by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 21, 2017 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises
Focused core work is important if we want to build a strong, lean core that not only looks amazing but also helps us run faster, lift more and prevent aches, pains and injuries!
We need moves that really activate and work our abs and glutes while strengthening everything between our shoulders and our knees, down our frontsides AND our backsides.
The more muscles we can work at once, and the more planes of motions we can move in, the stronger our core will be and the faster we will achieve results.
That is why I love these 10 Bodyweight Core Moves. They work your core from every angle and even get your blood pumping so you can burn fat as you strengthen your core.
10 Bodyweight Moves To Redefine Your Core
I use these 10 Bodyweight Moves in my 28-Day Core Burner to help clients get faster results. These core intensive exercises work both your anterior and posterior chain. They include rotational and anti-rotational moves and really work your core from every direction.
They work your balance and not only work your abs, but also your oh so important glutes. These moves will give you more bang for your buck in less time!
1. Single Arm Plank Jacks:
This is a great cardio-core move that will also build shoulder stability and work on anti-rotational core strength. You’ll feel this working everything between your shoulders and your knees as you start to sweat!
This is an advanced move though. Beginners may need to start with the Basic Plank Jack or even a Plank Step Jack. It can even be done with your hands up on an incline to modify!
To do Single Arm Plank Jacks, set up in a high plank position with your hands a bit closer together under your shoulders and your feet together. Brace your abs and make sure your body is in a nice straight line.
Then jump your feet out wide, and as you do, lift one hand to touch your opposite shoulder. Resist the urge to really rotate as you lift the hand or let your butt go up in the air. Try to keep your hips down and your core as square to the ground as possible.
Jump your feet back together and place the hand back down. When you quickly jump your feet out again, this time lift the other hand to touch your opposite shoulder. Jump quickly back in and lower the hand back down. Keep repeating the jack with your feet, alternating which hand you lift to tap your shoulder.
Beginners can do a basic Plank Jack without the shoulder tap. For the Basic Plank Jack, click here.
2. Mountain Climber Turkish Bridge:
This rotational exercise will work…well…basically everything! It works your abs, the muscles around your rib cage, your glutes, you shoulders and your quads. Heck even your back!
To do the Mountain Climber Turkish Bridge, set up in a high plank position with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your hands under your shoulders. Then drive one knee in and across your body to the opposite elbow, like a cross-body mountain climber. Move to straighten that leg back out and, as you do, kick it back over your body to rotate open into the Turkish Bridge.
So if you tucked your right knee in, you will then rotate your right leg back over your body to the left as you lift your right hand up off the ground so you can fully rotate open.
You’ll lift your hand up toward the ceiling as you place the foot of the leg you kicked over flat on the ground. That knee will be bent as your other leg stays straight. Keep your hand on the ground under your shoulder and bridge your hips up by squeezing your glute. Make sure the foot of the leg you kicked over is flat on the ground to help you engage and load that glute. Pause here briefly and really focus on bridging up as your hand stays under your shoulder.
Then bring the leg back over and in for the cross body mountain climber. Feel around your rib cage work as you rotate as well as your abs in the mountain climber and glutes in the bridge portion. Move at a controlled pace so you can feel everything working.
Beginners may need to do the move with their hands up on an incline or even break it down and do a set of Cross Body Mountain Climbers followed by a set of the Turkish Bridge.
3. Warrior III Abs:
Balance moves, such as the Warrior III Abs, not only strengthen your feet and legs, but also help you build core stability. On top of that, the Warrior III Abs will also work your glutes and improve your hip mobility!
To do Warrior III Abs, set up in the Warrior III position, balanced on one leg with your raised leg driving back toward the wall behind you and your hips square to the ground. Reach your hands out overhead, reaching toward the wall in front of you.
Staying hinged over, crunch the knee of your raised leg in toward your chest as you pull your elbows in toward your knee. Really use your abs to crunch your elbows toward your knee. Do not stand up though as you crunch.
