I begin my core training with traditional exercises such as crunches, lunges,squat and dead lifts, leg presses, raises & lifts, and pull-ups & downs. I find bridging also beneficial in development of strong core muscles performed on elbows and toes in a prone postion as well as lateral and supine. I like to add a varity of core training like incorporating the stability ball or a medicine ball.... concentrating on stabilising the core on uneven surfaces, with diagonals and rotations.
Kick Chick's list is pretty good. Training kicks (esp. roundhouse, sidekick & backkick) on a heavy bag tends to do a good job too. Most exercises can be adapted to hit the core by doing them unilaterally. One armed barbell presses for example, or turkish get-ups if you really wanna go nuts on it. The single exercise which addressed my personal weaknesses the most was definitely the conventional deadlift. Overhead squats are also great.
Thanks for the replies. KickChick what kind of exercises do you do on the ball? I just started doing bent press and I feel them in my core but not to an extreme are these good or should i substitue them for something else? This is a Bent Press for those of you that don't know http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?Name=Bent+Press
Any exercise that you can perform on a bench, floor, or standing up, you can do on a stability ball. The ball just gives you that unstable platform which requires constant abdominal work to keep your balance. I've got these site bookmarked http://www.getfit.com.au/html/excercises/ball.html http://exercise.about.com/cs/abs/l/bl_core.htm
great vid. cheers mate. i do them slightly differently possibly because i havnt got a kettlebell, possibly because i didnt know the technique . im not sure, im not a doctor.
Thats the beauty of this movement and kettlebells in general, so long as you are using good biomechanics there are no wrongs. In the TGU you basicly have to get off the ground with a weight above your head, how you do it is ultimatly up to you. Just be sure to use the same techinique on both sides for reasons of balance. For this move the dumbell and kettlebell both feel pretty much the same.
I've heard debate over the Kettlebell vs the Dumbbell. Is there a reason the KB is better than the DB for the TGU?
No IMHO. I have used both and fell there is no extra benefit to using a KB for this exercise. Although the KB is a lot more fun for it as it gives you that old skool feel.
check out the Crossfit exercise section http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html Now that is how to do a TGU like a proper badass
It could be worse... I remember seeing a picture somewhere of someone doing a two handed TGU. A kettlebell in each hand. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, can imagine the coroners report.