Almost every fitness exercise to strengthen the core is boring. Core training is however unavoidable because it helps to avert injuries and increase strength. Lifting weights becomes easier with proper core training and you rarely feel any exercises straining your back. It reaches a point where your core is strong enough for anything and basic exercises quickly become unnecessary. This is when you need to kick it up a notch.
Bodysaw
Wheel rollouts are all the hype when it comes to core training but bodysaws are quickly catching up as alternative exercise techniques. They are very much like rollouts because the objective is to keep the spine rigid during the exercise. Bodysaws have the advantage of not taking a toll on your shoulders like rollouts can. You can also combine them with upper body exercise without getting too tired.
Plank Sled Drags
This fitness exercise helps to develop several groups of muscle at the same time hence it is a great exercise. To do this exercise you have to get into the plank position while supporting your entire body with your forearms to the ground. Your feet should be on a moveable platform such as a slider. The objective is to move forward while keeping your hips and torso still. After you get used to this technique you can perform it with your arms fully outstretched in the pushup position. Your entire body should remain as still as possible. If you want it to be harder still you can drag a weight along. Weighted vests can cause injuries so use them with caution.
Pushup Fallouts
Push-up fallouts are essentially similar to ab wheel rollouts. The difference is that they use suspension straps instead of wheels. The best part of this exercise is that you can adjust the fitness equipment accordingly depending on the work you can handle.
Sliding Push Up Reach
This exercise is almost like a normal pushup. However, only one of your arms does the pushup. The other arm is slid ahead as it would in an ab wheel rollout. Most people would wonder why a person would choose this exercise instead of doing separate pushups and rollouts. The reason is that this exercise is not balanced and it exerts uneven strain on the core adding a rotary movement. It therefore improves core stability during rotation. A variation of this exercise is the pushup/fly combination. The arm that is not involved in the pushup moves towards the side instead of straight ahead. It helps to include the chest in the workout and is even more effective at improving rotary core stability.
Hand Walkouts
This exercise is a great substitute of traditional ab wheel rollouts. Standing rollouts are great exercises for people who are keen on achieving top physical fitness. They might however be overkill for people who don’t spend much time working out. Transitioning from kneeling ab wheel rollouts to standing rollouts is a tall order for many people. There are a many people who are unable to make the transition. Such people should change to friendlier exercises such as hand walkouts. They put much less strain on the body compared to standing ab wheel rollouts and a person cannot do more than his core can handle.
