Proven way on how to build a bulletproof core quickly

This is a program I have done myself and incorporated some other ideas. It won't get you ripped by itself as this needs a diet geared towards that goal, but it will give you a bulletproof core. With your new gained cylinder of steel in the middle of your body, you can attack all your personal records from running to weightlifting with a new found explosiveness. At least that is what happened for me after 2 months of running this.

A strong core vs a Six pack

A strong core and six pack are sometimes perceived and described as one and the same thing. Especially in workout programs which are marketed mainly for aesthetic gains rather than improving athletic performance strong core reads six pack. Whenever you turn to sources of coaches which optimise for athletic performance you will also read about building a strong core. The big difference here is that the core is understood as the chassis and engine for your ability to change directions quickly, develop force explosively (also referred to as velocity) and absorb impacts effectively.

To put this into practice and give you some reference points think of your undernourished teenager and strongmen like Brain Shaw and Eddie Hall. Eddie Hall and Brian Shaw have no six pack like your teenage friend who is just putting enough food into his diet to stay below 10% body fat percentage to be impressed by himself in front of a mirror (good goal to have, just not my cup of tea as I am old enough to know that we will all wither and die in the long run so I rather lift some heavy stuff). What strongmen do have is a bulletproof core which enables them to deadlift over 1000 pounds or do yoke carries in the same weight range. So with this little detour to challenge your perception of what a strong core actually means let's move on to why you should care to have a core which can pack a punch.

The core, your engine for strength

If you are interested in lifting heavy stuff like me your core is usually the weakest and most overlooked part of the equation. I have done programs like Smolov, Stronglifts 5x5, Jim Wendler 531 and the Texas method. What they all have in common is that they do not provide you with a specific approach on how to build a strong core. Mostly it is conveniently assumed that this will just happen by itself by performing the exercises.

This stayed true for me up until two years into my lifting journey. I progressed nicely with my sets of fives, threes and attempts at setting new records every three months. I neglected my pulling and core strength as it is also not deliberately discussed in the programs I did. The outcome was a back injury which put me back six months and left me with 2 years of undertraining my core which I now must catch up on.

I hope this post helps you to avoid this mistake. Undoing two years of no dedicated time spent on core strength is no fun. In addition, it is also not easy to figure out how to train these areas of your body as they are hard to isolate.

After considering the matter and reshaping my training routine I managed to build a stronger core and overhead press 100kg in 2017 for the first time, enable myself to perform ass to grass squats which I could not do before and work the deadlift on 140kg+ for repetitions without wearing a belt and with no pain. My coach at Sphere Fitness in Maynooth, John Lark, just had a look at my squat (150kg belted for five repetitions back then) and said “Looks like you got a weak lower back, open to fixing tha?t” after I asked why I was stalling. He prescribed 100 core repetitions and 40 lower back repetitions for warm up and let me figure out what to exactly for that each session. That was good coaching. He also challenged me on my vertical jump which was poor even though I am one of the heaviest squatters in his gym.

Make use of your warm up

Once you start deadlifting and squatting heavy it is a very good idea to warm up to avoid injury. The bigger the engine the more you should put in to get it running. So, for me, I changed from doing the Agile 8 routine which Jim Wendler recommends to a more core and lower back focused warm up. The Agile 8 is great if you are already well balanced and work on an upper / lower split to warm up on the lower days. However, if you have already trained in imbalances like I did on top of natural ones this might not be the best approach.

Therefore, I changed from Agile8 to this routine:

Core and lower back warm up

Alternate each with 20 repetitions of reverse hyper with a band

21 Hurdle jumps with three hurdles, as high as you can
20 GHD Sit-ups
10 – 20 GHD Halos
20 roll outs
20 Sand back pick ups
20 medicine ball slams
20 Cable wood chops each side
10 Kettlebell Halos each side to warm up shoulders

This is what I do know at the start of every workout and it works. My abs are getting harder, my core stronger and my numbers are going up. What you do exactly for your core here is of lesser priority. It matters more that you do every time before you start anything else in the gym and hit the lower back in some form with the same intensity. Some might consider this a full workout and it takes me about 20 minutes to finish. If your main weakness is not your core, then pick that and bash the crap out of it in your warm up.

