So
who DOESN'T want a stronger, more explosive core.
Show of hands...
I've got a GREAT
exercise for you for developing explosive rotational
power in the core area. This is EXACTLY what you
need for hitting a golf ball further, throwing
faster and hitting harder - without rotational
power, all you've got is the power in your limbs
and that's NOTHING compared to the overall power
you can generate with your core.
I call this exercise
the "Dumbell Whip Around" because that's
basically what you're going to do!
This is a challenging
core rotational exercise - you're going to be
swinging the dumbell around ALMOST like you're
swinging a discus to throw.
The key is this...
You're going to
use a lot of power and momentum on one side to
get the weight moving but, instead of using muscle
action on that same side to stop/slow the movement,
you'll use the core muscles on your OTHER side
to "catch it," then stop it, then whip
the dumbell back around to the original start
position for another go.
Sounds confusing,
but you'll see what I mean. Basically, the reason
this works so well for building explosive core
power is that because the muscles that start the
explosive movement don't have to work to SLOW
the explosive movement, it teaches them to explode
that much more effectively. There's no deceleration
hesitation in the core and you can sling the dumbell
around at MACH speed.
| PLEASE
NOTE: With this one, be VERY sure you
don't go too heavy to start with - this
is a rotational exercise and if you haven't
done much rotational work, you could strain
yourself. We don't want that! So start light
and work your way up as you feel comfortable!
But once you're ready, don't be afraid to
use some weight! |
For this exercise,
you'll need one dumbell. Pick it up in your right
hand and hold it at your side. Your feet should
be set apart a bit - you're going to be generating
force through your legs up into the core - and
they need to be apart for stability.
Swing the dumbell
back and around behind your body like you're winding
up. Keep your knees bent and midsection tight!
Now whip that dumbell
around as explosively and as fast as you can!
It's almost like throwing a discus (rotational
and explosive movement) like you were trying to
sling the dumbell as far away from you as possible.
Hold on TIGHT, though, as not everybody has concrete
walls in their gym like I do...
Now here's the trick
- as you whip the dumbell around, "catch"
the dumbell in your other hand and use your OTHER
arm/side abs to slow the momentum.
The slowing of momentum
should take the dumbell all the way around behind
you in the other direction.
Now using BOTH hands,
whip that dumbell back around the OTHER way to
where you started from. Use a powerful push from
the left hand and a powerful pull from the right
hand (they'll work together on this whip around
back to the start position).
Here's the key -
the turnaround point. Don't hesitate AT ALL at
the change of direction. When you stop the rotation
one way IMMEDIATELY and explosively whip that
dumbell back around. We're trying to put rotational
torque on the core muscles (safely, of course)
and that change of direction and momentum is the
most important point.
So do your reps
on one side (about 4 to 6 reps - explosive movements
shouldn't be done for more than that or you start
hitting the wrong fiber types and losing explosiveness),
then switch hands and repeat on the other side...same
movement, direction reversed.
Perform the same
number of reps on this side as you did on the
first side. I like to stick to just 2 or 3 sets
of this one. Any more than that and your core
will get too fatigued and it won't be "quality"
work anymore, which is critical for an explosive
rotational core exercise.
I HIGHLY recommend
checking out the video for this exercise to see
exactly how the whip-around is performed. It'll
give you an idea of the power and speed you should
be using when you do the exercise.
------------------------
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If you're interested
in more unique ab exercises just like this, I
have a bunch more on my Powerful Training Secrets
site in the free sample area for abdominal exercises.
And…
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