Today’s episode is a brief look at ways to improve core activation through Olympic style lifts. ALL Olympic lifts require a huge amount of core stability, however we will often see athletes do a poor job of organizing their trunk and instead relying on structural rather than active support (like your vertebrae – does your low back ache after push-press or deadlift?)
Even when an athlete has mastered the Two-Hand Rule (as described in video), they often lack lateral stability during landing, running, throwing, etc. which displaces their trunk outside of their base of support causing a large external force in an unstable position – dangerous for the knee. Seriously think about the volleyball players you know who land like this after a serve or guys landing like this during box jumps in Fight Gone Bad, they are the same ones who complain of hip and knee pain!
So to improve lateral trunk control, have the task drive the result you want to see rather than isolate muscles and hope it carries over to skilled activities. The exercises described are a great launching point to improve lateral stability prior to or in addition to moving into landing activities. Get creative, try varying the stimulus from weight/resistance in one arm to having resistance in both arms but while standing on one leg (you get the idea).
Don’t be a knucklehead – if you are the person who rocks a manbelly during deadlifts, you need to be organizing your spine like right now prior to doing these exercises.
-Seth