For GHD sit ups get into a glute ham raise machine and set it up in a way that your butt is in the cushioned part of it. Use the GHD machine “backwards”. This means you are face up on it and not face down. Perform a sit up by going so low that you cannot see the wall in front of you anymore. Avoid going lower as that might be bad for your back. From this lowest point move up again to complete one repetition until you are at a 90-degree angle. Repeat for twenty. If this is too hard for your or you do not have access to a GHD machine substitute with a sit up variation of your choice and progress these until you can.

Reverse Hypers are done on a leg extension machine while you are facing down. If your gym does not provide for one of these I might consider finding one that does if you are serious about your strength gains. If you cannot get access to one implement a lower back exercise of your choice her to superset each prescribed abs set I have outlined to hit your lower back in parallel to your abs.

GHD halos are an idea I took from Brian Alsruhe’s YouTube channel. These are basically behind your back Russian twists while strapping yourself into a GHD machine. They stink and hurt which is usually a sign of a good workout of your muscles (within reason, understandably).

I think we all have done or seen roll outs in form. You can do them with an Abwheel which most gyms have lying about or you can easily buy yourself from any Tesco / bigger grocery chain near you. If you have a lot of space and want to show off, you can also do them with a barbell which I personally find annoying to set up. Stick with the Abwheel. To execute the exercise, roll as far as you can. Anything which is not going to full extension is a cheat.

Sand back pickups can be anything. I like sandbags as you can clean and jerk them onto your shoulder without having to worry to hit yourself in the face. Dumbbells leave nasty marks if they hit you so don’t use those for this. You can also use a slam ball/medicine ball which for my tastes are a bit too easy to pick up so go heavy. Kettlebells also work but are not ideal for an explosive movement from the ground to the shoulders. What you want to achieve with this is to pick something up from the floor to get it on your shoulder in one explosive movement activating your core. I personally find that sandbags of all shapes and weights are best for this.

Medicine ball slams are the reverse idea of the exercise before. Get a weight that you can easily handle but still does not feel like a football to you (6 – 10 kg does it for me). Get the ball overhead and smash it to the ground as hard as you can while activating your core. Medicine balls and Slam balls work for this. Slam balls have the added benefit of not hitting you in the face or bouncing into other gym members as they absorb all the energy on impact.

Cable wood chops are performed on the cable machine. Set up a handle as high as possible on the cable machine. Grab the handle with hands and walk out two to three steps. Get yourself set up having the machine to your right or left depending on which side you would like to start working out first. Lean forward like in a barbell row and bend your knees. You want to focus on your core and keep it tight during the exercise and avoid involving any momentum and power out of other muscle groups. The down movement should be explosive as if you are chopping wood. Moving back to starting position should be slow and you should stay tight. A three count “21,22,23” works for me. I do this with 30kg to 40kg for twenty reps in my gym, but this highly depends on what kind of pulley system you have in your local gym so experiment with it.

All of this is done without any rest continuously until you completed 100 reps of the lower back and abs exercises. By the end, you should be sweating and ready to go for your heavy lifting. If you do not sweat by the end of you rested too much or picked weights which are too light. Also, do not go too heavy. The sweating and bit of burn should come from the repetitions not from the weight you moved.

Have a reward system

I am a big believer in the 7 / 30 rule when it comes to habits. If you stick to it for seven days, it is very likely that it will become a habit that you will keep up. If you stick to it for thirty days you will see results. Plan something If you moved your regime towards building a stronger core and stuck to it for 30 days. Maybe a new weightlifting belt or the wrist wraps you have been looking at for a while.

Have a punishment system

Whenever you miss to do a warm up and work your core add 100 burpees to your next workout. Works 80% of the time 100% of the time. If that does not work for you take away something else or add something you dislike a lot which still gets you to your goal.

Track your progress

At the end of this post, you will find a worksheet which you can print and hang to your fridge or put into your workout folder. Of course, there also apps in which you can track these things but for me, it was always better to have something printed out and tick it off a piece of paper. Just way more satisfying then touching your screen.

Conclusion

Working your core usually relates to better results at same mass but it is also one of the most difficult areas to target and see results from. Completed successfully you will be more stable and pack more of a punch into the same frame.