• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workout
      • Best BCAAs
      • Best Testosterone Boosters
      • Best Bodybuilding Supplements
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
      • Best Multivitamins
      • Best Collagen Supplement
      • Best Probiotic
      • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workout
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Magnesium Supplements
    • Protein
      • Best Protein Powder
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Protein Powders for Muscle Gain
      • Best Tasting Protein Powder
      • Best Vegan Protein
      • Best Mass Gainer
      • Best Protein Shakes
      • Best Organic Protein Powder
      • Best Pea Protein Powder
      • Best Protein Bars
    • Strength Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Weight Benches
      • Best Functional Trainers
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Resistance Bands
      • Best Trap Bars
    • Cardio Equipment
      • Best Cardio Machines
      • Best Rowing Machines
      • Best Treadmills
      • Best Weighted Vests
      • Concept2 RowErg Review
      • Hydrow Wave Review
      • Best Jump Ropes
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Train Your Gymnastic Core: Stability, Rotation, and Bowing

A few sets of sit ups every now and again do not meet the training needs of your core.

Chris Lofland

Written by Chris Lofland Last updated on Dec 6, 2022

The notion that you don’t have to isolate your core because “we do core every day” is a dangerous fallacy. Skipping core work is a good way to decrease your overall capability, and increase your risk for injury by over-developing specific muscles while leaving others underdeveloped.

But throwing in the odd set of sit ups at the end of your workout now and again isn’t going to get the job done, either. Your core musculature works in just about every direction, providing strength, power, and stability for just about every movement you do, every day. To get the most out of it, and to armor yourself against the potential for catastrophic injury, you need to train all the capabilities of the core.

Here are five core functions and exercises that can help develop each of them. 

Stability

Stability is one of the most common core functions we hear of in gyms. Though weight-bearing exercises require core stability, anterior pelvic tilt while stabilizing is often overlooked. Anterior pelvic tilt can lead to an over-arching of the lower back, making it more difficult to engage the abdomen.

To avoid this, I suggest training hollow holds and rocks. For the hollow position, start by lying flat on your back while pressing your lower back flat into the floor. Pull your hips into posterior pelvic tilt (by contracting your lower abdomen and glutes) while lifting your feet and shoulders slightly off the floor.

Compression

Core compression is when you bend at the hip, bringing your legs toward your face, or vice versa. There are many variations of compression, but my favorites are leg raise variations. While hanging from a bar with your shoulders blocked and relaxed, lift your legs up and towards your face. Many will be limited by their mobility, but full range of motion can be progressively worked toward. If you are unable to stand on a box and reach your wrists past your toes, then you are lacking in mobility and will struggle with the full movement until this is addressed.

Rotation

There are many great exercises that I use to train core rotation. Russian twists, side plank twists, and twisting back extensions all work well, but our ultimate goal is to be capable of doing the L-wiper. In this movement, begin by hanging with your shoulders relaxed and blocked. With controlled, purposeful movement, begin to sweep your legs from 0 to 180 degrees, while keeping your legs straight, together, and in a pike position. In the end, your legs should appear to move similar to a windshield wiper.

Bowing

Bowing is one core function I rarely see being trained outside of a gymnastics gym. Most people are weak and tight in their obliques. Bowing exercises help to both strengthen and stretch this muscle group. Side plank press ups are an excellent example of this. To do this movement, get into a side plank position, supporting yourself with a straight arm. From this position, bow your hip towards the floor and back up towards the ceiling, while maintaining square shoulders and hips, core tension, and posterior pelvic tilt.

Anti-Rotation

This is a subset of stabilization, where your core resists being rotated. This can be practiced through a number of movements, like bear crawls and bird dog. I use the anti-rotation banded press most often. In this exercise, you will hold on to a resistance band attached to an upright, and walk out until there is some tension on the band. Once the band is tight, turn 90°, such that the band line is parallel with the front of your chest. With the band hugged against your chest, slowly extend your arms straight out, while resisting rotation from the band. Do the same while returning your arms back to the start position. Ensure that during this movement, your knees are slightly bent and tension is maintained in your entire core.

There are many different exercises for each of the core functions mentioned above. Regardless of which exercise you choose, make sure you are covering all core functions on a weekly basis. Your core can and should be trained often, for relatively high volumes. Some of the most common injuries in athletes that I come across occur as a result of compensation, when areas of the body are overdeveloped and others are underdeveloped. Build a well-rounded core to get the most out of your body for many years to come.

Chris Lofland

About Chris Lofland

Chris Lofland coached and competed in the sport of gymnastics for over a decade. In 2007 he became a CrossFit coach and began coaching the CrossFit Gymnastics certifications. Since then, Chris has started his own seminar series covering gymnastics, weightlifting, and general movement. In 2016, he opened up BlueWave Fitness in Fort Worth, TX, where he coaches general fitness, performance fitness, weightlifting, and competitive Crossfit athletes.

View All Articles

Related Posts

Fergus Crawley 5K Run Tips Photo
Fergus Crawley Shares 5 Tips For Running a Better 5K
Actor Chris Hemsworth in gym performing dumbbell row
Chris Hemsworth Diagrams a Killer Upper Body Workout Fit For an Action Star
Hugh Jackman Deadpool 3 Workouts Spring:Winter 2023
Hugh Jackman Returns to Wolverine Condition in Workouts for “Deadpool 3”
Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

New Year’s Fitness Sales (2025)

XWERKS Motion BCAA Review (2025): A Registered Dietitian’s Honest Thoughts

Assault Fitness AssaultBike Pro X Review (2025): Assault’s Best Bike Yet?

13 Best Exercise Bikes for Home Gyms (2025)

Transparent Labs BCAA Glutamine Review (2025): The Key to Post-Workout Recovery?

Latest Reviews

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt Review (2025)

Omre NMN + Resveratrol, Lifeforce Peak NMN, and partiQlar NMN on a red background

Best NMN Supplement: Fountain of Youth in a Bottle? (2025)

The Titan Series Adjustable Bench on a red background

Titan Series Adjustable Bench Review (2025)

A photo of the NordicTrack Select-a-Weight Dumbbells on a red background

NordicTrack Adjustable Dumbbell Review (2025): Are These Value Dumbbells Worth It?

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2025 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About