Join Chris LaCour for Core Attack, a 50-minute cardio core workout that challenges core muscles from a variety of body positions. Noodles and a single buoy are also included in this epic collection of water fitness core exercises.
Jenni Lynn and Chris were back in Florida filming more videos in July 2023. The theme for two of their videos was more Core with LaCour. Based on a request from me, Jenni Lynn did Noodle Core & More, a follow up to her popular Noodle RX video, and Chris put together a compilation of some of his favorite core exercises for Core Attack. In 2022, they filmed a fun express video called Core with LaCour, and so we thought it would be good idea for them to expand upon their core training franchise.
WHAT ARE THE CORE MUSCLES?
The four most common core muscles include the abdominis rectus, which runs vertically from the sternum to the pelvic bone. The transverse abdominis, the deepest layer of core musculature, and the internal & external obliques, which run diagonally from the rib cage to pelvic bone and vice versa. However, the core muscles also include the erector spinae in the lower back, as well as the diaphragm, multifidus and the pelvic floor muscles.
HOW ARE CORE MUSCLES RECRUITED?
The abdominis rectus is recruited with spinal flexion, the erector spinae with spinal extension and the internal & external obliques with spinal rotation. The other core muscles are most effectively recruited with spinal compression and stabilization techniques.
VERTICAL CORE TRAINING
Vertical core training is ideal in water because of the supportive nature of the water’s viscosity and the uplifting forces of buoyancy, and even more ideal in deep water due to 360 degree movement thanks to zero gravity. Training the core vertically on land is hampered by the downward forces of gravity and balance issues. Therefore, many Poolfit videos have an emphasis on core training simply because you can target core muscles more effectively in the aquatic environment.
HORIZONTAL CORE TRAINING
As mentioned in many of my deep water workouts, I love deep water fitness because of the ability to go from vertical to horizontal thanks to zero gravity. In deep water, you can do lots of challenging core moves in a modified supine (horizontal) body position due to the neutral buoyancy provided by a flotation belt. However, Core Attack has been designed to be done in both deep and shallow water and so these types of moves had to be left out since some participants will not have a belt on. However, Chris developed an equally effective horizontal strategy to train the core in this video. Travel! Horizontal travel forces the core to work overtime due to the need to stabilize the spine.
NOODLE WORK
The noodle is a versatile and highly effective piece of equipment for core training in the pool. It can be used for both resistance and neutral buoyancy. Resistance exercises with the noodle require a great deal of core stabilization. The noodle can be used for planking, which has its own entire library of potential core exercises from a planked position. The noodle can also be used for neutral buoyancy behind the back to get into a modified supine position and perform more traditional spinal flexion exercises, similar mat work in a studio. In Core Attack, Chris uses the noodle behind the upper back for neutral buoyancy so that the body can adjusted to target the core from reclined, inclined and side lying positions.
FOAM DUMBBELLS
In the video, Chris uses a single buoy to provide an asymmetrical core challenge. Using a buoy in one hand forces core muscles to stabilize to perform with buoyant resistance loaded on one side of the body only. He also uses the single buoy between the feet, which adds an incredible challenge to spinal flexion.
DEEP & SHALLOW
Chris designed this video to be dual depth, which means that is can be performed in both deep and shallow water. There are core benefits to both depths. In my opinion, deep water is definitely more of a core challenge because the core has to be engaged the entire time while in complete suspension.
Watch Chris talk more about the benefits of core training in both deep and shallow water.
Poolfit extends a big thank you to Chris for once again sharing his passion for water exercise with subscribers. Check out his other Poolfit videos and stay tuned for more videos with Chris posting this fall.