How to: Get a Strong Core
Having a strong core might be the most important thing for hockey players. A strong core allows us to have more powerful and controlled athletic movements. When our core muscles aren’t developed properly, our body is less efficient at transferring energy and this causes the body to leak power. The core is made up of the pelvic floor muscles, transversus abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, erector spinae (sacrospinalis) and the longissimus thoracis, and the diaphragm.
In hockey, the main purpose of the core is to stabilize the spine by stiffing up. When the core muscles do a poor job stabilizing the spine and keeping its neutral alignment we have what’s called an “energy leak”. What happens during an energy leak is, energy is absorbed into the soft tissues of the spine instead of heading to the appropriate limbs (legs or arms). Since the main job of the core is to stabilize the spine to help keep it in neutral alignment it would only make sense to train these muscles to do a better job stabilizing.
There are tons of ways to train the musculature of the core. The important thing to remember is “what are you trying to accomplish with your exercise selection?” Research has shown that constant flexion of the spine (like during a crunch or sit-up) causes small micro-traumas to the tissues and over time can build up and cause tissue damage. I’m not saying that crunches or sit-ups alone will cause problems to the spine but adding a compressive load (like a squat or deadlift) to this damaged tissue can lead to a greater risk of injury.
When training your core don’t get caught up in all the fancy videos you may see on Youtube. There are a lot of videos out there with guys and girls doing some pretty incredible things with their core training. You have to remember that they’ve probably been training for many years to get their core strength to where it is now. I’m pretty sure you started to crawl before you walked or ran. Start with the basic exercises first and then progress to more difficult ones. Performing an exercise that you think you have the strength for but actually don’t, will not get you the results you’re looking for. Focus on proper form and alignment of the body and you’ll get faster results than if you cheat the exercise to just complete it.
Start with the plank! To read how to perform it correctly click here. Once you can hold the plank correctly for 30 seconds for 3 sets (with 10 seconds rest between sets) then progress to a harder variation of the plank. Below are 5 exercises that you can progress through, from least to most difficult.
- Front Plank 3x30s (10s rest between sets)
- Front Plank with Reach 3x10e
- Bearcrawl with Reach 3x10e
- Front Plank with Plates 3x5e (use three 5lbs plates)
- Body Saw 3×10
Start with the first exercise and once you can complete the exercise 100% correctly then you can progress to the 2nd exercise. The 2nd exercise gets a little more difficult because each time we lift the one arm up and reach straight out we narrow our base and this places a greater stress on our core. Make sure when you’re reaching each arm out that your movement is slow and controlled. You don’t benefit from the exercise if you rush it. Another thing to focus on is our hips. Make sure the hips stay level during each rep and they don’t sway from side to side or dip down. The Bear crawl with Reach adds two more elements to the Front Plank with Reach because now we have elevated the body and we’ve added the opposite leg to the reach. Same thing applies to this exercise, don’t allow the hips to shift at all and keep the back flat. The 4th exercise adds a load to the Front Plank . When we move the plates from one side of the body to other it is extremely important to not allow the hips to shift or dip down. Holding the form perfectly is what makes the exercises so difficult. If you cheat the form, the exercise isn’t challenging and you won’t gain anything from it. The last exercise is the Body Saw which is another variation of the Front Plank. During the Body Saw, the feet slide away from the forearms creating a greater distance between the feet and forearms. This increased distance amplifies the stress placed on the musculature of the core and enhances the difficulty of the exercise.
If at any point you feel pain in your lower back it means you aren’t engaging your core to stabilize and you’re placing too much stress on the low back. If this is the case, shorting the distance of any of the movements will help prevent low back discomfort.
As I mentioned before progression is key with core exercises. Start with simple exercises and master them before increasing the degree of difficulty. Proper form will always get you quicker and more efficient results than performing more difficult exercises with inadequate form.