Then extend back out. Stay balanced on your standing leg and try to stay hinged over as you tuck and extend. Do not touch your toe down unless needed to stay balanced. Beginners may tap it down between reps to rebalance or even reach their hands out in front to lightly touch the wall.
4. Side Plank Adductor Raise:
Your inner thighs, or adductors, are important core muscles that contribute to hip and knee stability. One great way to work them to build stability, as you strengthen your glutes and obliques, is with the Side Plank Adductor Raise.
To do the Side Plank Adductor Raise, set up in a side plank from your forearm and feet. You will want you elbow to be under your shoulder and your feet unstacked with your bottom foot in front and even slightly angled forward. Lift up into the side plank position with your top hand on your hip and your chest not rotated toward the ground. Drive through the sides of your feet and flex your feet to engage even your lower leg.
Holding this position, lift and lower that bottom leg, raising it up a few inches then putting it back down at a controlled pace. Stay up in the side plank the entire time and don’t let your hips sag. Do not place your top hand down to assisted.
If you need to modify, bend that top leg and place the foot flat on the ground behind you OR even regress fully to a side lying adductor lift. Both are shown below.
5. Dolphin Planks:
This plank almost makes you look like you’re doing everything wrong. You are going to sag your hips AND round your back at the top. But talk about a way to kill your abs!
The plange plank position, or rounded position at the top where you draw your belly button in, is going to get your abs shaking. And then when you dip your hips, you are just lowering down and stopping just before your abs disengage. AKA you are making your abs work to brace and stabilize as you move up and down in the plank position and getting your core intrinsic stabilizers to really work!
To do Dolphin Planks, set up in a plank from your forearms and toes (advanced) or knees (beginner). Make sure your shoulders are stacked over your elbows. Brace your core and engage your back as you hold your body in a nice straight line from your head to your heels or knees.
Then sag your hips toward the ground without completing relaxing onto the ground before rounding your back up toward the ceiling. You want to sag your hips only as low as you can without your low back taking over. You should feel your abs still engaging.
When you round up at the top, you aren’t simply sticking your butt up in the air. You want to round your entire back and perform the pelvic tilt. It is almost like you are doing the “cat” in the cat/cow stretch. Do not push backward too much as you do it. Keep your shoulders stacked over your elbows.
Then lower back down and sag your hips before rounding back up. Pause in each position to really feel your core working. Beginners can do this from their knees, off an incline or even modify and do the Vomiting Cat on their hands and knees.
6. Posterior Plank Mountain Climbers:
Often when we think about working our core, we think about working our abs and the front of our body. But our posterior chain is also important to work because one of the most important muscle groups of our core is the GLUTES!
Posterior Plank Mountain Climbers not only work your abs but also your posterior chain, including your glutes, back and hamstrings. The move also works on hip extension and will open up your chest. It is a great move to reverse all of the forward flexion we do sitting hunched over our computers and phones!
To do the Posterior Plank Mountain Climbers, sit on the ground with your legs out straight in front of you and your hands down behind your butt on the ground.
Then, driving up through your heels and your hands, press your hips up toward the ceiling and press your chest out. As you bridge up, squeeze your butt and lift your hips up as high as you can while keeping your legs straight and your chest pressed out. Do not shrug your shoulders at the top as you press your chest out.
Hold at the top with your body in a nice straight line. Do not hyperextend your back. Then slowly tuck one knee in toward your chest. Tuck it in as far as you can.
Then straighten the leg back out. Place the foot back down then tuck your other knee in. Feel your glutes and hamstrings working to hold you up as your abs work to tuck your knee in. Beginners can start with a tabletop variation as they tuck instead of the full Posterior Plank.
7. Cross Body Knee with Lateral Raise:
This standing core move is great if you can’t get down on the ground. Plus it is a unilateral move that will work your abs and glutes, especially your glute medius. Unilateral moves are great to help correct imbalances and make sure that each side of your body pulls its own weight!
