The "Core In Four"
Abdominal Workout
By David Grisaffi,
Author, Firm And Flatten Your Abs
As you begin to pass the
beginner stage and you develop greater and greater core and
abdominal strength and endurance, you are going to reach a point
where you absolutely must add new exercises in order to keep your
body "off guard."
Of course, you should
never forget about the fundamentals. As the great Packers coach
Vince Lombardi once said, “Fundamentals win it.” However, after
you’ve been repeating the same abdominal exercises and abdominal
workouts over and over again, your nervous system adapts.
When your nervous system
adapts to your workout program, that coincides with what’s commonly
known as a “progress plateau.” You stop getting stronger, you stop
gaining endurance and you stop getting leaner.
That’s the signal to
change to a new abs and core routine. More importantly, for even
better results, you not only change your workout routine (ie, sets,
reps, rest intervals, order of exercises and so on), you seek out
totally new exercises that you have NEVER even done before!
Some people are at a
loss as to what new exercies to perform... they simply run out of
ideas. They're always shocked when I tell them that there are
HUNDREDS of core and abdominal exercises. Dozens of them are
fundamentals, and then there are HUNDREDS of subtle variations on
those fundamentals. There is never a reason to get stale, get bored
or stay stuck at a plateau.
That's where I come in.
Abdominal and core exercises are my speciality and I've got hundreds
of them in my bag of tricks. I'm going to teach you some of these
lesser-known core conditioning exercises that you have probably
never seen before, that will help you smash through any plateau like
a sledgehammer through fine china!
Remember, fundamentals
are important, so you might only do these new and unique, “esoteric”
exercises for 2 or 3 weeks to break a plateau, although you could do
them longer if you like the results. In any case, changing your
program radically to keep your abdominal and core muscles guessing
is one of the keys to continuous improvement and outstanding results
With this approach you
are going to get both cosmetic results (having the “six pack abs”
look) and functional results (increased static and dynamic stability
in the abs and core, improved posture, better athletic performance
and more efficient functioning of your entire body as a unit).
The program you're about
to see includes some radically different and new exercises than what
you're probably used to. When you look at some of the exercises, you
may say to yourself that they don't look like "abdominal exercises."
That is 100% correct. This is not an "abdominal" exercise program as
much as it is a core conditioning program, although believe me, you
will feel those abs contracting hard to stabilize your body!
This program works well
as a transition between more traditional (fundamental-based)
programs, not to mention it will be a welcome dose of variety which
will relieve you of the boredom of the same old, same old!
David Grisaffi's "Core In
Four" Abdominal Workout Program
| Exercise |
Sets
|
Reps
|
Intensity
|
Tempo
|
Rest |
| A1 Swiss Ball Lateral Roll
|
2-4 |
5-8 |
Body weight
|
3-3-3
|
60 sec |
| A2 2 Arm Pump |
2-4 |
6-8 |
Body weight |
slow |
60 sec |
| A3 Dumbbell Arm Bar |
2-4 |
5-7 |
-2 |
slow |
60 sec |
| A4 Swiss Ball Forward Roll |
2-4 |
4-6 |
Body weight |
3-3-3 |
60 sec |
"Core In Four" Abdominal Exercises
(A1) Swiss Ball Lateral
Roll:

Note: This exercise
requires a Swiss ball and a dowel rod
The supine lateral
ball roll is an excellent integrative exercise that will challenge
anyone - even athletes and advanced exercisers.
Position: Sit on the
ball and gently rollout so that your trunk is parallel to the floor.
The ball should support your head and shoulders. Your feet should be
shoulder width apart. Place a dowel rod across your chest and grip
it with your palms up.
Movement:
1. Slowly slide your
right should blade off the ball, keeping the dowel rod parallel to
the floor and your hips in a neutral position (do not let your hips
drop). As you partially roll off one side of the ball, you will feel
the opposite side of your waist and core musculature strongly
contract to stabilize your body.
2. Slowly return to
the middle position.
3. Gently slide your
left shoulder blade off the ball and hold for the allotted time (3
second count).
4. Repeat to roll
left and right on the ball for the desired number of reps
(A2) 2 Arm Pump:

