How To Get a Strong Core (pre-pregnancy)

So this is the first of a 3-part series on getting a six-pack (the other two installments will include pregnancy and post-pregnancy fitness).

Before I begin, let me just put out a couple disclaimers. 1) This is what worked for me. I hope it works for you. Sorry, there is no money-back guarantee. 2)  I am Sheila's daughter. Genetics have something, but not everything,  to do with it.

As I have mentioned before, going into the pregnancy fit certainly helped with the recovery process--both in how I feel and having my body bounce back. Two weeks after Simon's birth with 2 days of ill-advised walking on the treadmill and the rest of the time on bed rest, I am thankfully pain-free and 3 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight.  Sure, some of that is definitely atrophy, but you can take comfort in knowing that the body can bounce back if you stick with an exercise plan before and during the pregnancy. While some women have used the gestation time to get fit or test their limits (marathons, triathlons, etc.), I definitely would not and did not do this. 

I haven't done sit-ups or any core-specific exercises in years. However, I think the residual effects of my training have strengthened my core. The following are exercises I find to have great paybacks.

Interval training in 3 disciplines: swim, bike, run. Stressing the cardiovascular system burns the fat. Get out of your comfort zone. However, don't do interval training every day. When I trained on my own, I trained faster than I raced (dumb!) and I was heavier and slower. The body needs time to recover. Having a coach definitely helped me stick to a plan.

Endurance exercises--again in swim, bike, run. Once a week, Dedicate over an hour for a long workout. Depending on what race I was training for, I have gone for 5+ hour rides. Unnecessary (and just psychotic) to do this kind of mileage just to get the fat off.

Pull-ups--Great overall workout. Best workout for strength.

Jump rope--Gets the heart rate up in a short amount of time.

Mtn biking/kayaking/ hiking, etc--anything that gets you moving is great. Enjoy yourself.

Yoga--I used to do it and really enjoyed it, but time became a factor. Once in a while, I pop in a Rodney Yee video or go downtown and take Jenn Heister's yoga class.

Weights-- During the racing season, this is not a priority because of time. Otherwise, I lift about 2x per week about 2 months of the year--arm weights 5-10 pounds; leg weights for squats and lunges--20 pounds.

Perform everything with a taut core. Basically, always be ready to be punched in the gut. Maybe it's a result of my attitude that I walk around expecting a punch. Whatever the case, I think this is comparable to 1,000 sit ups a day.

And the best exercise I have found for core strength is the Josh Cox workout video on Runners World. I don't do them nearly as often as I would like (3x a year!!), but I always want to, and think if I were trying to get my abs to be ripped, this is what I would do: Josh Cox video

Apologies for the self-indulgence and vainglory, but folks asked me about the workouts. Oh, the last thing--get rid of the fat-free crap in your fridge. You know what fat-free stuff does? It makes you fat. For more informed info on nutrition, I highly recommend seeing Lauren Antonucci at www.nutritionenergy.com.

 

Comments

[Jen]

Why were you heavier and slower when you were training harder? I also don't understand why very long cardio sessions dont effectively burn fat? I know it is true, just don't understand actually why? Seems working out for so long would cause the body to burn a ton of calories and also have to use fat stores. I'm jealous of your insane abs!

[Jonathan Cane]

Hey Jen, allow me to respond on behalf of my lovely wife/star athlete/baby mama. It's not simply that she was working harder, rather that she was trying to work hard every day. We began to incorporate easy days (and rest days once in a while) in order to allow her to go harder than before on her hard days. So in fact her hard days got harder but they were balanced with easy days.

As for the long days, once again everything is relative. in the 2010 season she was regularly doing 2.5-3 hour workouts every weekend. That's what she's referring to as NOT long.

I do agree entirely that the value of abdominal exercises is overstated, and much time is wasted on them by many athletes. Triathletes need muscular endurance in their core muscles. Swim, bike and run are great ways to develop that. That's not to say that an athlete shouldn't bother doing planks or other occasional ab exercises, but when i read about an endurance athlete doing hundreds of crunches every day, I'm confident that they're wasting time and energy that could have been better used.

Ultimately, NSQ's abs are insane because is insanely lean and has very little fat obscuring her musculature.

[Jonathan Cane]

I think the important thing to remember here is that the 6-pack was a secondary outcome. Form followed function. Training to win races was the primary goal, and the aesthetics followed.

[jen]

Thanks so much for the response! I do "long" workouts and often have thought that a more intense workout followed by an easy day might be more beneficial for athletic gains. It is scary to change the routine I know and love, though :) Appreciate the response!\

[nsq]

Hi Jen, Hope the workouts are going well. Have you gotten out of your comfort zone? Fight the urge to stay in 1 zone. All the best, NSQ