To do Cross Body Knee with Lateral Raise, you’ll want a chair or wall right in front of you that you can lean forward and place your hands or forearms on.
Leaning forward bring one knee up and across under your body toward your opposite elbow, drawing your abs in as you tuck. Then kick the leg up and out to the side as high as you can but do not rotate as you kick laterally. Feel your glute working to lift. Do not really lean away but instead keep yourself balanced by leaning onto something.
After kicking out, lower your leg down and tuck your knee back in toward your opposite elbow, feeling your abs and not just your leg work to draw the knee in and across your body. Move at a controlled pace. Tucking and then performing a lateral raise or lateral kick.
8. Side Lunge with Knee:
Working your legs and abs at the same times is the perfect way to build a strong core AND burn more calories in less time. Anytime you can get more muscles working at once, especially BIG muscle groups, you up your calorie burn as you build strength.
The Side Lunge with Knee will get your blood pumping as you strengthen your legs, glutes and abs, especially your obliques.
To do the Side Lunge with Knee, start standing tall then lunge out to the side, sitting your butt back as you hinge forward slightly and load your glute. Push your butt back and sink down, bending your outside knee as your other leg stays straight. You can reach to the ground or keep your hands at your chest. It can even be helpful to reach the opposite arm toward the heel you lunged out with to help you sit back.
Then quickly drive back to standing and, without touching your foot down if possible, drive that knee up and in across your body. You can rotate your upper body toward that knee almost as if pulling someone’s head down and across your body into your knee. Touch the toe down if needed then repeat the lunge back out followed by the quick knee drive.
Feel your legs working with the lunge and your abs working with the knee drive and rotation.
Beginners may not sink as low in the lunge or step out as far. They may also touch their toe down to balance between the lunge and knee drive.
9. Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift:
Moving in every plane of motion is key to building a strong core that prevents injury. And this Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift not only gets you moving in different directions, but it also combines a compound leg move with a more glute-focused movement to really make sure your glutes are working. It really targets the glute medius with the Leg Lift, which is an important muscles to strengthen for hip stability!
To do the Curtsy Lunge to Leg Lift, start standing tall with your feet together. Then lunge back, stepping your foot across and behind your front leg so you sit back into your front glute. You aren’t lunging straight back, but are instead crossing behind as you keep your chest facing forward. Keep your front foot pointing straight ahead too. If you rotate open as you cross behind, you won’t get the benefit of the curtsy lunge.
Sink down into the lunge, sitting back in your front heel as you feel your front glute load. Then drive through your front heel to come back up to standing. Lightly tap the toe down to balance if needed and then raise your leg out to the side for a lateral raise.
Feel your glute on the side lifting your leg laterally then touch the toe down and repeat the lunge. You will shift your weight toward your standing leg, but don’t lean way to the side just to lift your leg up higher. Beginners may not sink as deep in the lunge.
10 .Spiderman Mountain Climbers:
I love cardio-core moves that also work on your mobility. That is why Spiderman Mountain Climbers are a must-do move. They will work on your hip mobility as they strengthen your legs, shoulders and abs (plus they’ll really get your blood pumping!).
To do Spiderman Mountain Climbers, start in the high plank position from your hands and feet. Then, keeping your core engaged, step one foot up and outside your hand into a nice low spiderman or runner’s lunge. Try not to let your butt go way up in the air as you step your foot outside.
Beginners will then quickly step back into plank and then step the other foot forward into a lunge on the other side. They will move as quickly as possible, stepping their foot all the way outside their hand.
More advanced exercisers will jump from lunge to lunge. The faster you jump between lunges and the less you pause on each side, the harder the move will be. Still try to keep your butt down and make sure to land in a lunge with your foot outside your hand each time.
Want quick 10-Minute Bodyweight Core Burners using these moves?
by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 9, 2017 | Blog, Exercises
“I don’t want to do that. I feel unbalanced and awkward and I can’t lift as heavy.”
