When you watch super athletes jump and sprint you’ll quickly realize that the core isn’t

static. Usain
Bolt sprinting, Zion Williamson jumping off 1 leg, Westbrook exploding past a defender. The rotation
of the core and upper body complement the actions in the lower body to enhance performance.
This has been known for quite a while in the S and C field. Over the last 5 years I’ve heard many
strength coaches debate whether we should still include anti-rotation core training. Some coaches
argue that all we’re doing is taking away the natural rotary actions and harming the athletes ability to
perform.
On the other hand, some coaches argue that notion by sticking to the fundamental belief that
“proximal stability allows for distal mobility”. This basically means that a stable core will allow for
adequate mobility of the limbs. Other coaches might make the argument that if you’re in a contact
sport you need to be able to resist forces and maintain posture when you take hits so anti-rotation,
anti-extension, etc. are essential components in training.
In sports like basketball, football and other contact sports I personally believe that “anti-core”
(isometric core work) is essential. For example, in basketball we’re constantly taking hits to one side
of the body, which requires anti-rotation strength to resist flying into rotation. We’re also doing a lot
of hitting and being hit on the side of the body (veer finish or banging into someone with your
shoulder), and this requires anti-lateral flexion. Defensively, to stand someone up in the post
requires a great amount of anti-extension stability.
My buddy Shea Frazee, who is a skills trainer often says, when you hit someone you need “that one
muscle ability”. In strength coach terms this means co-contraction from the entire body. The
strongest athletes have this ability to go from relaxed to instantly co-contracted to handle contact.
This “one muscle” concept isn’t just going to enhance performance, it’s also one of the biggest keys
to preventing contact injuries.
Now, I do think we get a lot of isometric core strength through our compound lifts. But I believe
adding in some supplementary isometric core work for anti-rotation, anti-lateral flexion, anti-
extension and anti-flexion can go a long way!
Here’s some examples on how we check off each of the four boxes:
1. Anti-rotation: Core Rotation Pallof Press https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB470UldP_U

● This exercise gets us some core rotation and allows us to deceleration and get some anti

rotation work as well.

● A more dynamic progression for anti rotation would be The Core Rotation Audio Guided

Decel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IdMss6ArP8

● I got this exercise from Matt Cooper and I love it for training the core to rotate at high velocity

and rapidly decelerate to change directions. Remember, when we’re changing directions on

the court/field if we don’t have anti lateral flexion and anti rotation stability the torso may

become the limiting factor!

2. Anti-Extension- Stability Ball Stir the Pot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO5FpzS-

ZGQ&feature=youtu.be
 ● Any plank exercise works to check off the Anti-Extension box. Planks are boring as hell, and

my clients find the stability ball stir the pots to be less boring. For my in-person clients I also

use the Stealth Core Trainer https://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Plankster-Core-Trainer-

Interactive/dp/B07JG5R256 which makes the plank into a video game. This works far better

than any other plank in my opinion because it forces you to move and stabilize through

different angles. But most importantly it leaves the client smiling. For me a $150 purchase in

exchange for my clients having fun and competing is a no brainer.

