subject: How Core Training Is The Secret To Combat Sports [print this page] Core training should be the main focus of anyone who wants to perfect their abilities in the martial arts. Without a strong core, all movements no matter how precise the technique will tend to be only marginally effective. All kicks, punches and holds generate their power in the core.
A strong core is essential to the offensive moves, but it also serves an important defensive purpose, as it limits the effect that a strike to the kidney can have for example. The muscles that surround the vital organs do a better job protecting these organs when they are tight and strong.
The abdomen, lower back, hips, and in general the whole middle area of the body make up the core. The lower back should be trained with vigor, but patiently. Overworking the back can cause pain and injury. Start with a warm up- just a walk, or even a few minutes of marching in place. This is done just to get some circulation to the area. Now stretch, as it is always good to warm up and then stretch before starting the heavy work.
Standing toe touches are a good warm up stretching exercise. Also, alternate touching the right fingers to the left toes and visa versa. Not only does it work to stretch the muscles in the lower back and the back of the legs, raising up again flexes those same muscles and gets additional blood circulation to that area before the heavier lifting starts.
Training should include some of the following exercises that will focus on strengthening the latissimus dorsi, your external obliques and the internal obliques. These are the muscles that connect your pelvis to you ribs in the back giving strength to all bending and twisting movements. Load bearing exercises should be done in sets of 12-15 reps.
Take a dumbbell that will stress the muscle properly, meaning that by rep 10, it should be difficult to push out the last few. With the weight held up by you shoulder, bend to this side -the right if the weight is in you right hand. Now straighten up again as you push the weight straight up over your head. DO NOT bend the opposite way. Of coarse alternate hands to work both sides of the body.
Another very effective exercise goes like this: Lay on your stomach with your chest up off the bench, head up, eyes looking straight ahead. Your legs will hang off the end of the bench from the waist down. While keeping your legs stiff, raise them, starting with them together, ankles touching, at the bottom of the movement, and as you raise them spread them apart. As the exercise gets much less difficult, try adding ankle weights. This particular exercise will work wonders for strengthening the lower back.
Core training will not even be close to complete without some heavy duty ab work. There are a myriad of exercises that will do a great job at training the abdomen muscles, and because they are so basic I just want to focus on one finer point that ties the back work out to the abs.
When working the back, try to get in the habit of this; tighten the abdomen muscles throughout the exercise. This can be done simply by coughing a couple times, and then holding the tightness that this coughing initiates. That probably could be explained better, but if you try it, and feel it you will understand. This finer point will do a lot to help you get a higher percentage of gain out of the same period of time during your core training.
