Most are familiar with the word, but probably aren’t sure of the exact definition.  Your core is basically the center portion of your body, excluding your limbs and your head.  This is the area where the force of movement is generated in exercise and in life.  Training your core is vital to living a stronger, healthier life or becoming a stronger athlete.  Personal trainers and other fitness professionals throw this word around like crazy, but there is a great deal of science behind the buzz.

I decided to compile a personal list of the most functional and effective exercises to build core strength.  This is, by no means, a definitive list.  Just my opinion on the best.

1. Bicycles- works the muscles deep in the abdominal wall and the obliques

2. Plank- this can be performed in numerous variations.   Improves core stability in an isometric fashion.

3. Long arm crunch- focuses on upper portion of abdominal region

4. Supermans- numerous variations, deep abdominal region, lower back region

5. Reverse Crunch- pulling your knees in.  Focuses on lower region of abdominal area

As stated before, this is not a definitive list of 5.  Please contact me or anyone with Studio Element with questions concerning any of these exercises.  Remember- While a nice six pack is appealing, performance and core stability is more important.  Focus on exercises like the ones above and improve your nutritional habits and the six pack will follow!

The fast pace of modern life leaves us with little time for ourselves.  Exercise is often the first activity to suffer as it is placed on the back burner.  While personal trainers don’t generally like to hear the excuse- “I don’t have enough time”, it can become quite difficult to give yourself this time.  The demands of life can be extreme, but health should be positioned high on the list.

For the extremely busy sector, there are some faster paced, more time efficient methods to ensure adequate amounts of exercise.  I encourage my training clientele to employ a “combination-style” program.  Combination exercises include two or three body parts or movements into one exercise.  This can be a quick, intense way to get in and out of the gym in 30-40 minutes and use every major muscle group.  If you are searching for efficiency, this may be the best route for you.  Also, the functionality of these movements in very high.  Your body works as a complete unit with multiple body part and muscle groups, making it vital to include some exercises with this same concept in mind.

These exercises can be difficult to explain without video, but here is a list of a few:

- Push up/Dumbbell row combo

- Deadlift/Dumbbell row combo

- Lunge/Dumbbell shoulder press combo

- Push up/Pike pull in with physio ball

I thought that I would take a different direction with my first blog post of the new year and start with somewhat of a testimonial to the benefits of regular exercise and an appreciation of human performance.  I am sitting here at my computer at home, but just spent the past 5 days in Winter Park, Colorado with my family and some friends.  My wife and I snowboard, but we introduced skiing to our 4 year old son.  After 3 days of lessons, it was exhilarating to have him join us on the lift and witness him actually skiing down some green slopes!  This is the start of many family ski trips to come; something that I have dreamed about since I was very young.

Even though my wife and I spent some of the trip worried about our son in the ski program, we were able to enjoy the slopes ourselves and reap the benefits of the regular exercise that we both participate in, here in Saint Louis.  My wife even mentioned that she felt stronger than she had ever felt on the slopes; a testament to the increased training that she has had since the last time we went.  Yes, it is true folks.  Regular exercise DOES improve your performance in other activities and, in this instance,  DOES translate to stronger snowboarding, more time on the slopes, and a fuller, more complete ski trip.

I encourage everyone to take advantage of your body.  Appreciate the capabilities that your body holds.  Play hard, but train even harder.