CORE: ANTI-ROTATION EXERCISES

In the previous post we talked about the exercises of "antilateral-flexion", which we mention some as the side bridge or the farmer's walk. In this post, we are going to finish the series of "anti-movement" exercises, with the "anti-rotation" exercises. From my point of view, they are the most important exercises of the three, since they are the ones that have more transference to the movements of the daily life and to the sport performance.

What are "anti-rotation" exercises?

Anti-rotation" training is basically a combination of core stability training and strength training, since without the coordination of both these types of motor patterns could not take place (Boyle, Verstegen, & Cosgrove, 2010). The fundamentals of this type of training are that the athlete is able to learn to prevent the rotation in his body that causes an external force, and then be able to transfer that force applied to his technical gesture. This does not imply that the body remains motionless in the exercise, but that the body must move to execute the motor pattern, pretending that the torso remains stable without any rotation. They are exercises that demand much more coordination than the previous ones, so special attention should be paid to the execution technique.

Core Exercises Fitness Model by ThoroughlyReviewed. CC BY 2.0

Some anti-rotation exercises:

• "In-line chop": diagonal downward movement with pulley or elastic band in a kneeling stride position in line. It is important to keep your feet in line to add instability to the support.
• "In-line lift": diagonal upward movement with pulley or elastic band in kneeling stride position in line. Like the previous one, it is important to keep your feet in the same line.
• "Tall kneeling push pull": simultaneous push and pull movement with 2 pulleys or elastic bands in kneeling position.
• "Palloff Press": push forward movement, resistance exerts force from the side.
• "Anti-rotation with landmine": oscillatory movements from side to side, slowly, trying to keep the core stable at all times.
• "Dragging Kettlebell in Push up position": it is important to keep the back neutral throughout the exercise, avoiding overloading the lumbar area with hyperextension due to a pelvic anteversion.
• "Anti-rotation plate pushing away": similar to the Pallof Press, although more focused on the central stabilizers.
• "Dead bug Palloff Press": an exercise that seems very simple, although not easy to execute correctly. It's more intense than it seems at first glance.
• "Press/Push one-leg": different combinations of this exercise, which increases its intensity if we execute it at slower speeds.

Each one of the exercises can adapt the difficulty according to the required needs, either by modifying the support base, removing a support point, using unstable bases, modifying the load used, varying the execution speed, etc. In all of them we must maintain the natural curvatures, always respecting a neutral back, especially the lumbar area. In addition, it is very important to perform a contraction of the entire abdominal musculature in the execution of the exercises, a maneuver known in the literature as "abdominal bracing". This maneuver favours the intervertebral stiffness of the spine, increasing intra-abdominal pressure and thus increasing lumbopelvic stability (Grenier & McGill, 2007; Hodges et al., 2003).

Without further ado, we leave you with a short video showing the execution of the exercises proposed above. These are by no means the only ones, so we encourage you to use your imagination to design your own anti-movement exercises. But remember, always respecting your health.

See you in the next post.

May the force be with you!

References

Boyle, M., Verstegen, M., & Cosgrove, A. (2010). Advances in functional training : training techniques for coaches, personal trainers and athletes. On Target Publications.

Grenier, S. G., & McGill, S. M. (2007). Quantification of Lumbar Stability by Using 2 Different Abdominal Activation Strategies. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 88(1), 54–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2006.10.014

Hodges, P., Kaigle Holm, A., Holm, S., Ekström, L., Cresswell, A., Hansson, T., & Thorstensson, A. (2003). Intervertebral Stiffness of the Spine Is Increased by Evoked Contraction of Transversus Abdominis and the Diaphragm: In Vivo Porcine Studies. Spine, 28(23), 2594–2601. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.BRS.0000096676.14323.25