Yesterday I had a very useful chat with a fellow S & Coach in Cardiff. It is always interesting to discuss various “innovative” ideas we come across in the gym environment. We discussed an episode my friend had seen in a gym a while ago:
A personal trainer got his client to STAND on top of a swissball with the most rounded back in history holding a weight plate in his hands in front of him! The client was far from comfortable and would fall head first at any moment, but according to the trainer this was: EXTREME CORE TRAINING!
To get you to picture what I mean I have tried to copy what the exercise must have looked like, but obviously the ball is resting next to the bench as I would fallen head first otherwise! I am actually doing my best to look a bit craxy and I think I am doing a good job at doing just that, never mind!
Give me a break! Wherever this client had seen this video clip to copy, or read about the concept behind what he was doing I don’t know. It certainly has got absolutely nothing to do with “Core” Training. You need to be able to start with the fundamental, basic stuff first before you start adding on anything extravagant to your session.
Start off with some front and side planks/bridges, some anti rotation holds and you are off to a good start. There are numerous ways of progressing these types of exercises, but always make sure you can do the exercise you are trying to do control, with good posture and correct technique. Sometimes or a lot of the time it is crucial that you get feedback from someone else about your technique as it can be very difficult if not impossible to concentrate on what you are doing and look at your own technique at the same time. The simple stuff is more often than often the best, in my opinion anyway.
Today’s lesson: Always learn to walk before you try to sprint!
If you disagree or got any views on this I would love to hear your comments:)
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