6 Core Exercises Athletes Need To Be Doing

A strong core is essential for any athlete looking to improve performance and prevent injury. Whether you're on the mats, swinging a bat, or fighting off tackles, your core plays a crucial role in stabilizing your body and generating power; and the 5 minute follow along ab workout simply isn't going to cut it. In this post, we’ll look at some of the most effective core exercises tailored to athletes and briefly explain the benefits that they have. Here are 3 core exercises athletes should add into their arsenal to enhance sport performance. 

Weighted Sit Up

Weighted sit ups are a basic movement but effectively target the core, helping to both strengthen and stabilize the abdominal muscles. When performing weighted sit ups, keep your arms nearly locked out while holding the plate or dumbbell and really think about contracting your upper abs just below your chest. The added resistance from the weight provides the stabilization factor, which is not present in traditional sit ups. Core stabilization is key for athletes across all sports, as your core serves as your base for all things movement. If you need to lock your feet under something go ahead, but if you’re up for the challenge, try just leaving your legs straight out flat on the ground.  

GHR Banded Sit Up

When it comes to core strength for athletes, there are few movements that are as or more effective at strengthening the abdominals than the GHR sit up. Your posterior chain is activated when doing sit ups on the GHR, unlike traditional sit ups. The resistance from the band is the twist at the end of the punch and makes for the perfect top to bottom core exercise for those looking to achieve higher levels of athletic performance.  

Cable Rotations

It’s impossible to have a list of core exercises for athletes and not include a rotational movement. The resistance of the cable strengthens the  area of  the core that is responsible for twisting or quickly changing directions. Cable rotations are especially beneficial for baseball, tennis, or martial arts athletes as the rotation in the exercise mimics the movements commonly made in the sport.   

Side Bend

Of course we cannot forget about the obliques. Side bends can be performed with a dumbbell or kettlebell and are a fantastic exercise for building strength in an often neglected area. Thick, strong obliques not only look good, but play a big role in providing balance and rotational power in athletes of all disciplines. If you’re looking to add a degree of difficulty to the side bend, try doing them sideways on a GHR for a great oblique contraction.

Wall Ball Side Throw

When talking about explosive rotational power, there is no better movement than the wall ball side throw. This exercise, although it primarily targets the core, activates your full body and is one of the few movements that allows you to violently throw the weight with minimal risk of injury. The wall ball side throw helps generate immense power and develops the abdominal muscles needed for sports performance. When performing these, ensure you are using the proper wall ball and not a traditional bouncy medicine ball as a regular med ball will not allow you to perform the exercise how it is designed to be performed. 

GHR Iso Hold

Isolation exercises are a great option for athletes as they do a good job of activating your entire core. The GHR iso hold will identify weak spots in your core and force you to stabilize yourself by engaging all of your abdominal muscles. This movement is plenty sufficient by itself, but weights can be added for increased difficulty. To target the obliques, these can also be performed sideways on the GHR with just your bodyweight or a dumbbell/kettlebell in your hand. Isolation exercises develop the ability to maintain stability under resistance or muscle fatigue, which is paramount for athletes involved in sports that involve repetitive contact like football or require high levels of balance such as gymnastics. 

 Conclusion

Core training for athletes is much more complex than just throwing in 3 sets of crunches at the end of your chest day. The same way your legs are made up of the quads, hamstrings, calves, etc., your core is also made up of a bunch of smaller muscles. The term “legs” or “core” are simply just umbrella terms that can be further dissected. Your abdominals are muscles just like every other body part like your shoulders or back, and need to be trained as such. Utilizing sport specific exercises where the movement in the gym directly translates to the movement on the field, court, or mat is greatly important. A strong core, along with other things, is the foundation for a good athlete, so consider incorporating these 6 movements into your routine for core strength,  athletic performance, and injury prevention.