I had a new client tell me this when I explained that he’d be doing Single Leg Deadlifts.
My response?
“That’s exactly why you SHOULD be doing them.”
His statement though shed some light though on why so many peopled DON’T use unilateral exercises in their training.
Yea…Many of them are awkward to start. They challenge our balance. They challenge our mind-body connection and coordination. And we CAN’T often lift as heavy with them to start.
But these moves we try and avoid, are some of the best ones if we want to truly get functionally stronger and prevent injury.
And I think part of what helps us start including moves we aren’t comfortable with is the understanding of WHY they are important.
So…here’s why unilateral moves are important to do! (And at the bottom of the post I share some of my favorite unilateral moves!)
Why You Should Include Unilateral Exercises In Your Training
To quickly summarize and list the benefits before I explain them in more detail…
- Correct/reduce imbalances that could lead to injury.
- Build core stability.
- Improve your balance.
- Build functional strength.
- Improve your proprioception and mind-body connection.
Ever only feel one side really get sore from your workouts?
Maybe you always feel your dominant side taking over during bilateral moves (aka moves like the squat and such where both sides are working together)?
Or maybe you’ve had injuries on one side that just keep flaring up? And you can’t seem to get that side to feel like it is working the right way.
Whether you’ve experienced one, or even all of these, you need to use Unilateral Moves in your training.
Unilateral moves force each side to work independently, which is why it can help correct imbalances. When you work each side independently, your stronger, dominant side can’t compensate and take over.
With bilateral moves, we can compensate. We can rely on our dominant side. We can recruit muscles that really aren’t meant to handle the load. This creates imbalances and compensations which can lead to injury.
Injuries can cause muscles on one side of your body to shut off, which can lead to further compensations, imbalances and injuries. And not properly strengthening your weaker side, or underactive muscles, can lead to aches and pains on both the same side of your body or even the OPPOSITE side.
With unilateral moves, you prevent your dominant side from taking over and you can correct those imbalances that can lead to overuse and injury.
You force each side to work equally and you can really focus on even doing EXTRA on that weaker side to help correct the deficit! You can “close the gap” between both sides by focusing on your weak areas and forcing that weaker side to do what your stronger side can.
I often tell clients to do the reps on their weaker side first so they know what they can do and they do the same on that stronger side. You may fear this will “hold your stronger side back,” but instead it makes sure you don’t perpetuate the imbalance. Heck, in this case, if you’re going to do more reps on one side, you should do more on your weaker side.
You can also correct the imbalance by using the same weight and reps you can on that dominant side on that weaker side even if you have to “pause” at a point in the reps. (Keep that pause short and your body won’t necessarily process it as rest!)
So you can use these unilateral moves to strengthen that weak side and stop perpetuating the imbalances.
But on top of that you can improve your balance, core stability and mind-body connection throughout your body by using these moves.
Standing on one foot, or loading down one side or rowing with one arm adds in an element of instability, which challenges your core. And when you stand on one foot, you definitely work all of those stabilizers muscles that will improve your balance.
Unilateral moves can build functional strength for those times we are off balance or reaching and not necessarily centered or lifting with both sides. You can work on your rotational strength, so your ability to rotate and control the rotation (aka not hurt your back) as well as your ANTI-rotational strength aka your ability to RESIST forces acting on you that could otherwise cause you to turn or twist in a weird way!
So whether you want to prevent injury, look better or get stronger so you can lift more or run faster, you need to include unilateral moves.
Yes, RUNNERS unilateral strength training is key for you especially if you want to strengthen your gait to run faster and more efficiently AND prevent injuries!
If you’re now sold on unilateral training, try these moves!
10 Of My Favorite Unilateral Moves
Single Leg Deadlift – A must-do move whether you want to correct imbalances, strengthen your core, improve your balance or just simple get a strong backside is the Single Leg Deadlift.
To do the Bodyweight Single Leg Deadlift, stand up nice and tall, balancing on your right leg with your knee slightly bent and your left toe lightly touching the ground. Your arms should be hanging down by your sides.
