It’s hard to deny the aesthetic appeal of a good six-pack, but building a strong core is about more than countless crunches and the visual progress of rippling abs. That’s where rotational moves come into play.
“In order to maximize athletic ability, you have to be able to connect those components together into an integrated system,” he adds.
Cesar mentions that you can’t play basketball without enlisting the hip, glute, and oblique muscles, because they’re your base of speed and power.
“The more effectively you can transfer power, the better you’ll be able to move,” he says. “This also allows you to have a better center of gravity and protect the thoracic muscles and spine.”
To target those all-important muscles, you’ve got to think (and train) in all three planes of motion. Pushups, pullups, biceps curls, and crunches occur in the forward-and-back sagittal plane. Others, like side lunges or chest flies, occur in the side-to-side frontal plane.
According to Cesar, when you start training your body in the rotational, or transverse, plane, you improve balance and proprioception—knowing where you are in space.
“This is especially important for athletes in contact sports, so they can rotate and pivot to move properly and land safely,” he says.
But the tenants apply to everyone, not just athletes. The benefits of training in all three planes translate directly to daily life, from picking up groceries to reaching across your body for your seatbelt.
“We rotate constantly throughout the day,” says Cesar. “If you’re not training your body for that, you’ll lose strength and stability and be more prone to injuries.”
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Per Bernal
Hanging Bent Knee Wiper (3 sets, 20 reps)
Grab a chin-up bar with an overhand (palms forward) grip that’s slightly wider than shoulder-width, and hang at arm’s length.
Bend your knees 90 degrees and raise them to waist height.
Rotate your hips as your dip your knees from side-to-side in an arc (like a windshield wiper).
Each sideways dip is one rep.
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Dynamic Plank Tap (3 sets, 30 reps [15 per side])
Assume a push-up position (body straight from head to heels), but with your weight on your forearms instead of your hands.
Your elbows should be directly beneath your shoulders, and your forearms should be parallel.
Without rounding your back, raise your right foot and rotate your hips as you draw your right knee forward diagonally under your body, tapping it with your left hand.
Return to the starting position, and repeat, this time tapping your left knee with your right hand.
Continue alternating sides.
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STUDIO GRAND WEB / M+F Magazine
Corkscrew (3 sets, 1 min)
Lie on your back with your legs together and your arms on the floor by your sides (palms down).
Raise your legs so that they’re perpendicular to the floor. This is the starting position.
Keeping your head and shoulders on the floor, raise your hips and twist them to the right, so that your legs rotate in the same direction.
Return to the starting position, and repeat, this time twisting your hips to your left.
Continue alternating sides.
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Per Bernal
Mountain Climber Complex (3 sets, 1 min)
Assume a push-up position with your arms straight, your hands in line with (but slightly wider than) your shoulders, and your body straight from head to heels. This is the starting position.
Keeping your core engaged and back flat, raise your right foot and draw your right knee directly toward your chest.
Without letting your toes touch the ground, bring your right knee to your left elbow and then to the outside of your right elbow.
Return to the starting position.
Continue for 30 seconds, and then repeat on your other side. (For an added challenge, don’t let your raised foot touch the floor until the 30 seconds for that side are up.)
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Reverse lunge w/ Dumbbell Rotation (3 sets, 10 each leg)
Stand with the feet about hip-width apart, and hold a medicine ball in a vertical position directly in front of the chest.
Keep the elbows close to the rib cage and the back straight while stepping backwards with the left foot and lowering the left knee almost to the ground.
At the bottom of the movement keep the back tall and twist the medicine ball over the right leg. Turn back to the center, press the right foot into the ground, and step the left leg forward to return to the original starting position.
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Per Bernal
Rotational Landmine (3 sets, 1 min)
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hips back, and knees slightly bent, holding a dumbbell in both hands beside your right hip.
Keeping your core engaged, back flat, and arms straight, swing the dumbbell up to shoulder height in front of you, and then down to the outside of your left hip. (As you swing the dumbbell up, squeeze your glutes, straighten your knees, and thrust your hips forward. As you swing it down, push your hips back and bend your knees slightly.)
Repeat, this time swinging the dumbbell from left to right.
Continue swinging it back and forth without pausing.
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The Workout
WORKOUT
Add this Cesar-approved workout to your regimen, and you’ll build a core that’s strong, stable, and ready for anything.
