Dr. Andy Galpin

It's very clear, we need to progressively overload our core muscles like everything else.

What I personally like to do, and this is again my personal opinion now, is to use a strategy that is in five steps.

So step number one, I like to start with isometric exercises.

So these are ab exercises in which you're not moving.

I want to emphasize control here, and we want to develop fatigue resistance.

So can you hold the proper position, number one?

That's what I want to start with.

I don't like loading.

I don't like moving until I know you can actually just get in the right position and hold it.

This could be your plank exercise.

Can you show me that you can hold it for 60 seconds or 90 seconds or 45 seconds, depending on your age and fitness and stuff.

So I'm resisting fatigue, which means I'm getting more confident you're not going to break down your position later in the training.

Now we might stay on these isometric control exercises for six months.

we might stay there for six days.

I don't want to progress to step two though, until I'm really, really, really confident that your obliques can hold the right position.

that your RA can hold the right position, that your glutes can hold the right position, that your back and all of those global core, shoulder girdle, all of it, right?

We want to be able to hold the right position first.

Once I'm convinced of that, I'm cool with going on to step two.

Step two is the anti-movement slash kind of eccentric with fatigue resistance.

So now, great, you can hold a lateral plank while you're tired, amazing.