Just posted! Join Chris LaCour in Core Attack, a 50-minute aquatic fitness video that features a compilation of core exercises taught from different angles and body positions. Noodles and a single buoy are also used in this epic collection of aquatic fitness core exercises.
Jenni Lynn and Chris were recently back in Florida for another round of filming. Based on a request from me, Jenni Lynn followed up her popular Noodle RX video with Noodle Core & More. Chris put together a compilation of some of his favorite core exercises in Core Attack. Last year they filmed an express video called Core with LaCour. Therefore, we thought it was time for more core from Team LaCour.
WHAT IS THE CORE?
The four most common core muscles include the abdominis rectus, which runs vertically from the sternum to the pelvic bone. The transverse abdominis, the deepest layer of core musculature, and the internal & external obliques, which run diagonally from the rib cage to pelvic bone and vice versa. However, the core muscles also include the erector spinae in the lower back, as well as the diaphragm, multifidus and the pelvic floor muscles.
CORE ANATOMICAL MOVEMENT
The abdominis rectus is recruited with spinal flexion, the erector spinae with spinal extension and the internal & external obliques with spinal rotation. The other core muscles are most effectively recruited compression and stabilization techniques.
VERTICAL CORE EXERCISES
Core training in an upright or vertical position is ideal in water because of the supportive nature of the water’s viscosity and the uplifting forces of buoyancy. It is even more ideal in deep water because of the opportunities that zero gravity provides. Training the core vertically on land is more difficult because of balance issues. Many Fitmotivation videos have an emphasis on core training because you can isolate core muscles more effectively in the aquatic environment.
HORIZONTAL CORE TRAINING
As mentioned in many of my deep water workouts, I love deep water fitness because of the ability to go from vertical to horizontal and all of the creative and challenging core training that allows. In deep water, you can also adjust your body into a modified supine (horizontal) body position due to the neutral buoyancy provided by a flotation belt. This allows for endless spinal flexion and rotation moves. Chris designed the exercises in Core Attack to be done in both deep and shallow water and so modified supine moves had to be left out. However, Chris developed an equally effective horizontal strategy to target the core in this video. Travel! Horizontal travel forces the core to work overtime due to the need to stabilize the spine.
NOODLE EXERCISES
The noodle is a popular, versatile and highly effective tool for core training in the pool. It can be used for both resistance and neutral buoyancy. Resistance exercises with the noodle require a great deal of core stabilization. The noodle can be used for planking and ample variations of core exercises from a planked position. The noodle can also be used for neutral buoyancy behind the back to get into a modified supine position and perform more traditional spinal flexion exercises. In Core Attack, Chris uses the noodle behind the upper back for neutral buoyancy so that the body can adjusted to target the core from reclined, inclined and side lying positions.
SINGLE BUOY EXERCISES
In the video, Chris uses a single buoy to provide an asymmetrical core challenge. Using a buoy in one hand forces core muscles to stabilize with loaded buoyant resistance on just one side of the body. He also uses the single buoy between the feet for some very challenging core exercises.
DUAL DEPTH CORE TRAINING
Chris designed this video to be dual depth, which means that is can be performed in both deep and shallow water. There are core benefits to both depths. In my opinion, deep water is definitely more of a core challenge because the core has to be engaged the entire time while in complete suspension or zero gravity.
Watch Chris talk more about the benefits of core training in both deep and shallow water.
Fitmotivation extends a big thank you to Chris for once again sharing his passion for water exercise with subscribers. Check out his other Fitmotivation videos and stay tuned for more videos with Chris posting this fall.