Side Planks to Strengthen LOW BACK

When it comes to core training, there is A LOT of information out there.

Some conflicting advice, some good advice, and frankly some bad advice.

But everyone universally agrees that core training is necessary.

What I don't see a lot of though is good advice on how to train the oblique and your transverse abs well.

The transverse abs and your oblique are very complimentary muscles, functioning in similar ways, but at different levels of depth on your muscle layers.

Your transverse abs are super deep, your oblique, closer to the surface.

The transverse abs wrap around your entire midsection and have origination points on your spine, ribs and up to the top of your hip bone.

Only doing crunching motions forward and backward don't quite hit the sides and deeper stability tissues (and may actually lead to a more forward head posture, aka, the cell phone neck).

In fact, having a thicker, more robust transverse abdominus is associated with a reduced forward head lurch. The more stable your trunk and pelvis connection, the more stability UP chain to your neck and head.

Not only that, having a more robust transverse abdominal region helped reduce movement of the lumbar spine and the L4-L5 and L5-S1 joints (i.e., your tailbone and low back connection area).

As you can see here, it is a big muscle. It basically acts as a corset around your body, helping keep your spine, hip, and ribs connected.

Your oblique are on the next outer and very outer most layer of muscle.

They get a lot of attention in the fitness world and in physique competitions, movies, etc.

Other than looking good, they're responsible for a lot of twisting, side extension, rotation, and anti-rotation work. They're used in everything from walkin and running (think twisting in your gait -- your opposite side motion is facilitated by the oblique), and throwing. They. Are. Important.

The oblique are honestly trained in a really stupid way... With little side bendy crunch things... you know the ones I'm talking about where you awkwardly try to touch your same side elbow to same side knee while being in a (wrenched neck) crunch position on the floor.

A great way to train the oblique are with side planks -- but not just any side planks because regular side planks are PRETTY lame too.

There's just not enough dynamism -- the oblique were meant to rotate or STOP rotation. So you need to ADD that IN to the side plank work!!

So I made this video to help demonstrate how to do side planks differently. Give these a try and let me know how it goes!!