Core training is one of the most misunderstood aspects in the fitness industry. You see hundreds of infomercials for goofy products intended to make working your core easier – the ab lounge, the ab belt, the ab circle pro, the ab flyer, the ab roller, the ab rocket… the list goes on and on and they are all garbage. It seems like every week you can find the latest new workout regimen released by a fitness guru (or even good looking celebrities and actors), instructing you on how to get a great six-pack—all usually entailing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups. Endless numbers of programs tout new exercises and ways of exercising your core muscles, promising you results of rock hard washboard abs. It seems like people have forgotten how the big guys got their abs back in the day. The answer is simple and you can see examples of this at California Strength – we lift big ass weights.
When I say we lift big ass weights, I don’t mean that we do things with “big” 35 lb. dumbbells while standing on one leg on a Bosu ball. You won’t even see any of our lifters doing sit-ups while holding a “big” 45 lb. weight plate. The big weights that I am referring to are the hundreds of pounds (or kilos) that you will see loaded on a barbell during a big lift. You won’t ever see a Cal. Strength lifter doing sets of crunches, or hanging leg raises, or anything with a silly plastic wheel or Swiss ball. Yet many of them could make many bodybuilders blush during a pose-off at the beach. There’s no secret to these chiseled and strong midsections; we just lift big weights.
A day of training at our gym is comprised of big lifts – clean and jerks, snatches, back and front squats, and pulls. You won’t see any toys, or gimmicky “tools” such as bands and chains… just big weights on big lifts. Each of the exercises that you see our lifters doing not only utilize muscles all over your body, they also require a strong core. You can’t be strong with each of these lifts without a strong core so the way to develop that core is to lift as heavy as you can in these lifts. The more weight you put on that bar, the more weight your body has to be able to support and stabilize, and that is the primary function of your core muscles. Every single exercise we do is like doing a set of ab exercises, and it’s quite liberating not having to worry about adding in more sets of work during our training sessions.
The Power Belly
For those people who question whether or not strength and power exercises truly work your core, look no further than the power belly as proof. Many power and Olympic lifters form what is called a “power belly” after years of training in the power and Olympic lifts (it resembles a pot belly but without the fat). A power belly forms when a lifter uses a weight belt. During these types of lifts, a lifter has to brace his core, and the core muscles push out against the belt, which provides resistance. This creates incredibly strong abdominal muscles over time, and many power and Olympic lifters wear it as a badge of honor, even comparing the size of their power bellies like bodybuilders would compare their biceps. The power belly proves that these big lifts utilize your core and the stronger the core, the more you can lift.
If you are tired of being one of those guys who spends 20 minutes every training session doing additional core work, or are even more embarrassed about being tempted to try one of those expensive infomercial ruses, fear not ‘cause there is a simple solution. Integrate your core training into your strength training by going heavy, and you will not only see gains in other areas as well, you will also be able to brag about higher power lift numbers and save hours of time that you used to waste doing a few sets of crunches.
Jon North – Jon North had a football career cut short by injuries, but within two years of turning to Olympic Weightlifting as an outlet he has risen to a #4 National Ranking in the sport. He is an elite lifter and trainer for California Strength Academy and a candidate for both the National and World teams as well as the 2012 Olympics in London.