Fitness & Health

There are a lot of ways to enjoy this great core exercise as it offers many progressed varieties.

The Classic Floor Bridge

The most gentle entry into this exercise is to 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 20 repetitions. Further progression is to use time under tension or isometrically hold your hips in the air for 1 to 2 minutes. The next point of progressing difficulty is using weights and bands to resist the upward hip movement. You can also use a BOSU ball and use it to try and stabilize your feet.

The Movement:

1. Start in a lying down position with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet placed flat on the floor at a hip width distance.
2. Pull your abs in and engage your glutes as you push through your heels to raise your hips into the air.
3. Be sure your lumbar spine alignment is straight.
4. Lower your hips back into resting position.

The Single-Leg Floor Bridge

The next logical progression is to use one leg! This exercise challenges your anti-rotation and cross core stabilizers. Be sure to keep the hips, knee, and ankle fully extended. Don’t let your hip drop by keeping them level to each other. You can start this progression with 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 20 repetitions. Both sides count as a set. If you want to jump into a harder challenge, try the single-leg floor bridge with a time under tension for 1 – 2 minutes. The next point of progressing difficulty is using weights and bands to resist the upward hip movement.

The Floor Bridge Pullover

Turn this great core stabilization exercise into a great compound stabilization exercise with a 10 – 15 pound weight! This exercise can be progressed much in the same manner as presented with the classic floor bridge.

Compound exercises are exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time.

Benefits:

• Increase caloric outtake
• Improve intramuscular coordination
• Elevate heart rate
• Do more in less time

If you are feeling good and strong with the extended arm plank and can do 3 sets with 20 reps easily, or the ability to stay in the plank for two minutes, then you might like to progress to the Kettlebell Pull-Through.

The Position:

1. Have the kettlebell positioned just below one of your hands.
2. Get into an extended arm plank.
   1. Hands under your shoulders
   2. Abs in
   3. Engage your glutes
   4. Lock your shoulders
   5. Good cervical alignment

The Movement:

1. If the kettlebell is by your right hand, reach across your body with your left hand and move the kettlebell to the other side just below where your hand would be.
2. Rinse and repeat, remembering to keep your shoulders and hips square while maintaining good plank posture.

• Position: The anchor point can be chest level or below chest level. Grasp both ends (cable or resistance bands) and walk backwards until you reach your desired resistance. Stand with your feet hip width apart, with correct spinal alignment. Knees slightly bent. Lock your shoulders and open your chest. Abs in.
• Movement: Push your hips back and “sit” into a squat, hold for a couple seconds with a straight back looking forward, then push into the ground as you stand up and perform a row. Extend your arms to repeat.

Single-leg Squat to Row

• Position: If you wanted to start with your right side, grasp the handle with your right hand and walk backwards until you reach your desired resistance. Stand with your left leg and your right foot off the ground.
• Movement: Starting with the right side, squat down using your left leg and go as far as you can without extreme discomfort. If your leg gets shaky or the knee starts to move inwards, that is a good sign of where your current depth should end. Hold the squat for a couple seconds and rise up and perform a row.

• Position: If you wanted to start with your right side, grasp the handle with your right hand and walk backwards until you reach your desired resistance. Stand with your left leg and your right foot off the ground.
• Movement: Starting with the right side, squat down using your left leg and go as far as you can without extreme discomfort. If your leg gets shaky or the knee starts to move inwards, that is a good sign of where your current depth should end. Hold the squat for a couple seconds and rise up and perform a row.

This versatile core exercise has a lot of great benefits for your core.

1. Multi-planer movement: This exercise challenges the 3 planes of motion:
   1. Sagittal Plane: Forward and backward movements.
   2. Frontal Plane: Side-to-side movements.
   3. Transverse Plane: Twisting movements.
2. PNF movement: The Wood Chop exercise is in the Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation pattern, because of diagonal arc of motion within the midline of the body. PNF movement is fundamental to the human movement that involves spiral vectors or diagonal line of actions within the body using simultaneous coordination of several joints.
3. Versatility: Can be used for stabilization, strength, and power training depending on modification and acute variables. Sitting, standing, with an object, without an object, cable, or with bands…

The Seated Wood Chop

• Position: Sit on an object that will give you ideally 90 degrees of bend in your knees. Let your feet be flat on the floor and a shoulder width open or more. A wider stance will dictate the level of intensity of stability. A stability ball and the ilk will give balance a greater challenge as to a stable object.
• Resistance: You can choose to hold an object for resistance or you can use a cable system or bands. Be sure to orient yourself where the anchor of the resistance is on your flank. In other words, if you are starting with your left, the anchor point would be located to your left as you are facing forward. You will ideally have the anchor point higher than your shoulder.
• Motion: Clasp the resistance with both hands above on either side, then bring it down and across your body towards your hip on the other side below. Depending on the condition of the body, the most gentle variation is to not rotate the spine.
• Benefits: Targets the shoulders, core, and hip complex while limiting demand on the body’s lower half.

The Kneeling Wood Chop

• Position: The width of your stance will dictate the intensity. Tucking the toes of the back leg will provide more stability.
• Benefits: Targets the hips, core, and shoulders in a more integrated manner.

The Standing Wood Chop

The original gangster of of Wood Chops!

• Position: Your stance can vary in width as long as your feet is at least a hip width apart and your knees are aligned over your feet.
• Resistance: This exercise is typically used in gyms with cable systems, and almost anywhere with resistance bands. Similarly to the seated version, you will ideally have the anchor point higher than your shoulder.
• Motion: Using an athletic stance, clasp the resistance with both hands above on either side, then bring it down and across your body towards your knee as your rotate to the other side. Be sure to push with the leg closest to the anchor point and get triple extension (ankle, knee, and hip. Abs in and maintain optimal spinal alignment.
• Benefits: A wide “horse” stance integrates the foot and ankle. An athletic stance (wider than shoulders) is a sporting position that is used in most sports. A narrow stance will increase the stability challenge.

The Stagger Stance Wood Chop

• Position: If using the left side first, get into a split stance with the left leg forward and the right leg back. The heel on the back leg can be on the ground or can be up off the ground to enable greater intrinsic foot muscle action.

The Lunge Wood Chop

• Motion:
  • Ipsilateral: If using the left side first, step back with the right leg into a lunge while you perform the wood chopping motion down towards your right hip. Keep your knees from touching the ground.
  • Contralateral: If using the left side first, step back with the left leg into a lunge while performing the wood chopping motion down towards your right hip.

Single-leg Wood Chop

• Motion:
  • Ipsilateral: If using the left side first, stand with your left foot off the ground while you perform the wood chopping motion down towards your right hip.
  • Contralateral: If using the left side first, stand with your right foot off the ground while you perform the wood chopping motion down towards your right hip.