag loading, bull strength, strongman tire, tire flips
Video Rating: 4 / 5
The Importance of Core Exercises
Article by Brooks Donner
Core exercises are a must in order to maintain a strong body, specifically the body’s pelvis and torso area. This area is a base of strength that stretches out to the abdomen, lower back and hips. Performing the right exercises for these body muscles will contribute to your overall body strength and performance.
What you will quickly discover is that once you incorporate core exercises into your daily regimen, doing everyday things will become so much easier. Everyday movements that require some body strength, such as lifting up kids, pushing the lawnmower, using a vacuum cleaner and bending down and back up, become less stressful. Another benefit of doing core exercises is that you find you can now do even more things to include playing tennis, softball, golf, and other fun sports.
Another huge benefit associated with doing core exercises is that you will notice a much better posture. As a result, experiencing muscle strain, injury, and pain subsides. It is a common misperception that pushups and crunches are the only exercises needed to have a strong core. In truth, there are distinct core exercises that do much more. The key is to add core exercises to your normal workout so these muscle groups are no longer neglected.
Now, some core exercises do include doing pushups, crunches, sit ups, and squats. However, there are additional exercises that should be added. For instance, the following are some options that you might consider.
- Bridge – With the bridge, you would begin by lying on your back, keeping your knees bent and your back completely relaxed without any kind of arching or pressing the back to the floor. Tightening the abs, slowly lift your hips off the floor, aligning them with the shoulders and knees. This position should be held for five seconds and then slowly, return the body to its starting position.
- Segmental Rotations – Another of the core exercises that is highly effective is this. This begins with you lying on the floor on your back, bending the knees and relaxing the back. Again, tighten the abs while slowly allowing your knees to move to the left of the body. Just make sure your shoulders do not come up off the floor in the process. At first, you will only be able to lower the knees so far but in time, you will find your flexibility and strength improving. Once your knees have been moved to the left, hold them for five seconds. Return the knees to the center position, slowly moving them to the right, again holding for five seconds before returning to the center. You should do three sets at first, slowly increasing.
- Quadrupeds – The final of the core exercises we wanted to address will start with you on your hands and knees, keeping your hands should they are located below the shoulders. Then, make sure the neck and head is perfectly aligned with the shoulders. Tighten the abs, lift the right arm off the floor, and reach forward. Hold this position for 3 seconds. Lower the arm and do the same for the left arm.
About the Author
Exercise-Expert.com is the leading source for exercise information, including core workouts. Visit us today at http://exercise-expert.com
www.synergy-athletics.com – Here are some hanging core exercises demonstrated that we have incorporated into our athletes programs, as well as our own. Great for upper back, grip, and abdominal core strength. While performing all hanging exercises attempt to come down under control. If you notice the bar in the video it is not anchored down and just hangs by chains. We use this option since it strains the grip (the bar rolls) and it emphasis the importance of staying under control. *A note on the windshield wipers, some people perfer to do a shorter version hanging with their hips higher and rotating slightly side to side. I prefer the full version of rotating the hips, legs, and back to one side, then pulling all the way across the top middle and down the other side. I find the difficulty is about the same, but I prefer a greater stretch on the back and hips for the athletes. Perhaps bodybuilders would perfer the shorter ROM higher motion. J. Hashey, CSCS www.bullstrength.com Keywords: core training, core exercise, ab exercise, six pack exercise, 6 pack workout, ab workout, core workout, athlete training, football workout, ripped abs, basketball hanging pull up chin variations strength
Video Rating: 4 / 5
GIVE-A-WAY: www.synergy-athletics.com MANUAL: www.bullstrength.com Hanging core ab exercises also recruit muscles from the forearms, hands, and upper back. They are extremely beneficial to developing overall “core strength.” In this video you will see straight leg raises, pull ups, chin ups to pull ups, windshield wipers, command core calls, and more core / back exercises. Muscles targeted: abs, back, biceps, forearms, obliques . Try out these exercises and enjoy some real core strength! – Joe Hashey, CSCS WEBSITE: www.synergy-athletics.com KEYWORDS hanging core, core training, leg raises, ab windshield wiper, core windshield wiper, core exercises, ab training
