Winter Fitness Group Challenge - Week 5: Core Training

I think by now, many of you have established that this program and blog isn't your usual run of the mill fitness blog. I go into deep detail in every decision I make due to the obvious fact that not every person is the same; there is no "cookie-cutter" program out there that will deliver results.

Staying along that same premise, this week is dedicated to core training. I want you to take that idea of what you thought was core training (just doing crunches) and throw it out the window.

My reaction most of the time when people say they know about how to train their core.

I personally wanted everyone to just see and count the amount of musculature that your core actually accounts for. I found this great picture that illustrates just that in a simple point of view.

When you see people doing crunches, they really just target one muscle of the core: the rectus abdominal. Clearly, just by that illustration: that's just not enough.

My philosophy around training the core is revolved around the NASM OPT model and the phases of training: stabilization, endurance, and strength. If you revolve around those three paradigms of training, you can create a core with such dynamic strength that both your upper body and lower body strength and stability will increase by a threefold. Add in that you'll never have a lower back injury in your life again and I think the offer sounds too good to be true.

This Weeks Goal: 

Utilize Your Core Three Times a Week

So this week, I am setting aside the following dates as open one-on-one practice

to get to know a few pull exercises that can benefit you, no matter the goal.

Here are the four days I will make available: 

Tuesday, March 10th: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm (at the free weights office)

Thursday, March 11th: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (ask front desk to contact me)

Friday, March 12th: 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm (at the free weights office)

Sunday, March 15th: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm (at the free weights office)

Remember you have to either submit a reply below with the date you want to come in or respond via email at jshapiro@ymcanyc.org. 

Week 2: Squats - Swiss Ball Assisted Squat Tutorial

I hope everyone is having a great week. I see a lot of you coming in either doing cardio or hitting those squats. There is still time to come in for a hands-on approach when tackling the squat. However for those who cannot make it, I've set up and uploaded a quick tutorial on the Swiss Ball Assisted Squat. If you ever forget about where the video is, always look on the left side for the video slider. Keep checking in for new video content coming soon and often. Until then, show those squats who's boss!

**Big thanks to Robin from the Membership Staff for recording the video and Alex from our Fitness Staff**