Techniques for Building Core Stability

Your core is engaged in situations where you have to maintain balance. So in order to train your core, it makes sense to create situations where your body is unbalanced. This forces you to adapt by training greater activation, and hence strength, of your core. Even if you do not have access to equipment like BOSU trainers or Swiss balls, this does not mean that you cannot create conditions of instability using just your body. All you need is some basic exercise science and a bit of creativity.

Your body has two legs, right? And it is much easier to stand on two legs than one. This is because your two legs share and balance your bodyweight. It is much harder to balance on one leg because your body weight is not centered directly above this leg; rather, your weight is centered in the middle of your body. In order to balance on one leg, you have to effectively “shift your weight” so that your center of gravity is positioned over your supporting leg. This balance requires core stability;  one effective way to build this stability is to design exercises that force your to balance and reposition your center of gravity.

One example of this is to do an overhead shoulder press with dumbbells while standing on one leg. If you take a light pair of dumbbells and stand on one leg, you will find that it is much more challenging to press these dumbbells up over your head than if you were standing solidly on two feet. You will also feel that you need to flex your core to transfer the necessary strength to your shoulders.

Once you master this, you can throw off your center of gravity once again by lifting only one dumbbell. Place the dumbbell in the hand opposite from the foot on which you are standing. You will feel that you need to shift your center of gravity even more towards your supporting foot to counteract the weight of the dumbbell.

No dumbbells? Don’t worry because your body is its own best exercise device. Stand on one foot. Now bend over and touch this foot with your opposing hand. Stand upright and repeat the same motion. See how many times you can touch your foot without falling over. Focus!