Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 136

Day 136 My workout today was a mish mash of core and strong man exercises. In some sense core training and strongman training are the same thing. Core training has a particular focus on the musculature of the abdomen, lower back and hips. Strongman exercises place huge a huge demand on the core but do so while engaging the rest of body as well.

The farmer walk in particular is very effective at challenging the core while involving the whole body. Everything from your traps down to your calves is working as you carry the weights. With each step you take the load shifts from one side of your body to the other. To avoid teetering and falling to one side, the muscles of your supporting leg and hip have to work very hard to stabilize the load while the opposing muscles of your core have to contract to compensate and help you maintain your balance. Essentially, during the farmer walk or any activity involving carrying heavy objects your body has to function as one giant "core" muscle.

Today's Workout

Core Tri-Set: 3 sets / exercises 1 - 3 / no rest between exercises

Exercise 1: Chin-up Lever (8 reps) Exercise 2: Barbell Overhead Squat (6 reps with 95lbs) Exercise 3: Dumbbell Farmers Walk (30 seconds)

Exercise 4: Partner Sled Push: 3 sets / 10 metres forward, 10 metres backward (60 seconds rest)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlci82bEXzw

Exercise 5: Kettlebell Swing: 1 set / 50 reps (24 kilos)

I included a video of the Partner Sled Push because I thought it was fun. I really wish we had sleds to push in our facility, but we will likely have to wait until our expansion goes through. In the mean time I just find rather larger university students who play football to push around.

Well the long weekend is upon us. My plan is to finish up with one more gym session tomorrow and then make a point of staying away from formal exercises facilities for a few days. I may do a hike, go for a bike ride, or a run. I might even play some tennis, but I'm staying away from the gym.