Then lift your left leg back toward the wall behind you as you hinge over, keeping your back flat. As you hinge over, extend your arms down toward the ground. Make sure to sit your butt back as you hinge over and not simply lean forward.
Do not reach your arms toward the ground and let your back round. It doesn’t matter if you touch the ground, just extend your arms down toward it as far as you can without rounding or “squatting.” Your standing knee should be soft but isn’t going to bend extra as you hinge over.
Hinge over as far as you can with good form and then drive through that standing heel to come back up to standing. Feel your glutes work to bring you up nice and tall. Squeeze your glutes at the top and repeat, hinging back over on the same leg.
Single Arm Anti-Rotational Row – Improve your posture, pull ups and anti-rotational core strength as you strengthen your back without your stronger side taking over!
To do the Anti-Rotational Single-Arm Inverted Row, grab one handle of a suspension trainer in one hand and place the other hand across your chest. You can also reach the free arm up as if holding a strap if that will help remind you to keep your shoulders square. Set up with your body in a nice straight line, squeezing your quads, glutes and core and pressing your chest out. Make sure to relax your shoulder down and back and not shrug up.
Walk your feet forward to an appropriate incline. The closer to parallel you are to the ground, the harder the move will be. Make sure that you choose an incline that allows you to row with proper form and feel your back working. You do not want your shoulder to shrug.
Square up your body and then row up. Do not let the side not holding the strap rotate toward the strap as you row up or the shoulder of the arm not holding a strap to drop open. You want to row up as if you are pulling with both arms. That means your body shouldn’t close toward the strap or your shoulder shouldn’t open toward the ground.
Drive your elbow down and back as you row up and row your chest all the way up to the handle. Do not shrug your shoulder as you row. Then lower back down. Do not let your back round or your body open up toward the ground as you lower. Repeat rowing back up, making sure that you don’t bounce off the bottom or rotate as you repeat.
Single Arm Plank Rotation With Knee – Talk about a move to build functional core strength and shoulder stability! This unilateral move will challenge your core stability for sure!
To do the Single Arm Plank Rotation With Knee, set up in a side plank position from your hand with your bottom leg in back of your top leg.
Then lift that back leg as if kicking it back and up toward the ceiling slightly. Reach your top hand out in front of you and overhead. Your chest will rotate toward the ground as you lift up into this side plank position with your opposite arm and leg raised.
Rotate your chest back open as you tuck your raised leg under and forward, driving your knee forward as you tuck your raised arm down to meet it. Try to touch your knee to your elbow as you rotate your chest back open and away from the ground.
After slowly tucking the knee to the elbow and feeling yourself pivot around that shoulder then kick the leg back out and reach back out and overhead with your hand. The muscles around your rib cage should really be working.
Move slowly to stay balanced and try to keep your hand on the ground under your shoulder. Beginners can tap the toe down behind them or even just do the knee tuck without the kick out.
Cossacks Squat – Not all unilateral moves have to mean you are COMPLETELY balanced on one side. Lunges and moves like the Cossacks Squat reduce the balance and instability while still getting each side to work on it’s own. And while they may “reduce” the balance element, they are still more unstable than equal bilateral moves. AKA they are a great way to work up even to full unilateral moves!
And the Cossacks specifically will really help you improve your mobility!
To do the Cossack Squat, stand with your feet nice and wide apart as if you are going to do a Side Lunge (feet will be wider than shoulder-width). Shift your weight to one side, bending that knee and sinking down into a side lunge as you rotate the toe of your straight leg up toward the ceiling.
Sink as low to the side as you can, dropping your butt down to the ground while keeping your heel on the ground. You will feel like you are sinking into a deep squat on one side as your other legs stays out straight with the toe up.
Then push back up out of the squat and come to standing tall with your legs straight and feet still wide apart. Then shift to a squat on the other side, sitting down as low as you can while keeping your heels down.
