canfitpro Official Magazine | March/April, 2023

CORE OFF THE FLOOR

FUNCTIONAL EXERCISES TO STABILIZE AN UPRIGHT DYNAMIC POSTURE

By Sarah Zahab, BSc., R. Kin, CEP

THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT WOULD GUIDE YOUR PROGRAMMING TO TRAIN YOUR CLIENTS AND GROUP FITNESS PARTICIPANTS’ CORE OFF THE FLOOR.

Your clients may be injured or physically cannot get on and off the floor due to various barriers. Perhaps you are looking for more functional positions to work your client’s core in movements that closely mimic our day-to-day activities. Or maybe you are working with ground-based athletes who need purposeful and specific upright core variations to help prepare them for the rigors of their sport.

Working our core off the floor can be an effective way to target, train, stabilize, strengthen, and integrate. As coaches, personal trainers, and group fitness instructors, we often stick to crunches, planks, and bugs but there are several efficient exercises that can be performed from a seated or standing position that can target the important multifidus, transverse abdominals, and obliques. We need our core muscles to stabilize us in upright dynamic postures. The following exercise examples can give you a starting point, provide ideas to customize exercises to your own groups, and give you a potential new perspective on training key areas.

Bent Over Bird Dog (stability ball/chair)

Instructions:

• Stand tall and hip hinge forward, with a straight back, to place hands on a ball or chair (the ball can be placed against a post or step for more stability)

• Bend the knees slightly and tighten the core by thinking of wrapping in and up

• Exhale and extend one arm and the opposite leg

• Maintain the core cylinder, keep your spine straight and look down to align the cervical spine

Standing March

Instructions:

• Stand tall with shoulders over hips and feet under hips

• Press hands into the wall (or ball on the wall) with a small bend in elbows

• March slowly and alternate sides

• Try not to move the pelvis or spine (a good core connection will help stabilize the spine and pelvis)

• Maintain tall posture throughout the march

Banded/Cable Frontal Plane Stability

Press/Pallof Press

Intructions:

• Stand tall in a bilateral stance facing away from band/cable

• Hold a band/cable directly above head with elbows bent at 90 degrees in front of you

• Exhale and extend arms overhead

• Stand with feet under hips or on one leg for a more challenging variation

Stability Ball Lateral Lean and Hold

Instructions:

• Position one hip on the inside apex of ball

• Stagger feet against wall with your top leg back

• Toes point in the same direction, hips and shoulders are stacked

• Lean over the ball to place the body in a straight line and hold

• Focus on engaging the top side Quadratus Lumborum and obliques

Seated Knee Press (stability ball/chair)

Instructions:

• Sit tall at the edge of a stability ball or chair

• Lift one foot off the floor and bring the knee towards the chest

• Press hands into knee on exhale

• Try not to move the pelvis or spine (a good core connection will help stabilize the spine and pelvis)

• Think of a same side press for an internal oblique focus and an opposite side press for an external oblique focus

You may find that these exercises do not “target” or load the core sufficiently. Your clients may not feel the same intensity when isolating muscles on the floor. Even though the above exercises may feel easier, trust that they are more integrated, compound, ground-based, and effective. Cueing a pre-contraction of the core unit may help to intensify the exercise. With all the exercises, ensure you maintain a strong cylinder with minimal spine movement. Exhalations can provide a good opportunity to engage and connect, while inhalations provide opportunities for release and let go. Aim to contract and release with each repetition to avoid rigidity and promote proper modulating and management of intra-abdominal pressure. You can begin with one or two exercises upright and still include floor variations for your clients or groups for an overall balanced plan.

Try getting off the floor and see what other movement patterns you can discover!

Sarah Zahab is a Registered Kinesiologist and Clinical Exercise Physiologist with a Health Sciences degree in Human Kinetics (honours) and over 22 years of fitness industry experience. Sarah is a former international fitness competitor and nationally ranked race walker. She owns Continuum Fitness and Movement Performance Inc., a multi-disciplinary clinic in Ottawa.