Core Strength Challenge #7

If you have Ataxia (like me), Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, MS, MD or similar, you may suffer from poor balance.

A key tool that I find helps me is strengthening my core. There have been times where I have almost fallen, but I have been able to brace my core and pull myself back into a stable posture.

That’s another thing, a lot of us with these types of issues have bad posture. One of the keys to standing straight is active/strong abdominal muscles.

You may find it also helps you resist tipping forward when you bend down. Strengthening the core is crucial to maintaining balance and stability in every activity you do in daily life.

Here’s a simple 5-minute drill that I have used on myself and with the Muay Thai class that I help teach.

This exercise will help work the rectus abdominis, external obliques and iliopsoas muscles. Again these muscles will aid you in your daily activities like walking, running, or bending and squatting(as in a back squat or a deadlift)

Technique

No swinging your legs! Every rep should be done with control.

No cheating! Do this exercise with straight legs. Keep your knees locked out.

Recovery: This is crucial for muscle building. That said, aim to do this routine 2-3 times a week.

Progressive Overload: In order to make upward progress, we have to make sure our routine changes every so often. If you are up for the challenge, do this routine for 4 weeks when I will have a new challenge posted.

Structural Tolerance: If you have a pretty strong core, you may find this exercise easy. Make it more challenging by increasing the tempo or increasing the number of reps you do per set. If you’re like me, though, it’s a bit of a challenge. If you find it a bit too much, scale back the reps until you build up a tolerance and it is no longer that hard. After 2 weeks, you should be able to increase reps.

The Workout

The workout here is actually pretty simple. It’s harder than it looks, though.

For each set, you’ll write out the numbers 1 through 25 using your legs and feet like an imaginary pen. When drawing the numbers, always start at the top, like you would if you were actually writing. Keep a nice controlled tempo/speed.

After each set, take a 30-second break.

Repeat this 2 more times for a total of 3 sets.

Too easy? Instead of 25 reps per set, do 30 or 35. Alternatively, you could do 25 at a slower tempo.

Too hard? Instead of 25 reps per set, try starting with 10 or 15. You can also have a slight bend in your legs. Slight!

References

The first video is for men, the second for women. There isn’t much of a difference, I just thought I should include both.

https://youtu.be/l4kQd9eWclE

https://youtu.be/tdpsP4-wab8

I hope you found this article informative. If you did, please share it. I’d also love to hear your comments.

Join me on this challenge. I’ll have another challenge for you in a month!