Core and Ab Training 101

Core training has always been a hot topic in fitness so today I’m going to debunk myths, educate, and challenge….all in 1 free post :).  (Let me know how I do with a comment or share!)

Core Defined: Everything besides your arms, legs, and head.
*This includes your low back and muscles that give your shoulders stability. Abs and obliques get all the press because you can see them in the mirror and YES they are very important – if trained correctly.

Core Training Myth #1: Training your core will make fat burn off your core.
Truth: Flexing a muscle will not burn fat that sits directly on it unfortunately! Focusing on large muscle groups that take more calories to fuel/flex is your best plan. The core exercise challenge later in today’s post will get all kinds of muscles firing.

Part 1: Start with bracing

Level 1: Master a 30 second plank before moving on.

Level 2: Bracing your core through simple leg/arm movement

Don’t forget your low back! Here’s the right way to stabilize your back through bird dog progression exercises:

Part 2: Don’t forget about fighting extension (don’t focus just on crunching and shortening your abs)

Consider your seated position (driving, at a desk, etc). Your core and hip flexors are already crunched. So why would you train yourself into this position further? No good.
Back in 2012, young Joe made this YouTube video explaining how to do Ab Wheel Rollouts. It’s now been viewed over 1.7 MILLION times and one of the more important core training exercises that you can master:

Part 3:  Now you’re ready for a few challenges 🙂

Education:

Your Challenge:

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