Abdominal Training for Athletes

Ab training for athletes is extremely important and needs to be a focal point of your sports training. The problem with core training is that it often overlooked or when ab training is a part of a training program, most times it's not being done correctly. (I have seen some programs where athletes are performing 1000's of sit-ups and the athletes have extremely weak cores).

Whether running, jumping or throwing there's no question the core will be involved in that activity, and developing a stronger core will help you in your quest to run faster, jump higher, and throw longer.

There are 29 muscles controlling your trunk and are working together so you can maintain posture and alignment, reduce forces, dynamically stabilize and also produce force. With weak abdominals and back, you will not be able to produce force efficiently no matter how strong your other muscles are.

Basically if your trunk is weak you will be wasting energy, be slower and less powerful in your movements. Not what you want if you're looking to get faster!

Here are a few exercises to strengthen your core for your sport: (You can always change the intensity of each exercise by adding/using: physioballs, medicine balls, weighted vests, tubing, dumb bells, cables, etc. Also, the intensity also changes by using different reps, sets, tempo, frequency, and body position. Just make sure that you are always in control and you are following a logical progression.)

V-sits - Supine position. Arms out straight above your head. Bring your upper body up at the same time as your legs and try to touch your feet when you reach in the middle.

Russian Twists - Seated. Bend your knees and keep your feet up off of the ground. With your hands together, you are touching the right side then the left. That counts as 1 repetition.

Diagonal Wood Chop - Standing. Start with the medicine ball above your head on one side. Chop down across the opposite side to the knee.

Over head throw - Standing. Start with the ball overhead and throw to a partner or a wall. Knees are slightly bent.

Swedish Abs (front) - Start in the plank position (prone, on your forearms and feet) and hold that position for 45 seconds.

Ball crunches - Perform crunches on a physioball. Tube walking - Standing with your legs slightly wider than shoulder width. Take a step forward while keeping the tension on the tube.

Floor Bridging - In a supine position with your knees bent 45 degrees. Raise your hips up so that they are fully extended then comeback down and touch the ground and repeat.

Floor cobra - In a prone position, keeping your hands by your side. Now, keeping your legs anchored, extend your upper-body keeping your head aligned with your spine.

Fire hydrants - On all fours. Raise one leg up to the side while keeping your leg bent and your ankle tucked. Raise that leg/knee to hip level and comeback down and repeat.

Here is training schedule for pillar work:

Note that the truck muscles can be trained everyday only if you are not performing the same exercises in the same plane daily. After Day 3 you can start right back with Day 1.

Day 1 - Flexion/Extension

Day 2 - Rotation

Day 3 - Stabilization

Again, we want a strong pillar so our truck muscles can work synergistically, have perfect length-tension and force-couple relationships, as well as have efficient movement patterns.

Here is another source for you to look checkout more ab training exercises on video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuTsKjaaCvY

When training for sport, a strong core is required to get more speed, strength power and endurance. Those are the muscles you are going to use to generate the muscular force and power necessary for success.