Core Strength

Workout of the Day:

5 rounds of:

20 sandbag situps

20 band pull throughs

Today was a quasi-rest day, as John and I just focused on core conditioning in anticipation of a big training weekend. We headed back to University Park and found some suitable dirt to make a heavy sandbag (35 kg or so) and carved a spot under the trees to stay out of the rain for out workout. The sandbag situps are more like rolling situps, as you must use your legs to help swing your body upright. The key thing here is to keep the bag on top of your shoulder during the motion and not let it slip too far onto your chest. We did 10 on the right and 10 on the left before transitioning to the pull throughs. These were done using a pullup assistance band of average thickness wrapped around a narrow tree trunk. This is one of Louis Simmons’ favorite exercises for glute and lower back strength, and it works. The idea is to be dynamic and really thrust the hips forward while pulling the band from between your legs to hip height. By the 5^th set my low back was fried and really felt like I had done the job.

All told, this took us no more than 20 minutes to do, sandbag creation and all. A great circuit for core conditioning if you’re getting tired of toes to bar, back extensions, and ghd situps. Scotland tomorrow. Hum-yee.