You’ve been doing sit ups since middle school gym class; so why don’t you have six-pack abs? Well, the answer is simple: you haven’t been training your core. Imagine your trunk area as the core of an apple. This area goes far beyond the abdominal muscles. It includes the obliques and all the back muscles that are used to stabilize your trunk, stand up straight, ability to twist & turn and prevent injury to your lower back. Most people don’t know that the minor core muscles also include your lats, traps and glutes. By now it’s pretty clear that sit-ups are NOT the only core exercise needed.To effectively strengthen your core you need to do exercises that cause your body to become unstable. At CrossFit Zanshin we program core strengthening movements in every workout for our members. We do not do this with traditional machines or crunches. We teach people how to use their body to run, jump, throw, crawl, climb, push and pull.Here are three of the most common exercises we do at CrossFit Zanshin to help our athletes develop a rock hard stomach.
- Hollow Rocks- A staple with gymnastics training and extremely effective when done correctly. Once you add these into your daily routine sit-ups will be a thing of the past. Hollow Rock Demo Video
- Kettlebell Swing- The kettlebell is most commonly found in CrossFit style gyms, the kettlebell swing develops power in your hamstrings, and core area. The kettlebell packs a punch, this one tool offers so many variations of awesome exercises not to mention the working out with kettlebells can really raise that heart rate. Kettlebell Swing Demo
- Barbell Power Clean- Whether you lift weights or kids, the power clean gets the job done. The Power Clean will strengthen all of your pulling muscles. It is great training for balance, speed and power and especially useful when having to put your suitcase in the overhead compartment. Power Clean Demo
CrossFit Zanshin is a functional fitness facility, our goal is to improve your ability to perform everyday tasks, build strength, balance, and flexibility helping you live a long and healthy life resistant to injury. Learn more about methodology during one of our Free classes held weekly.