Core Exercises

kennyb3

Just wondering how many people focus on doing core exercises as part of their training program and how often you do them?

It's an interesting area of discussion and i wonder how many neglect it and how many have a regular routine?

Also where do you take the exercises from? Internet? a book?

AstraMonti

I am trying to do these (attached pdf) twice a week. Most of the times I don't, end up doing it halfarse once a week. I 'd love to do them every day, but they take lots of time and I prefer going for an hour of cycling than this. I am not self motivated enough, I need a personal trainer (it has to be a woman..).

kennyb3

AstraMonti wrote: »

I am trying to do these (attached pdf) twice a week. Most of the times I don't, end up doing it halfarse once a week. I 'd love to do them every day, but they take lots of time and I prefer going for an hour of cycling than this. I am not self motivated enough, I need a personal trainer (it has to be a woman..).

Thanks for the document. I do a few but not enough (maybe once a week but wanna get it up to twice or three times). I hate complicated ones, im so unco-ordinated. I ll print that off and add a few new ones.

Raam

Pilates.

Harrybelafonte

kennyb3 wrote: »

Thanks for the document. I do a few but not enough (maybe once a week but wanna get it up to twice or three times). I hate complicated ones, im so unco-ordinated. I ll print that off and add a few new ones.

Would you do yoga?

pprendeville

Try to do one set of these once/twice per week.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/fitness/article/training-exercises-you-can-do-off-the-bike-28320

kennyb3

The OH does pilates so i might do that, it something i ve thought of for a while but not bit the bullet over.

mfdc

Squats and deadlifts, can't beat em :pac: Sure there's the side effect of being knackered for on-the-bike training, and also unnecessary added weight for the hills... but they're a helluva lot more fun than leg raises, situps or dragon flags.

kennyb3

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Would you do yoga?

I lost my dignity long ago, so yes.

redzone

kennyb3 wrote: »

Just wondering how many people focus on doing core exercises as part of their training program and how often you do them?

It's an interesting area of discussion and i wonder how many neglect it and how many have a regular routine?

Also where do you take the exercises from? Internet? a book?

KETTLEBELL exercises are excellent for your core. I have only recently started these and notice a difference already.

With one kettlebell you can do an all over body workout and don't need alot of space. Ye can do it infront of the tv or in the back garden on a nice day etc. Its also a great cardio workout, really gets the pulse elevated and it only takes about 30-40 mins to complete a circuit.

I was shown the basics by an instructor and am progressing by learning from the web and youtube.

I also kayak and some of my job includes manual lifting so I really see the benefit in other areas apart from cycling.

tawfeeredux

That's a great document AstraMonti.

I do a few bridging exercises every evening, takes less than 5 mins altogether.

Start in the press-up position & raise yourself onto toes and elbows, squeeze your glutes & abs (edit: like the 2 planks exercise in pprendiville's link). if you've a weak lower back, raise your ass a bit to ease the pressure. Hold this for 10 deep breaths in & 10 deep breaths out. Important thing is the breathing, it's a lot easier & less beneficial to do it while holding your breath for 20-30 seconds.

Then switch to the sides (see the leg raises exercise on page 3 of Astra's document), again focus on the breathing & on holding the glutes & abs tight, maybe do half the time you'd do for the first position. Then switch to the back (see the last exercise on page 1 of Astra's doc).

Then i'd do some back extensions, basically lying face down & pushing up with the arms. Do 10. I could barely get a few inches off the floor at the start of the year, a lot better now though. You have to keep doing this regularly (twice a day for me). A good way to progress this is rather than having your toes pointing away, bring them in towards your knees so that your knees get lifted very slightly off the floor. This lets you get better extension.

The standing back extension strectch in that bikeradar link is also very good, i do that a few times a day in the office.

I've a few others exercises i've picked up from physios, pilates & magazines over the years that I would do over the winter when in the gym & have more time. Some yoga exercises i've come across lately are great, i'll try & put them up over the weekend.

cantalach

mfdc wrote: »

Squats and deadlifts, can't beat em :pac: Sure there's the side effect of being knackered for on-the-bike training, and also unnecessary added weight for the hills... but they're a helluva lot more fun than leg raises, situps or dragon flags.

Maybe...but the OP asked about core strength. Squats and deadlifts are going to do very little for that!

Ryder

used to do a lot of astras exercises up to anout 2 months ago...gotten lazy since. single leg squats, pressups, bicycle crunches, exercise ball pike, lateral bridge with leg raise and back bridge. I typically break them up and do them throughout the evening once or twice a week...in between other things like making dinner, work etc. gotten lazy though, need to start back up again. Being honest though, didnt notice a huge improvement in fitness/injuries. not convivnced about the whole core thing. therer is an arguement that simply doing your chosen sport will build up the muscles you need.

Harrybelafonte

kennyb3 wrote: »

I lost my dignity long ago, so yes.

Just get someone to recommend a good teacher. I and a number of cycling friends have been doing it for awhile now and it helps loads. I'm yet to be the only bloke at a class and always glad to see most of us are puffing and panting together. I could recommend some if you're ok with city centre locations.

mfdc

cantalach wrote: »

Maybe...but the OP asked about core strength. Squats and deadlifts are going to do very little for that!

Not true! The core is important for stabilising throughout both movements. Obliques, abs and the lower back are all used in both! I do no corework other than squats twice a week and deadlifts once, and my core is decent enough that I can manage a couple of dragon flags when I put my mind to it.

kennyb3

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Just get someone to recommend a good teacher. I and a number of cycling friends have been doing it for awhile now and it helps loads. I'm yet to be the only bloke at a class and always glad to see most of us are puffing and panting together. I could recommend some if you're ok with city centre locations.

