- Gymnasts have excellent core strength.
- Try hollow hold exercises and their variations to build core muscles and strength without going to the gym.
- Don’t take on too much at once, be consistent and make steady progress.
Take your core training to the next level with these simple techniques recommended by top gymnasts.
According to KJ Johnson, a student-athlete at Louisiana State University who helped her team win the 2024 NCAA Women’s National Championship, a strong core is essential to success in gymnastics.
“When you start gymnastics, your core is important, they always tell you to keep your core strong,” she said.
Even if you’re not an Olympic athlete or D1 champion, you can build muscle and strength more effectively by engaging your core and abdominal muscles the right way.
Hollow hold exercises can help you build core strength without going to the gym
Training as a D1 athlete comes with a rigorous schedule, Johnson told Business Insider in an interview coordinated by the creator subscription platform. FanfixThere, Johnson shares details about his life and training.
“It’s a 24/7 operation,” Johnson said.
Johnson said that in addition to improving her gymnastics skills, she also takes up weightlifting to improve her performance and build up the stamina to withstand the rigors of training and competition.
But one of her favorite core exercises can be done at home in just a few minutes with no equipment.
The hollow hold exercise is a simple bodyweight movement that engages your core muscles by lying on your back with your hips pressed into the floor, your feet off the ground and your arms extended overhead.
Give it a try and you’ll probably feel your abs burning within 30 seconds.
Once you’ve mastered the basic movements, you can add in more challenging variations of these exercises:
- Hollow Rock: Maintaining a hollow body position, slowly rock back and forth while keeping your core tight.
- V-Up: Extend your feet over your hips and reach your hands toward your toes in a “V.”
- Scissor kicks: From a hollow hold with your legs extended, bring your feet together and cross one leg over the other. Return to starting position and repeat with the other leg on top.
Johnson regularly incorporates these hollow hold moves into his training.
“Whether it’s upper body, lower body or just cardio days, I always end it with a core workout,” Johnson said.
Consistency is key
U.S. team gymnast Fred Richard’s training sessions can last up to seven hours a day.
In addition to working on his drill technique, Richard also spends an extra hour a day training to ensure he performs at his best, he told Business Insider in an interview about his partnership with the energy drink brand. Celsiuswhich is what drives his training.
Richard said he mainly spends his spare time doing yoga, which helps him stay flexible and avoid injuries, as well as aiding in his physical therapy.
But in an interview with Business Insider about his partnership with the energy drink brand, Richard said that no specific workout has been the key to his success: He believes in a training technique that involves planning ahead to achieve his goals. Celsius.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned in this sport is that no matter what you want to do, the first step to getting there is to create a system,” Richard said.
A common mistake in fitness is to focus all your energy on a short-term goal, but fail to sustain the effort in the long term, which can backfire.
Instead, Richard says it’s important to form small habits and think about progress in months rather than days.
“It’s not, ‘Hey, I want to get stronger. I’m going to work really hard on strength training today,’ that doesn’t solve the problem. If I want to get stronger or be more flexible, I think, ‘OK, what can I do every day for the next six months?'” Richard said.
