Progressing Core Workouts Part 4: Points of Contact

Welcome back to part 4 of this series. If you haven’t already read the first three, check them out here:

Part 1: Using Correct Form

Part 2: Breathing

Part 3: Correct Effort

Much like the common progression method of changing the amount of leverage in an exercise, like doing a front lever with straight legs vs. bent legs, adjusting your contact points with the ground to create more or less stability can be a great way to get more value out of useful exercises.

An example of this would be doing pushups with only one leg on the ground instead of two. By taking away a point of contact with the ground, you make it more challenging to stay stable during the exercise.

When you are trying to do hard moves while climbing, the goal is to compensate, get into the most efficient body positions, and find the path of least resistance. With core exercises, we are looking for the opposite. You are trying to find the most challenging positions that you can execute while maintaining perfect form.

The author, wishing he had more points of contact in Hueco

Photo: John Wesely

In this video we use the Renegade Row to demonstrate how adjusting your points of contact with the ground can quickly increase or decrease the difficulty of an exercise.