I have never
been a fan of core training. Although I’ve always had an ‘ab’ or a ‘core’ day
on my fitness schedule, it was always the first day to go when something
invariably came up. Unlike the squat, the deadlift, or the bench press, lifts
designed to strengthen your core aren’t sexy. Very rarely do you utilize much,
if any weight on core exercises, & improvement can be difficult to track.
That said, core strength is vitally important for the heavier lifts such as
squats & deadlifts, & in the OCR world, core strength is imperative for stability
as you run through uneven terrain & over, under, & through challenging
obstacles.
When I chose
my exercises for my leg, back, & chest training, they seemed quite
intuitive & easy to select. When I polled the OCR community, there seemed
to be consensus that dips, pull-ups, burpees, & squats were imperative
& I filled in the rest from there. My core exercises on the other hand were
very challenging to choose & I found little-to-no consensus among veteran
obstacle course racers.
While choosing my core exercises, I wanted to pick exercises that
would replicate Spartan Race obstacles, which I will discuss below. Today I
look at how my first 5 core strength training days went, & look at how I’m
looking to switch up the plan moving forward.
Core Exercises
First, I will
look at the progress that I made on the 3 strength-building core exercises (3 as
I also do burpees on core day, which I already discussed in my post on chest strength training)
that I have completed over the past 5 weeks. If you would like to read more on
the rational behind why I chose each exercise, I discussed it at length in my day 8 post on strength training.
- Plank Crawl (core): I chose the plank crawl to add a twist to my regular plank
exercise that I’m used to completing, & also to replicate the Barbed Wire
crawl. The plank crawl involves crawling forward while on your elbows &
toes the length of a yoga mat & back. I attempt to keep good form by shimmying my
forearms forward while keeping my elbows on the mat & my butt down as much
as possible when pushing forward with my feet, which forces me to squeeze my
abdominal muscles. One ‘repetition’ includes starting with my hands on one side
of the mat & crawling forward until my hands reach the far side of the mat,
& back to the starting point. I’m sure I look ridiculous while completing this exercise,
however the plank crawl has proven to be surprisingly difficult both
anaerobically & muscularly, finding myself out of breath with my abs burning
by the end of a set. When I first completed the exercise, I was only able to do
13 lengths of the mat over 3 sets & have since more than doubled this
number while improving my form. I am going to look to continue to improve on
this exercise while maintaining good form to ensure I am ready for the Barbed Wire crawl come race day!
Progress: 13 repetitions to 27 repetitions
- Medicine Ball Twist (core): the medicine ball twist, also known
as the Russian twist, quickly became a ‘kettlebell twist’ as the weight that I’m
using exceeded those of the medicine balls in my gym. This exercise is
controversial in the fitness community, however I like it because it requires
core & leg endurance to keep your core tight & legs raised throughout
the exercise. As I’ve increased in weight, I’ve also found that it has given me
an arm workout at the same time. The key for me with this exercise is slow,
strict repetitions instead of the fast, jerky repetitions that have been cited
as causing back pain in some athletes. I am going to tentatively continue with
the ‘kettlebell twist’ but am actively looking for more Spartan-relevant core
exercises to work into my routine in its place.
Progress: 25 lbs for 90 repetitions to 55 lbs for 75 repetitions
- Hanging Leg Raises (core): the hanging leg raise is a great
core workout that incorporates core, leg, & grip strength, a fantastic
combination for preparing for the Spartan Race. As I documented in my day 38 post on my back day,
grip & forearm strength has been a major sticking point in my back
training, so any exercises that I can complete on other days to improve my
forearm & grip strength is a bonus. Hanging leg raises also require a lot
of core strength to be able to pull your legs up into the air while hanging. Currently
I am completing the ‘knees to chest’ version of the exercise, however as soon
as I am able to complete 3 sets of 20 repetitions, I will switch to the ‘legs
straight’ version which is considerably more difficult. Similar to the other
core exercises I’m completing, the focus will be on slow, strict form
repetitions so that I am using strength & not momentum to power through the
lifts.
Progress: 35 repetitions to 52 repetitions.
Core Day
Changes
Perhaps one
of my biggest challenges on my core strength building day is being confident
with the exercises that I am completing, ensuring that I am optimizing my core
training for OCR purposes. The thought that the exercises I’m completing may
not relate to race-day success can be extremely demotivating. As mentioned
above, I am confident that the plank crawl, hanging leg raises & of course burpees will
translate to better results on the course, however I am not completely sold on
the efficacy of the Medicine Ball Twist for building Spartan Race applicable
strength. I am actively looking for new ways to train my core that will have
more transferable results to the race course, so if you have any suggestions,
I would love to hear them!
That said, I
am going to be incorporating ‘bear crawls’ into my core day, an exercise that is
similar to the plank crawl in that it is a version of crawling (duh), but is
instead performed on your hands & feet as opposed to your forearms, &
the exercise is meant to be performed over longer distances than the plank
crawl. This exercise has been recommended by a number of OCR veterans as a way
to build core strength, agility, & coordination, so I am going to incorporate
it into my core routine moving forward.
Overall, I
have been fairly happy with the way my core strength has been developing. Most
specifically, I am happy that I have been able to fit in 5 core strength
building days in 5 weeks, as I have had a very bad tendency in the past to skip
these days. Perhaps one of the reasons that I am able to stick to this routine
is that I am actually excited to see how many burpees I can do, because unlike
on my chest day where my arms & chest have already been blasted by dips
& push ups, I feel like I am fresh & thus have my best opportunity to
set a new PR. Moving forward, I am going to continue to fit in my core
exercises each week, make incremental gains, & look for new ways to blast
my core in preparation for race day!
100-Day Spartan
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