Track & Field: Core Strength Training Manual By Sarah Hoffman
Core strength is a focus that is becoming the center of attention in all levels of athletics. You will not find many professional, minor league, college, high school, or athletic enhancement programs that do not focus specifically in this area. One of the best ways to achieve proper core strength is by training on a physioball. Physioball training is an effective tool for increasing strength, improving joint and body stability and increasing joint flexibility. The un-stable ball activates muscles to stabilize and balance the body. It is best to exercise in front of a mirror to get a visual feedback about body position.
Basic Pillar Holds with progression lifts:
- Prone Position
- Progression of Prone Position (lifting legs)
- Side Position
- Side Position Progression (lift leg)
- Supine Position
- Supine Position Progression (lifting legs)
- Sit-ups on the physioball
- Sit-up Progression #1
- Sit-up Progression #2
- Sit-ups with feet on the physioball
- Reverse crunches
- Full crunches between feet
- Sit-ups with physioball in hands
- V-ups with Physioball in hands
- V-ups with physioball in feet
- V-up switches
- Pike Roll-Ups
- Physioball rollouts
- Oblique Sit-ups
- Side crunch physioball lifts
- Physioball rotations
- Windshield wipers
- hip twisters (prone skiers)
- Hamstring Lifts
- Hamstring Curls
- Seated Rollers
- Wall Squats
- Single Leg Wall Squats
- Single Leg Squats
- Reverse Single Leg Squats
- Single Leg Side Squats
Arms/Chest Exercises on Physioball:
- Physioball Push-ups
- Physioball Push-up Progressions
- Hands on physioball Push-ups
- Pike Push-ups
- Single Leg Pike Push-ups
Basic Pillar Holds with progression lifts:
a. Place your hands directly below your shoulders on the floor, with your elbows locked.
b. Align your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and head in a straight line.
c. Make sure your buttock is flat and lower back is level. (no dip)
d.Hold for 10-40 second duration, repeat of necessary.
Progression of Prone Position (lifting legs)
a. Place your hands directly below your shoulders on the floor, with your elbows locked.
b. Align your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and head in a straight line.
c. Keep buttocks and low back level.
d. Lift one leg off the floor SLOWLY, and CONTROLLED, while maintaining the straight line from you ankles to your head.
e. Return to both feet on the floor and switch lifting leg.
a. Place one hand on the floor directly under your shoulders, with your elbow locked.
b. Rest your weight on your outside of foot, while aligning ankles, knees hips, shoulders, and head.
c. Hold for 10-40 second duration, repeat if necessary.
Side Position Progression (lift leg)
a. Place one hand on floor directly under your shoulder, with your elbow locked.
b. Rest on the outside of your foot, while aligning ankles, knees hips, shoulders, and head.
c. Lift top leg off the floor SLOWLY and CONTROLLED while maintaining a strong pillar position.
d. Return to your beginning position and repeat.
a. Place your hands on the floor directly below your shoulders, with your elbows locked.
b. Hips should be facing towards the ceiling, with head neutral.
c. Rest on your heals, while aligning your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and head.
d. Hold for 10-40 second duration, repeat if necessary.
Prone Position Progression (lifting legs)
a. Place your hands on the floor directly below your shoulders, with your elbows locked.
b. Hips should be facing towards the ceiling, with head neutral.
c. Rest on your heals, while aligning your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and head.
d. Lift one leg off the floor SLOWLY and CONTROLLED while maintaining a strong pillar position.
a. Place your shoulders and back on the physioball, with your feet flat on the floor.
b. Place your hands across your chest.
c. Perform a sit-up on the physioball while keeping your feet stationary on the floor
a. Place your lower back and buttocks on the physioball, with your feet flat on the floor. b. Keep your back straight, and your feet flat on the floor.
c. Do a sit-up motion while your feet stay stationary on the floor and only low back and buttocks touch the physioball.
a. Place your buttocks on the physioball, with your feet flat on the floor.
b. Keep your back straight.
c. Extend arms straight up above your head.
d. Do a sit-up motion while keeping your feet stay stationary on the floor and only allowing your buttocks to touch physioball.
Sit-ups with feet on the physioball
a. Lay flat on your back, with hands by your sides or across your chest.
b. Bend your knees at 90 degree angle, and place your heals on the physioball.
c. Perform a sit-up motion while your heels rest on physioball
a. Lay flat on your back.
b. Bend your knees at 90 degree angle.
c. Tuck the physioball under your legs. (hold between heals and buttocks)
d. Place your hands at your sides, or on floor for stability.
e. Lift the physioball off the floor with your heels, bring your knees towards your chest.
a. Lay flat on your back.
b. Hold the physioball between your feet.
c. Place your hands at your sides.
d. All at once, lift the physioball off the floor with you feet while bringing your chest and shoulders off the floor. Meet your shoulders and knees in middle of body, while balancing on your buttocks.
