Concept2 Forum

Grrrrrrrr, I wrenched my back shoveling off the deck yesterday. This made me realize three things:

1. Shoveling is for suckas.

2. I'm not going to hit my 10K/day goal for February. Not enough days left to cover the lost ground. Damn it.

3. Paddling 10K/day will not give me a Core Of Steel, so I need to add ab/back exercises to my routine. (Which at the moment consists solely of paddling 10K/day. Well, and walking to/from work.)

So here's where I need help: what's the most efficient, least hateful set of core exercises I can do to shore up my midsection? I'm looking for the fewest number (of exercises, not reps) possible, since the more there are, the less likely I am to do any. In fact, I'm really hoping for one essential back exercise and one essential ab exercise. But I'd submit to two of each if that made more sense. Every day would work; every other day would work better.

Any ideas? Hmmmm? C'mon, make with the free advice.

plank

Sorry, no ideas Duc!

Maybe Bill Steamshovel could give you some (free) advice on shoveling?

Take it easy and get better soon.

One suggestion is to get Xeno Muller's upper body rowing ergometer workout DVD. You get some extra work on the core and arms with that DVD. All his DVD's are fun.

Another suggestion is to do part of your rowing with an unstable seat. I use a homemade one but there is one you can buy: CorePerform.

With an unstable seat you are doing extra work on the core while you are erging, so you don't need to set aside extra time for working on the core.

Get well soon.

Byron

Thanks, guys! Much better already today. Plank looks great, TomR.

I've taken a look at the CorePerform before, but I'm the definition of "casual user" on the erg, so I'm not sure I'm up for it. We'll see. Maybe after I've plank-ed for a while...

Sun Salutations

there are a few variants, I practise and teach Sivananda Yoga, and there are a lot of teachers trained by them. Like anything, learn the technique, and follow the instructions.

Great question. I'm looking for exercises to do the same.

Sun salutations are excellent for limbering up but in my opinion don't do much for strengthening.

I'm currently doing a lot of high pulls, from shins to neck, which appear to be good for my back and also pullovers.

I would love to find a good exercise for the abs though. I've been doing some v-sits, which are good but static and like the plank don't move through the range. So perhaps situps are the only and best answer? If so, I'm going to experiment with various pads, and anything that will help make the situps easier to accomplish.

Any and all other suggestions are most welcome.

TomR wrote:plank

Pardon my ignorance but what is PLANK?

john

Here's a picture of the side plank.
http://www.treeoffitness.com/Photos/Sid ... 20Foot.JPG

Straight arm plank
http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2006-06/23891264.jpg

Another side plank
http://exercise.about.com/library/graph ... plank2.jpg

Forearm plank
http://www.ashtangadiary.com/wp-content ... /plank.jpg

Forearm plank with legs up in back
http://images.rodale.com/image/pv/train ... er_row.jpg

You might check out http://www.craftsbury.com/sculling/events/tips.htm
on the left is the tech tip archive. Nov and dec 2003 have core strength exercises.

I also picked up a "ab roller" aka The Wheel of Torture after using it at craftsbury. It is a very simple and quick way to strengthen you core muscles. But start slowly or you will get very sore.

Nosmo wrote:I also picked up a "ab roller" aka The Wheel of Torture after using it at craftsbury. It is a very simple and quick way to strengthen you core muscles. But start slowly or you will get very sore.

I made an ab wheel quite a few years ago and used it for awhile. The ab roller is something else, which I also have but found to not be of much use.

The ab wheel is a toughie and strengthens the gluts and entire torso. I don't recall it doing much for the abs but certainly made them quite sore at the start so maybe did a lot more than I thought. I should try it again and find out.

Ab wheel = the moving plank?



http://youtube.com/watch?v=kjk8aqMP1xQ

Power wheel - according to this article, the ab wheel is excellent for the abs. You can get one at Walmart for 7 bucks or make one for a few bucks more that will last a few lifetimes. The one in the photo is $15 at various places on the net. Make sure to get a double wheel, as a single one can slip and is dangerous.

http://www.mikemahler.com/store/product ... _wheel.htm

Here is ab wheel extreme.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=02KuIZEorHA

The one-armed evil wheel.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DeKEe4ujceM

If those are too easy try this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-GG8nmkOh4&NR