Core Strength

When I first started studying to be a personal trainer in the 1990s, core exercises were always something you did at the end of your workout.  The logic behind this was that if you did core exercises in the middle of your workout, there was a risk that you might fatigue those very muscles that you required for stabilization during heavy lifts, and this would be a safety issue.

Fast forward almost 20 years and fitness theory has gone through many exciting developments.  Today's training sessions focus on a synergistic approach - that is, an approach that includes various muscle groups working together.  In light of this new focus, it is now quite common to see people combining core exercises with other exercises - for example, doing a dumb bell bench press on a Swiss ball, or one-legged deltoid flies.  I think this change of focus is a great leap towards more functional fitness.  If our muscles do not work in isolation during "real" activities (yard work, sports, etc), than why would we train them in isolation?

As a result of the new focus on core strength, there are now a myriad of examples to be found on the Internet and elsewhere concerning how to strengthen your core.  Needless to say, core strength is critical to Nordic sports such as Biathlon - not just for the generation of powerful movements, but also for good execution of technique.  Now let me expand a bit on the core, and core strength.

Firstly, let's talk about what is meant by "the core".  The core consists of many different muscles that stabilize the spine, pelvis, and shoulder girdle in order to create a solid base of support.  These muscles are great at helping you maintain a stable position, or to transfer energy.  Push ups are not really considered your traditional core exercise, yet it is exactly these muscles that you engage in order to help you perform a rigid body position as you are pushing with your arms.  There are also many sports that require strong core muscles in order to transfer energy, usually through a twisting motion: golf, hockey, racquet sports, and cross country skiing to name a few.

Many people think that core muscles include only those in their stomach region:

However, there are actually about 29 muscles that comprise the "core", and are also located in your lower back and hips.

Just as with other exercises, it is best to train core muscles as a dynamic motion that mimics real-world activities as opposed to a static, isolated exercise.  For example, instead of solely relying on crunches, there is another exercise that I think is totally applicable to Biathlon, called "the wood chopper":

If you do not have access to the equipment shown in the picture, you can also use exercise bands attached to trees or indoor structures to create resistance.  I think an exercise such as the wood chopper is great for transferring energy in cross country skiing, especially in the offset poling technique.

Another great alternative to traditional sit-ups or crunches is the plank.  The plank is an isometric exercise, that is, one that makes us stronger without movement or change to the joint angle.  I think this is a great exercise as it is useful to maintain correct posture during the standing shoot.  Here are some examples of the plank (standard and side plank):

These exercises can be done for any length of time, from 10 seconds to a few minutes.  Although they can be completed at the end of your normal workout session, I sometimes make a point of doing core exercises between strength sets in order to introduce an aerobic challenge to my workouts.  As with all exercises, focus on good form above all else, and with this that includes a straight back.  This is directly transferable to the standing shoot in Biathlon, where maintaining an unwavering skeletal structure is far more desirable than using weary muscles to steady your position.

With a powerful base of central sport we are not only able to generate the power needed for many sport-specific motions but this strength can also help us to avoid injury.  In fact, my thoughts on strength training in general is that it helps to stabilize joints and the spine in order to help us to avoid injury!

The development of core strength, like the development of strength in general, should not be an afterthought in one's Nordic training.  Just because Nordic sports are most strongly perceived as aerobic activities does not mean that strength is not important, or can be ignored.  I promise that if you pay close attention to the development of your core strength, it will have a surprisingly positive effect upon your season.

Happy training!