Sit-ups with physioball in hands
a. Lay flat on your back.
b. Hold the physioball above your head with your arms extended straight.
c. Lift your chest off the floor while keeping your feet on the floor.
d. Keep the physioball above your head at all times.
V-ups with Physioball in hands
a. Lay flat on back with physioball the physioball in your hands and arms extended above head.
b. Simultaneously lift chest (with arms still extended above your head with the physioball in your hands) and feet to meet in the middle of you body.
c. Return to the floor with shoulders and feet.
a. Lay flat on your back with you hands at your sides.
b. Hold the physioball between your feet with your knees straight.
c. Simultaneously lift legs (with the physioball in between your feet) and meet your hands in the middle of you body.
d. Return to the floor with shoulders and feet.
a. Lay flat on back with you hands at your sides.
b. Hold physioball between your feet with your knees straight.
c. Place your hands directly over your head with your elbows straight.
d. Simultaneously lift your legs and arms meeting in the center of your body
e. Grab the physioball from your feet with hands, and return back to the floor.
f. Continue to switch the physioball back & forth between your hands and feet while meeting in the center of your body.
a. Place your hands on the floor slightly in front of your shoulders.
b. Place your knees on the physioball.
c. Lift you hips up in the air directly over you shoulders, while keeping you hands stationary on the floor.
d. Return to original push-up position with you body parallel to the floor.
a. Kneel on the floor with you feet stationary.
b. Place your hands on the physioball out in front of your body.
c. Roll the physioball down your arms (from your hands to your shoulders), while keeping your knees and feet stationary.
d. Do not allow you lower back to sag. (keep core flexed)
e. Roll back to beginning position, and repeat.
a. Place your back on the physioball with your feet flat on the floor.
b. Place your hands behind your head or at your sides.
c. Perform a sit-up motion with twist at top (drive opposite elbow to opposite knee)
d. Return back to beginning position after each torso twist.
a. Lay on one side, with your body in a straight line.
b. Place the physioball between your feet.
c. Place your bottom arm above your head and your top arm on your hip.
d. Keep your knees straight; lift the physioball 6”-18” off the floor with your feet. (side crunch)
a. Lay flat on your back, with your hands at your sides.
b. Place the physioball between your feet.\
c. Lift the physioball off the floor.
d. Rotate physioball back and forth between your feet. (left foot on top of physioball, then right foot on top of physioball-without it touching the floor)
e. Use your hands on the floor for balance.
a. Lay flat on your back, with your hands at your sides.
b. Bend your knees at a 90 degree angle, and place your heals on the physioball
c. Rotate knees to left and right sides, almost touching the floor.
d. Keep your head, neck, and shoulders stationary, while only moving your hips and knees.
a. Place your knees on the physioball.
b. Put your hands on the floor directly below shoulders.
c. Keep your knees bent with your buttocks up in the air.
d. Rotate hips from left to right while balancing feet and lower legs on physioball, and keeping hands stationary on floor.
a. Place your hips on the physioball with your toes touching the floor.
b.Put your hands behind your head.
c. Raise your upper body off of the physioball, and hold for a two second count, while you toes remain on the floor.
d.Return to starting position and repeat.
a. Place your hips on the physioball and your hands on the floor directly under your shoulders.
b. Align your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles (feet should be parallel to the floor)
c. Drive your heals straight up in the air, while leaving your hands stationary on the floor.
d. Control your legs on your way back down to the starting position.
a. Put the ball on your stomach with your hands and knees on the floor.
b. Simultaneously lift your opposite arm and opposite leg.
c. Hold for a two second count before returning to the start position, and switch arms and legs.
a. Put the ball on your stomach with your hands and knees on the floor.
b. Simultaneously lift your upper body and legs to be parallel to the floor, only resting your lower abdominals and hips on the ball.
c. Hold for a one to two second count and return to your beginning position.
a. Place your shoulders and head on the physioball, and your feet on the floor.
b. Keep your buttocks and knees parallel to the floor.
c. Leave your arms by your sides for balance.
d. Drive your hips up as high as your can go while keeping your feet on the floor.
e. Hold for a one to two second count and return to your beginning position.
a. Start with your shoulders on the floor and your heals on the physioball.
b. Keep your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles in alignment.
c. Put your hands on the floor at your sides for balance.
d. When stable, lift one leg up off of the physioball while maintaining a good pillar position.
e. Control your leg as it returns to your starting position, and switch legs.
a. Begin with your back on the floor and your heals on the physioball.
