How to keep your core stability exercises on track and stay motivated

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Have you ever found it hard to stay motivated when starting your core stability exercises? If it’s a yes, here’s some good news -

It’s very common

Having looked back at all of my past activities when i was younger, i had often felt a lack of motivation to keep things going, particularly in times where i felt i was not seeing clear improvement. It wasn’t until i began reading up and studying this phenomena when i started to realize that it’s actually very empowering to be aware of it so that it prepared me for the road that lied ahead. The findings were very interesting and something which i will discuss briefly in this blog post. Here are some basic facts -

1) Everything we do in our lives is based on habits built over time.

Whether it’s brushing your teeth, waking up at a certain time, taking a specific route to work or even having a dialogue with yourself. They are all habits which were built by your over time without realizing.

How does this help us?

Once you realize that what you do is a result of habit, you can then go on to form new habits which can consciously help put you in the direction you would like to go in.

But how long does it take to form a new habit?

2) It takes approximately 90 days for the habit to cement itself in your subconscious.

Having an awareness of this, this should now help you build a solid foundation of the things you need to do consistently between now and the next 90 days in order to improve your core stability exercises at the gym

3) To achieve a habit, make it a conscious ritual

So for the next 90 days, decide to stick to a weekly routine which you will not stop until the 9 days are finished. So whether it’s going to the gym 3 days a week or doing a certain exercises in a given day. Make it your ritual to do so consistently for 90 days.

After the 90 days are up, you will start to feel a very weird thing occur to you – You will feel very uncomfortable stopping or missing days in your routine and often feel resentment. That is when you know you have formed a new habit which if positive, will put you in the direction you’ve set yourself up for. You will no longer have to motivate or push yourself to do what you’re doing because it will have become part of your weekly routine.

3 Simple gym ball exercises you can do today

Posted on by ecoreexercise
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In my last post, i spoke about 5 exercises you can do with a fitness ball. Having discussed it with my friends and getting feedback from some of my readers, it quickly became apparent that most of the exercises seemed too advanced. So what i’ve decided to do in this blog post is to talk about 3 simple gym ball exercises which you can do today, which will hopefully help kick start your routine.

So typically, most exercises involve four main body parts – The abdomen, the arms, shoulders, legs and back. What most trainers tend to do is break down their training week by focusing on a separate body part in order to allow a resting period between days. Which makes a lot of sense since body development is mainly done while in resting phase.

For beginners, this seems insurmountable and hardly manageable when starting out because like all beginners, their main aim is to get into routine as quickly as possible.

Gym ball exercises for me is perhaps the easiest tool you can use to help discover the correct way of training which will potentially help ease you into more intense exercises further down the line.

Here are the 3 main gym ball exercises i recommend -

1) Stomach crunches

This is probably one of the most easiest exercises you can do with a gym ball. Simply rest your back on the ball with your feet placed firmly on the ground. Then slowly lift and crunch forward, making sure you hold the position for a few seconds, then relax and repeat. This exercise is ideal for learning how to do standard crunches on the floor, which is what we’re potentially leading up to with this exercise.

2) Standing Squats

Another basic exercise which involves holding the gym ball over your head and simply lowering yourself down in a seated position. Then back up, and repeating the process.

3) Assisted push ups

This exercise is pretty straight forward, simply place your hands on the ball and your knees resting on the floor. Then slowly lower yourself onto the ball, holding that position for a few seconds, then lifting yourself back up again and repeating the process. You should find this exercise very easy to begin with due to the positioning of your knees.

Top 5 fitness ball exercises

Posted on by ecoreexercise
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I have to be honest, but when i first saw people doing fitness ball exercises at the gym and learned how to use it, i initially felt awkward because it’s so different to the conventional weights that most guys use when training to put on muscle and develop strength.
But having used it in the last few days of training, i have realized that it is a very good way to develop core muscles around the abdomen and your general core. In fact, i would even say that it’s a very good alternative to weights if you happen to lack them where you are or if you’re at home and limited in resources.

So having used it for a few days, here are my top 5 fitness ball exercises:

1) Balanced push-ups
This is without a doubt my favorite exercise using the fitness ball. The main focus of this exercise is to stay balanced when placing your hands on the ball whilst doing a normal push up. It’s great for a number of reasons. It detracts from thinking about the exercise itself and instead makes you focus on stabilizing yourself, it promotes good balance and it makes the exercise fun. It’s the ultimate way to developing your core muscles without it having to be a chore.

2) Vertical ball lifts
Another great exercise which i recommend. The exercise consists of placing the ball between your legs, then slowly lifting the ball with your legs and sitting up and touching the ball with your finger tips. It’s a great alternative to a standard V-lift, but are now focused on keeping the ball balanced in between your legs and adding a bit of weight resistance to the exercise.

