Swiss Ball Exercises for a Stronger and Healthy Back

Swiss Ball Exercises: The core, torso rotation and a strong back.

After poking around a while on Revver.com, where I store video files, I came across the Ford Models page where Chris Comfort demonstrates a series of balance/swiss ball exercises kayakers should find useful for strengthening the core, that all-important stabilizing muscle group which includes the abs, hip flexors and glutes.

Paddling from the core is very in these days, especially among sea kayakers who've learned how to incorporate torso rotation into their strokes. You get more miles and more speed with less effort or stress to your wrists, elbows and shoulders.

Two problems with the core paddling fad...

One is that few paddlers truly know how to achieve core rotation. It's more involved than you might think.

Second is that, seeing how most sea kayakers are, ahem, middle-aged sedentary types, we're more likely to have back problems, weak cores, weak torsos. That can make core drills like the ones Chris shows pretty tough to pull off.

Key to avoiding pain after doing a long series of core strengthening exercises is to repeat the same exercises the next day, but at a lower intensity. You pump blood into the muscles you worked the day before, aiding in the repair of the microtears necessary to developing strength. Lighter versions the next day of what you did the day before also helps flush lactic acid.

Take the five minutes or so the video requires to watch. The model, Chris Comfort, is more articulate than your average jock. Only real issue with the video is that it doesn't show in a repeated loop each of Chris's moves, which makes their execution hard to grasp.

But each of the moves Chris demonstrates will make a kayaker stronger. They'll also also improve our backs' strength, flexibility and health overall - a good bet no matter what your sport or how rarely or frequently you paddle.

The first drill is the supine bridge, a true butt-buster. If you have weak glutes, this drill will let you know -- pronto!

Other exercise ball drills for the core:

Strengthening the Core: IntroMedicine ball twist and lungeBalance Ball Pike
Lat Row with Weight
The Plank
Using Torso Rotation