Strengthen your back with these back extension exercises; learn great exercises for fitness on the beach in this free video. Expert: Jeanette Stojcevski Bio: Jeannette Stojcevski has been an avid runner for over 15 years. Her track career started in middle school and spans through college. Filmmaker: Nili Nathan
The bridge exercise strengthens the whole abdominal region, the lower back and the glutes. Learn the bridge core exercise with tips from a certified fitness trainer in this free exercise video. Expert: Carol Ann Contact: www.StudioGroupX.com Bio: Carol Ann, known as the trainers’ trainer, has 19 years of professional fitness training experience and holds a master’s degree in exercise science and health promotion. Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz
Coach Nicole of SparkPeople.com demonstrates how to do back extensions on a stability ball. This is a great core exercise to target the lower back muscles (erector spinae). Using a ball for increases the challenge and intensity and helps you get more out of this strength exercise, which may help reduce back pain over time.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Learn how to do lower back exercises to strengthen your core with expert tips in this free fitness video clip. Expert: Kendall Wood Bio: In Nov. 2006 he won FAME novice model fitness, North American Champion, and 2007 Canadian Model Fitness. Filmmaker: Nili Nathan
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Bosu Ball Core Exercises and Core Training Tips
In gyms all across the country, people are using many different tools to exercise their core muscles. Some people really like the Swiss ball (Exercise Ball), and some people really like using the Bosu Ball. The Bosu Ball is half of a Swiss ball on a flat rubber platform, and it stands for Both Sides Up or Both Sides Utilized because you can do exercises on the flat platform and also on the soft dome shaped side.
Balance Training has become an important part of core workouts, because when you stand on one leg your center of gravity shifts, and the core muscles in your lower back and hips must work harder to maintain your stability. You can stand on the Bosu Ball with 2 feet or on 1 leg. 1 legged balancing on the Bosu Ball is really challenging, but it can lead to dramatic improvements in balance, coordination, and sports performance.
In addition to balancing exercises, you can do traditional abdominal and core exercises on the Bosu Ball. The Bosu ball can enhance your core workout in 2 major ways. It can challenge your stability because it has a soft unstable surface, and it can increase your core strength by allowing your body to utilize a greater range of motion when you perform traditional core exercises.
Whenever you do a core exercise on the Bosu Ball, your core muscles work both to stabilize and move your lower back and pelvis. When you perform core exercises on a stable surface like a machine or the floor, there is less challenge for the stabilizer muscles.
The Bosu Ball can also enhance your core workout by allowing your spine to utilize a greater range of motion. Your lower back has a natural curve, and the abdominal muscles work to reverse that natural curve. When you lie flat on the floor, the floor partially reverses the natural curve in your lower back, and this decreases the range of motion that the spine can move. Less range of motion equals less muscle work.Â
Here is an example of how the Bosu Ball can be used in your core workout to make your exercises more effective. When you perform crunches on a Bosu Ball, your spine can extend to its natural position, so you get additional range of motion when compared to the floor. The Bosu ball is also unstable, so your core muscles also work to keep you balanced as you crunch. Also, because the Bosu Ball is contoured, your body can focus more on segmental movement through the spine. Lastly, because the Bosu Ball keeps your body elevated off the ground, there truly is no rest position for the core muscles, so they stay engaged throughout the entire exercise.
The Bosu Ball is a great tool to use for core exercises. In addition to regular ab crunches, you can do reverse crunches, leg raises, Russian Twists, or V-ins. If you see a Bosu Ball lying around the gym floor, ask a trainer to show you a few exercises on it. You may find that it is one of your favorite tools to incorporate into your core workouts.
Charles A. Inniss, Jr. has a Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy and is a Certified Personal Trainer. He is dedicated to helping people to live healthier happier lives.
Visit his website for Free Pictures of 100 Ab Exercises and Free Ab Workouts