b. Lift your hips up so they are aligned with your shoulders and knees.
c. Hold for a one to two second count.
d. Control your movements on you way back down to the floor, but don’t actually touch your buttocks to the floor, before lifting your hips back up again.
a. Start sitting on the physioball, with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle.
b. Roll yourself from side to side catching yourself as your roll off the physioball not allowing you buttocks to drop below 90 degrees.
c. Push with the outsides of your feet and roll across the physioball and catch yourself again.
a. Start with your feet shoulder width apart and your feet out in front of your hips.
b. Place the physioball behind your middle back against the wall.
c. Slowly lower yourself down into a 90 degree squat, while keeping your feet flat on the floor.
d. Do not allow your knees to go past your feet.
a. Start with your feet shoulder width apart and your feet out in front of your hips.
b. Place the physioball behind your middle back against the wall.
c. Lift one leg and slowly lower yourself down into a squat position while keeping your foot flat on the floor.
d. Keep your opposite foot off the floor.
a. Start with both feet on the floor.
b. Lift one of your feet up and place it on top of the physioball located out in front of you.
c. Use your arms to balance you, as you lower yourself into a squat.
d. Try not to let you knee go out over your foot.
e. Return to your starting position and switch legs.
a. Place one foot on the physioball located directly behind your foot.
b. Keep your other foot on the floor directly under your knee and hip.
c. Use your arms for balance.
d. Slowly and controlled, roll back on the physioball, down into a squat position without allowing your stationary foot to move.
e. Keep your knee directly above your foot.
a. Start with both feet on the floor.
b. Once you maintain your balance, place your foot nearest to the physioball on top of it.
c. Use you arms for balance.
d. Slowly and controlled, lower yourself down into a squat position, without allowing your stationary foot to move.
e. Keep your knee directly above your
Arms/Chest Exercises on Physioball
a. Begin with your knees on the physioball, and your hands on the floor out in front of you.
b. Keep your shoulders directly above your hands.
c. Align your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles in a pillar line.
d. Slowly and controlled lower yourself (bending your elbows to 90 degrees) into a push-up position while keeping the proper pillar position.
e. Return to your beginning position before repeating.
Physioball Push-up Progressions
a. Begin with the physioball on your stomach and roll out on your hands until your toes are only resting on the physioball.
b. Keep your shoulders directly above your hands.
c. Align your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles in a pillar line.
d. Slowly and controlled lower yourself (bending your elbows to a 90 degrees) into a push-up position while keeping the proper pillar position.
e. Return to your beginning position before repeating.
a. Begin with your hands on the physioball and your toes on the floor.
b. Keep your head, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles all in the proper pillar line.
c. Slowly and controlled lower yourself down until you reach a 90 degree bend in your elbows.
d. Control the physioball (it will be moving from side to side) and maintain your proper pillar position.
a. Place you hands slightly out in front of you shoulders.
b. Put your knees on the physioball.
c. Roll you buttocks up in the air directly above you shoulders and hands.
d. Maintain the pike position and slowly lower yourself down into a push-up position, while keeping the physioball and your hands stationary.
a. Place you hands slightly out in front of you shoulders.
b. Put your knees on the physioball.
c. Roll you buttocks up in the air directly above you shoulders and hands.
d. Lift one leg off the physioball while maintaining your balance and pike position
e. Slowly lower yourself down into a push-up position while keeping the physioball and your hands stationary.
a. Begin by placing your hands on the physioball and your feet on the floor.
b. Roll the physioball forward and place you knees on the physioball.
c. Use your four points for balance (left and right hand and left and right knees)
d. Focus on a point on the floor out in front of you to help steady the physioball.
e. Hold the position for a desired amount of time, relax, and then repeat.
a. Begin by placing your hands on the physioball and your feet on the floor.
b. Roll the physioball forward and place you knees on the physioball.
c. Start with all four points for balance (left and right hand and left and right knees) \
d. When you feel comfortable, remove you hands from the physioball and align your knees, hips and shoulders.
e. Focus on a point on the floor out in front of you to help steady the physioball.
f. Hold the position for a desired amount of time, relax, and then repeat.
a. Begin by placing one foot and one knee on the physioball and use your hands to balance.
b. When steady, slowly raise yourself up to a squat position.
c. Focus on a point on the floor out in front of you to help steady the physioball.
d. Hold the position for a desired amount of time, relax, and then repeat.
a. Begin by placing one foot and one knee on the physioball, while using your hands to balance.
b. When steady, slowly raise yourself up to a squat position, and then into a standing position.
c. Slowly lower yourself down into a squat position, while using your arms for balance.
d. Focus on a point on the floor out in front of you to help steady the physioball.