Beginners may not be able to sink as low in the squat. Do not try to sink lower by squatting down and letting your heel come up. Sink only as low as you can while keeping your heels down.
Advanced exercisers can hold a weight goblet style.
Step Down – The Step Down is a great way to strengthen each glute and leg individually and improve your balance. And unlike the Step Up, you can’t cheat and allow your other leg to assist in the movement. Plus, you can improve your mobility as you strengthen through a full range of motion.
To do the Step Down, start standing on a bench or box. Stand close to the edge so that you can step off of it to the side with one foot. The higher the box you use, the bigger the range of motion you can do. You can also decrease the range of motion if you aren’t yet strong enough by using a lower box or by not sinking all the way down. You do not want to go too low and end up setting your foot down on the ground so that you can push off.
Standing near the edge of the bench with your other foot right on the side or hanging off, slowly hinge forward sitting your butt back as you drop the foot on the side down toward the ground. Keeping your back flat, push your butt back as you bend your standing knee to drop your foot toward the ground.
If you can, lightly touch the toe of the foot to the ground, but make sure you do not drop it all the way down so that you can push off of it. Sink as low as you can then drive right back up to standing. Make sure you are only driving through your standing heel and not using your left foot on the ground.
Do not rock forward as you come back up to standing. Really use your glute and drive through your heel. Stand back up nice and tall and squeeze your glute at the top.
Then repeat, sinking back down.
Go as low as you can and complete all reps on one side before switching.
Split Squat – When we think lunges, we think about stepping forward or backward…or maybe even sideways. And these are all great unilateral variations. But if you want to train the most basic lunge movement, you need to start with the Split Squat.
This is a great move to strengthen your legs and core to help you run faster and squat more. It is also a great way to build toward the Balance Lunge without as much instability. Plus, you can improve your strength through a full range of motion as you get up from a half kneeling position on the ground!
To do the Split Squat, step one foot forward into a wide lunge stance. Keeping your chest up nice and tall, stand with your front foot flat on the ground and the heel of your back foot up so that you are on the ball of your back foot.
Then drop your back knee down toward the ground. Do not go forward as you drop your back knee down. Really sit back in your front heel, while keeping your foot flat on the ground, as you bend your front knee and drop your back knee down. You can touch your knee to the ground if you have the strength and mobility. Your weight should be centered as you lower down to the bottom of the Split Squat. To make the move more challenging, touch your knee down and pause so that you have to drive up from a dead stop.
Then drive back up to standing, keeping your weight centered. Drive through your front foot and the ball of your back foot. Feel your quads and your front glute really working to bring you back up to standing. Do not lean or round forward as you lift back up. Come back up and then repeat the move on the same side. Really focus on keeping your weight centered as you lift and lower.
Plank Shoulder Taps – This is one of my favorite plank variations because it is a great anti-rotational core move that also builds shoulder stability. Having to fight your body wanting to rotate as you slowly move from hand to hand will make your core work!
To do the Plank Shoulder Taps, set up in a high plank position from your hands and toes (advanced) or hands and knees (beginner). Place your hands under your shoulders and closer together while your feet or knees should be wider apart to provide a more stable base. Bring your feet or knees together as the move becomes easier to make it harder on your core to stabilize. By having your hands closer together and more centered under your chest, you will also provide yourself with a more stable base. It is very important that you remain stable with this move or you can stress your shoulder.
Then, bracing your abs and engaging your glutes so that your body is in a nice straight line, lift one hand up off the ground, moving it slowly to touch the opposite shoulder. Keep your hips square to the ground and do not rotate as you lift your hand to touch your shoulder.
Do not let your butt go up in the air or your hips sag toward the ground. Touch your opposite shoulder then slowly place your hand back down on the ground. You want to move at a very controlled pace. Lift the other hand and tap your other shoulder. Do not rotate as you lift. Try to keep your body still and simply lift the hand to touch the opposite shoulder.
