GB Success – Workout Secrets – Part 7

Happy Friday to You!

So this is the final part of this series on how to workout effectively regardless of what the magazines or media say.

If you missed the rest of the series you can view it here:

• GB Success – Part 1
  
• GB Success – Part 2
  
• GB Success – Part 3
• GB Success – Part 4
• GB Success – Part 5
• GB Success – Part 6

Over the past few weeks we have run through the 5 essential movement patterns that you should include in your workouts.

Just following these 5 simple movements will ensure you hit every muscle in your body, balance out your workouts and also get so much more done in less time.

But there is 1 more thing that you should include in your workouts. It’s not an essential movement pattern but it should be addressed and mastered as soon as possible.

The final part of your workout should include:

6. Core Training

Your core muscles are at the centre of all your movement. If you were to remove your arms and legs then you’d be left with your core.

So your core includes your buttocks, abs, back and even all those muscles up the sides of your body.

Your core offers a solid platform for your limbs to operate from, it’s the foundation of movement. The stronger the core, the more powerful, stable and safer movement becomes.

If your core is weak then your spine is forced to move unprotected. This is one of the main reasons why so many people injury themselves when exercising.

With us all spending more time sitting and working at desks the core muscle get deactivated for long periods of time. Frequently deactivated core muscles can often be hard to engage during movement.

It is for this reason that core training should also be added to your workout routine. Plus, a well defined core looks good too 🙂

Core training has a very logical progression that should start with inner core development, followed by stability based exercises, like planks, and finally with more dynamic exercises.

Watch the video above for an example of a more dynamic core exercise that you would progress to after mastering your basic plank type exercises:

OK, so that’s the final part of your workout. If you put it all together your workouts will look like this:

1. Lunge
2. Push
3. Squat
4. Pull
5. Deadlift
6. Core

Every possible movement or workout will fit into this simple framework.

All you need to do now is choose how you are going to put the workouts together and as a special treat I’ll be back on Tuesday to show you exactly how.

Take care until then,

Greg