Thanks but i ll prob try the pilates down the road in the mi-gym with the OH for now.

kona

I do, Core is so important to preventing stupid injuries. Doesnt take much extra either.

cantalach

mfdc wrote: »

Not true! The core is important for stabilising throughout both movements. Obliques, abs and the lower back are all used in both!

But surely if the objective is to build up the core you'd be better off doing exercises that specifically target the core rather than weight room exercises where the core is only strengthened as a side benefit. Pilates doesn't result in any 'collateral muscle mass' gain which would be of questionable use to a cyclist (although huge quads might give you a psychological edge over your competition ) and it also avoids you having fried quads which stop you from getting the most out of on-bike training the next day. Just my two cents anyway.

corkchef

i do. twice a week. squats, back raises, lunges, ab crunches with a weight between the feet and forward roll ups with a large gym ball. core work has helped with a better riding style and freedom from back pain on distances over a 100 km

cantalach

corkchef wrote: »

[...]core work has helped with a better riding style and freedom from back pain on distances over a 100 km

Maybe I should be doing that too then! No back pain...wow.

Planet X

Was doing bench press for the last few months but a few weeks ago, ripped something in my left shoulder, tendon or one of those lads.
Very sore when I twist my arm at a certain angle and not going away in a hurry.

Was getting into the bench n all.

mfdc

cantalach wrote: »

But surely if the objective is to build up the core you'd be better off doing exercises that specifically target the core rather than weight room exercises where the core is only strengthened as a side benefit. Pilates doesn't result in any 'collateral muscle mass' gain which would be of questionable use to a cyclist (although huge quads might give you a psychological edge over your competition ) and it also avoids you having fried quads which stop you from getting the most out of on-bike training the next day. Just my two cents anyway.

I more or less agree, was being somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Still, they do the job for me! I'm not a racer, but I've done up to 300km in a go with no pains.

pprendeville

does anyone do chin ups? I got this 6-in-1 gym thing that goes over the door frame last summer and leave it over kitchen door. at the beginning I could do 1/2 a chin up. my consecutive record now is 14. only use i can think of this being useful is to give your arms strenght when climbing out of the saddle.

chakattack

Did a fair bit of core work, weights and stretching during the winter and felt the benefit in terms of comfort but no miracles. Weights are definitely good for power.

Then I listened too much to some of the well seasoned regulars here and switched to only training on the bike in January and worrying more about developing power than staying lean.

I've decided the advice was bogus! My climbing is sub-par and my flexibility is back in the geriatric realm. My conclusion (for me) is:

Bodyweight matters hugely for racing (even in Ireland) unlike what is often espoused here and year round strength maintenance with weights is the way to go. Strength training on the bike like high geared climbing isn't near as good as squats, lunges and calf raises but is much tougher - less bang for your buck.

El.duderino

I was doing most of those exercises upto few weeks ago. Physio showed me them after lower back injury.

All gluteus exercises are great for core. They will get too easy after 2 weeks. Raise your feet up on a bench or for put your feet on a exercise ball. One legged left and right lifts on ball are very difficult but will build rock hard core.
Something like this, looks easy doesnt it?

Next week the 2 thumb one legged plank!

15lean

cantalach wrote: »

Maybe...but the OP asked about core strength. Squats and deadlifts are going to do very little for that!

Squats and Deadlifts once a week(once done with proper technique) will strengthen your core so much than conventional exercises.

Black Bloc

Core progress is slow and belly fat tends to hide the progress from sight. To get the best visually from crunches etc the belly should be lean. personally if you are on drops a leanish torso and reasonable forearms seem good goals.

I am in my mid fifties and bench 110kgs plus a variety of curls, pulls downs and crunches five days a week. I don't do deadlifts or squats any more because of back trouble. I cycle on average 220km per week. And I still struggle to get belly fat away.

kumate_champ07

Squats work the 'core' very well, you dont need to do seperate isolation excercises if you do squats(olympic squats)
the movement starts from the glutes, not the quads. Youre basically raising your ass upwards but keeping your back alligned straight, the hamstrings and quads follow the glutes.
You'll only get big if you eat more. Deadlifts are also great. And kettlebells as mentioned

Lumen

chakattack wrote: »

Did a fair bit of core work, weights and stretching during the winter and felt the benefit in terms of comfort but no miracles. Weights are definitely good for power.

Then I listened too much to some of the well seasoned regulars here and switched to only training on the bike in January and worrying more about developing power than staying lean.

I've decided the advice was bogus! My climbing is sub-par and my flexibility is back in the geriatric realm.

Which thread was that? On this thread I don't see anyone telling you to get fat and avoid winter core work. :pac:

Jackie307133

redzone wrote: »

KETTLEBELL exercises are excellent for your core. I have only recently started these and notice a difference already.

With one kettlebell you can do an all over body workout and don't need alot of space. Ye can do it infront of the tv or in the back garden on a nice day etc. Its also a great cardio workout, really gets the pulse elevated and it only takes about 30-40 mins to complete a circuit.

i recently bought a dvd kettlebell workout and its awesome, there is a beginners section 20 mins and advanced is 40 mins. i'm loving every min of the workout and even though i have a lot of weight to lose i'm still able to do the whole thing

chakattack

Lumen wrote: »

Which thread was that? On this thread I don't see anyone telling you to get fat and avoid winter core work. :pac:

Can't remember exactly, the old adage usually pops up on weightloss/racing weight threads.

Did core work and weights in winter but should have kept it up during spring.

Lesson learnt