Fire Hydrant – Especially if you’ve had any injuries, you need to include unilateral isolation/activation moves to help correct those imbalances and get the underactive muscles working. That is why Fire Hydrants are key. They will help activate the glutes to build hip stability so you can run faster and lift more. This move is key to get the glute medius working so that you can also prevent hip, low back and even knee pain.
To do Fire Hydrants, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet. Keeping your arms straight and your feet flexed, raise your right leg out to the side with the knee bent to 90 degrees.
As you raise your leg out to the side, you want to keep your ankle in line with your knee and not let your foot get above your knee or your knee go up above your foot. You want to try to raise your lower leg parallel to the ground when you lift your leg out to the side.
You should feel the outside of your hip and glute working to lift the leg to the side. Don’t simply lean away to get your leg up higher. Keep your core tight and lift from the hip using your glute. Hold at the top then lower back down.
Make sure to hold for 1-2 seconds. Do not rush through the lift or simply swing the leg up. Make sure you do not bend your arms to get your leg up higher. Squeeze your butt and make sure you feel it activate.
Range of motion isn’t important as long as you feel your glute working. You may even feel this in the leg you are kneeling on because your glute is working to stabilize. Complete all reps on one side before switching.
Glute Bridge with Rocks – Unilateral moves are a great way to correct imbalances, but they can also be a great way to progress exercises instead of adding weight. HOWEVER, sometimes those unilateral moves are TOO challenging so we can’t do them correctly and end up compensating still.
That is why having moves that isolate each side WITHOUT putting the full strain on one side at a time can be key…just like with lunges and such. The Glute Bridge with Rocks is another great move that, while still bilateral, allows you to get in some unilateral activation. It is the perfect way to regress the Single Leg Glute Bridge, but also just a great variation on its own!
To do the Glute Bridge With Rock, set up like you are going to do the Basic Glute Bridge. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Your feet should be about hip-width apart and your knees should be in line with your feet and hips.
Bend your arms to 90 degrees and then drive through your arms, upper back and heels to bridge up. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to bridge up.
Then slightly release the contraction in one glute and rock to bridge one hip up slightly higher. Really focus on contracting that glute.
Release that side and rock your other hip slightly up to contract that glute harder. Keep your abs braced as you rock slightly and alternate contracting each glute a little bit extra at the top of the bridge.
Do not let your low back take over as you hold at the top and work to contract each glute a little bit extra. Also, do not let your hips sag down toward the ground.
Stability Press – The Stability Press is a great anti-rotational core move that really works your obliques and glutes. It is a great move to help prevent low back and hip pain, especially if you find you have pain only on one side!
To do the Stability Press, you can use a resistance band or cable. Hold a handle in both hands and turn to the side so you are sideways to the anchor point and step away from the anchor point so that there is tension in the band. You want to make sure there is tension or the move won’t be challenging. Stand with your feet no more than shoulder-width apart. The closer your feet are together, the harder the move will be. Choose a stance though that challenges you while allowing you to maintain good form and not lean away.
Bring your hands into the center of your chest and squeeze your glutes while you brace your abs. Standing up nice and tall with your chest pressed out, slowly push the band straight out from the center of your chest until your arms are straight out.
It should be a struggle to press the arms straight out because the band is trying to rotate you back toward the anchor point. Your core should have to work to stabilize and press straight out from your chest. Do not let your arms rotate open and go back toward the anchor. Maintain a nice tall posture with your shoulder blades drawn down and back and your core engaged. Make sure you also don’t lean away.
Then slowly bring your arms back in and repeat. Move slowly to really have to fight the band. If you move too quickly, you won’t get as much out of the move and you’ll probably get sloppy and let yourself rotate toward the anchor point or even shift open and push away. If you allow your stance to rotate open or if you lean away, it will make the movement easier and won’t force that inside side (the side closest to the anchor point) to really work to stabilize.
Start training unilaterally with the moves above or even some more fun variations in the video below!