3) Seated wall rolls
This exercise is brilliant for improving good legs and is ideal for performing as an alternative to conventional squats. The exercise is simple. you place the ball on the wall with your back supporting it. Then with your legs shoulder width apart and slightly forward. You begin lowering yourself down for a few seconds, then using the ball as an aid, slowly raise yourself back up again.

4) Ball assisted crunches
This exercise is great as a warm up and slightly easier to perform than a conventional crunch. The exercise is pretty straight forward. Lie on the ball relaxed, then slowly crunch up and repeat the process.

5) Reversed balanced push-ups
This exercise is done in exactly the same way as the exercise i chose as my favourite exercise, but done in reverse, with your feet placed on the ball itself instead of your hands. Why i placed this exercise at number 5 is because it isn’t unique to the fitness ball itself and have found that the exercise can also be performed using other elevated objects such as a bed or a chair. A great exercise however nonetheless.

A 5 Step guide process towards maximizing your core stability exercises

Posted on by ecoreexercise
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Since starting this new process, i’ve realized a few unavoidable truths when it comes to building a healthy lifestyle – It’s pretty tough!

In the last few days, i’ve managed to build myself a routine of core stability exercises that fit in with my current ability. Whilst this isn’t a concrete system that everyone can follow, it is something that works for me and will continue to make adjustments along my journey as i improve.

What’s really fascinating about the whole thing however, is that the process is hard – It’s taking me a lot of motivation to get out of my front door and to go to the gym. But the one thing i’ve realized is that once i’ve done it, i feel so much better about myself.

I’ve also come to understand that i’ve only felt like this when i lacked direction. So the trick is to have a daily schedule which you can tick off at the end of the day. Not only does this help motivate you to get things done, but it gives you a sense of direction as you know what needs to be done for that particular day.

Here’s my 5 step guide to maximizing my core stability exercises:

1) Stretch for 10 minutes

Stretching is without a doubt, the most important thing you can do in your exercising regime which most beginners starting out tend to overlook. This is something i’ve learned the hard way myself. Lack of stretching tightens your muscles and can cause injury. Logically, this makes sense because in the beginning, you’re putting your muscles under intense strain which it otherwise isn’t used to in the beginning. So it’s always important to stretch prior to any strenuous activity.

2) Start off small and increase over time

When first starting out with your training, it’s very likely you’ll feel intimidated with what everyone else is doing at the gym; they’ll often be pushing heavy weights, look bigger than you and more active. This will put you under pressure to start off big in order to not feel left out… This is a big No No! Always bare in mind, that no one started off their training like that and had to start from somewhere. So start off small and gradually increase the intensity over time. Eventually, you’ll find that you’ll be on the same level as every one else. After all, you can’t learn to run until you first begin to walk.

3) The journey of a thousand miles begins with single step

There will come a point in your training where you will begin to notice boredom. Every day seems like another day, you’re working the same muscle groups for an hour, not seeing the results you were looking for and eventually lose the motivation to leave your house. This is normal and one that is seen in any activity you do. In the beginning, you will see great improvements in your health, but over time, this plateaus. This is something that many athletes have to deal with. But understand that this is part of the process. Understanding that it’s all part of the journey and not a sprint to the end goal will make your journey a lot more enjoyable.

4) Avoiding failure is impossible

With any skill you undertake, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid some sort of failure. This is obvious, because in order to learn or know the correct way of doing anything, we must first learn from your mistakes. So be prepared for it and rejoice when it happens. It’s all a learning experience after all!

5) The end goal is non-existent

Finally, understand that while we have goals along your journey in the beginning, there will reach a point where you will have achieved your goals and then reflect and ask ‘what’s next’. This is the beauty of goals, because it makes you understand that whilst we have an idea of where we want to be, its really never ending. Because for every end, there’s a new beginning. It’s here where you realize what your true potentials are and understanding that it’s all part of your own personal development.

So there you have it!

I challenge you to go out and embark on your journey. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and see it all as a learning experience. You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve for yourself.

Wishing you all the best on your training!

My core stability exercises journey

Posted on by ecoreexercise
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Hi guys and welcome to my blog. This blog will be dedicated to my core stability exercises regime and to help kick start me into training. No doubt, i’m sure some of you reading this will be able to relate to the fact that motivating yourself to go to the gym sometimes can be quite difficult. So really the aim of this blog is not only to educate me as a practitioner, but to also help you the reader into inspiring you to take action on your health and training.

Perhaps the main aim of this blog is to push me into updating my journey by documenting it in blog form, knowing that it will get read by you the reader. So in affect, ill be holding you guys accountable for my progress. So if i don’t update my blog, you’ll know that i haven’t done much as far as motivating myself to go to the gym and to write about it.

I sincerely hope that my entries looking forward will not only improve my understanding in my exercise journey but to also educate and inspire you to take massive action towards your goals.

I hope you enjoy my blog. Here’s to the coming future. Until then, Train hard!