The 2 arm pump develops
many muscle groups, including the entire core. It also develops
flexibility at the same time. The 2 arm pump may look a bit like a
dive bomber push up or a hindu push up. It is similar, but if you
look closely, you can see that it's not the same.
This movement is like a
push up into a low back extension, then the hips are lifted, then
the hips are dropped, the chest is dropped to the floor, and the
movement is repeated.
Position: Lie flat on
the floor or exercise mat with your hands flat and pointing forward
next to your body at shoulder level.
Movement:
1. Gently draw in
your belly button to activate your core stabilizing muscles. Slowly
push up your chest and arch your back with your head up looking
forward. Your lower body should remain in contact with the ground.
2. Slowly push back and
elevate your hips toward the ceiling. You head will come down and
you will be in a push up position with your pelvis up.
3. Slowly return to the
first position and repeat for the prescribed number of reps.
(A3) Dumbbell Arm Bar:
Note: This exercise
requires a dumbbell or weighted object.
The dumbbell arm bar (or
"arm bar roll over") improves stability in the shoulder girdle and
is great for balance.
Position:
Lie on your back with a
dumbbell in one hand. Place the other arm at 45 degrees to the body
toward your head. The dumbbell arm is pointed toward the ceiling.
1. Slowly raise the
dumbbell from extended to your side to arms length over your chest.
2. With dummbell at arms
length over your body, slowly roll over onto your side (roll toward
the open arm side).
3. Cross over your
dumbbell side leg, while still keeping your dumbbell arm up toward
the ceiling.
4. Roll back over to the
starting position and repeat for prescribed reps
(A4) Swiss Ball Forward
Roll):

The swiss ball forward
roll is a compound exercise involving many muscles and joint
structures. It allows you to integrate full body movement while
maintaining good form. (note: the dowel rod is not a requirement -
it is being used to illustrate proper spine position.)
Position: Set your
forearms just below the top of the ball.
Movement:
1. Gently draw your
belly button in toward your spine to activate your transverse
abdominis, which aids in stabilizing your pelvis and lumbar spine.
2. Slowly roll out on
the ball until you are fully extended. Make sure your arms and hips
move together. Make note of when your rectus abdominis starts to
contract strongly. This is your stabilization threshold: do not
extend any farther. Use this to determine distance as a benchmark
for improvement.
3. Repeat for the
prescribed number of reps.
"Core In Four" Abdominal
Workout Tips:
This routine should be
performed every other day (three workouts a week). Don't let the
looks fool you - it is more challenging than it appears! Remember to
focus on form first. Master the exercise form first before adding
weights or reps.
This program was
originally designed for my baseball players and other throwing
athletes to improve performance and conditioning. A pleasant side
effect they all noticed was better muscle development in the
abdominal and waistline region! In my opinion, there's nothing
better than being more functional and becoming a better athlete
while improving the way you look at the same time!
Being that this core
program was created for highly conditioned athletes, it was set up
as a circuit (sometimes known as a "giant set"), which means all
four exercises are done one after another non stop.
This makes it an
advanced and highly challenging program, however, if you're a
beginner or intermediate (I'm assuming most of my readers are not
elite athletes), you can still use this workout. All you have to do
is rest 60 seconds between exercises as indicated in the chart
above.
If you ARE an athlete or
you're highly conditioned, then do this routine with all four
exercises in a row (no rest between exercises). Just remember, if
you are a beginner, train like a beginner. If you are an athlete,
train like an athlete. If you are advanced, train with advanced
methods. Always individualize. Never copy someone else blindly.
Train hard, but train
smart. And remember, always use good form - especially on abs and
core exercises. Enjoy this program and send me an
email to
let me know how it went for you!
Coach David
Grisaffi,
Tacoma Washington
P.S.If you enjoyed this
workout, then you will love the workout programs in my Firm And
Flatten Your Abs E-book. You can get more information on the home
page at:
www.FlattenYourAbs.net/index.html
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