Now, planks on the floor are great for building the general strength but eventually we have to
incorporate anti-extension into standing positions. Jammer presses can be effective here. Overhead
cable exercises in a standing position can also help. Eventually we need body to body contact. Think
of a lineman being pushed in the chest/shoulder area. That’s sport specific anti-extension training.
Notice that these aren’t concentric actions. It’s isometric and eccentric. To be more specific, it’s
mainly a “yielding isometric”. When it comes time to get sport specific I like to use stand up wrestling
type of drills. Get two athletes with similar strength and have one try to move them backwards while
the other tries to hold their ground. I know some of you are thinking, shouldn’t we get enough of this
in their sport practice? A lineman… possibly. A basketball player… rarely! In a typical basketball
practice a big man might get 1-4 near max reps in the post trying to stand someone up. Guards get
even less reps. Then in games, we switch a lot of pick n rolls and a guard ends up having to stand
up someone 10 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier in the mid post. That scenario is the main
reason that all effective 6 foot and under guards in the NBA are insanely strong. CP3, Kyle Lowry,
Fred Vanvleet, etc. If you can’t stand someone up in the mid post you’re a defensive liability and you
probably don’t stand a chance in todays game. The only exception is someone like Trae Young who
provides so much offensively that it outweighs his defensive liability.
So as a strength coach if they aren’t getting these reps in practice you have 2 options. 1) Incorporate
“stand up wrestling” type drills. Or 2) use a constraints led approach to their 1v1 time and work with
the skills coach to manipulate the 1v1 sessions. For example, a guard can be paired with a big. The
big starts in the mid post or low post so that the guard gets to bang with a heavier player. That IS
strength training. Not only are you strengthening the core, you’re learning how to throw around your
own weight and take hits. Strength is a skill and we need the specificity to improve this skill. Now, in
this 1v1 scenario the big won’t get much out of guarding the little guy in the post, so have the guard
start with the ball on the 3 point line and have the big work on on-ball defense against the quicker
player. That’s his agility for the day! Designing different games to train the qualities our athletes need
is a great way to blend the skill world with the S and C world.
Rant over, back to core training.
3. Anti-lateral flexion- Da Vinci Plank https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Grl5nL1pySM&feature=youtu.be

● Anti-lateral flexion stability is key for lateral change of direction and also for taking/giving hits

from the side of the body. Progression number 1 would simply be a side plank. Any side

plank variation is good for building anti-lateral flexion. But eventually I like to build to a
 standing position such as the Da Vinci plank. This standing cable plank closely replicates

veer finishes and other scenarios in basketball when we have 1 leg on the floor and we push

into the defender and hit them with our upper arm/shoulder to create space and knock them

back.

4. Anti-flexion- Hyperextension Machine Plate Drop https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=tOdinF0QqvQ

● When it comes to anti-flexion we are focusing on post chain isometrics. It does involve

posterior core (back muscles), but it’s even more glute/hamstring isometric strength. I like to

add the plate drop to get some perturbations, which teaches the muscles to rapidly co-

contract through the post chain in order to stay in extension and not get pulled into flexion.

An example of anti-flexion in sports would be an offensive player in the post trying to back

down the defender. The defender is feeling contact from an anterior to posterior direction,

while the offensive player is taking/giving contact from posterior to anterior direction. If you’re

backing someone down and the defender pushes into your back, you’ll drop into flexion if

you have poor anti-lateral flexion stability. I also like things such as reverse planks for

building anti-flexion.

Now, just because we do some isometric core work, that DOES NOT mean that our athletes will lose
the ability to rotate and move the core. I believe that’s a massive motor learning misinterpretation. As
long as we provide enough rotation in training and allow the spine to move, your body won’t
miraculously lock up and lose those abilities. The only way I see isometric core work hindering
movement abilities is if it was the only stimulus that the athlete received. If we removed them from
sports and we didn’t allow them to do any rotational movements in training while pounding them with
isometric core exercises, THEN we might hinder their ability to move.
That being said, I like to be cautious and make sure that for every isometric we have 1-2 rotational
exercises that lets the athlete move the core instead of brace the core. A great way to do this is by
pairing exercises. For example, I could do a pallof press, but I should superset it with a walking
rotational chop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEDtCugOC74&feature=youtu.be
I believe this ensures that our nervous system isn’t confused with what we’re trying to accomplish.
Doing this teaches the nervous system that we don’t want to stay in “core brace”/“static” mode. If we
remind the CNS that we still want to move rotationally, then the isometric core work won’t be a
competing stimulus.
For non contact sports like a 100 meter dash or a high jump do we need isometric core work?
Maybe…. maybe not. I’d probably double down on teaching the core to rotate. But in contact sports
when we take hits nearly every play while also needing to run fast, change directions and jump
high… I think we need it. But we also need just as much if not MORE fluid core movements that
allows the spine to move and rotate.