The body bar is a piece of fitness equipment that has been around for a little over 20 years. It is basically a weighted steel bar that is covered in rubber. The number of exercises you can perform with this simple piece of equipment is endless. Adding a body bar to your basic abdominal exercises will not only spice up your workout, it can increase overall core strength and stabilization.
Straight-Leg Crunch with Body Bar
Lie supine on the floor holding a body bar. Position your hands shoulder-width apart with your palms facing your thighs and extend both arms vertically above your shoulders. Draw your knees into your chest before extending your legs directly above your hips. Engage your abdominals to flatten your spine into the floor. Keeping your arms straight and your abdominals contracted, lift your head and shoulder blades off the floor, pressing your upper body and the body bar toward your feet. Pause briefly and slowly return to your starting position.
Body Bar Rotational V-sits
Sit on the floor with your legs extended and holding a body bar. Turn your palms toward the floor and space your hands about an inch or two wider than your shoulders. Slightly bend your knees and flex your ankles upward to rest only on your heels. Contract your abdominals and keep your back as straight as possible as you lean back to balance on your tailbone. Extend your arms perpendicularly to your shoulders, or at a minimum, parallel to your thighs. Keeping your arms straight and your core tight, twist your upper body to one side, driving the end of the body bar toward the floor. Pause before returning to, and past your starting position to rotate to the opposite side.
Seated Side-Straddle Crunch with Body Bar
Sit on the floor with your legs extended and spaced as wide as comfortably possible. Hold a body bar with your palms facing away from you and position your hands spaced wider than shoulder-width. Sit up straight and contract your abdominals. Extend your arms to draw the body bar overhead. Keeping your abdominals engaged, flex laterally to one side, crunching your obliques to drive the end of the body bar toward the floor next to you. Pause and return to your starting position before continuing on to repeat on the opposite side.
Shoulder Pull-over
Although the shoulder pull-over is most often used to strengthen your shoulders and latissimus dorsi, it is also a great exercise to strengthen your core muscles as the abdominals are worked as secondary muscles in this particular exercise. Lie supine on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold a body bar of adequate weight with your palms facing down. Position your hands shoulder-width apart and extend your arms so that the body bar rests on your thighs. Contract your abdomen to flatten your lower back to the floor. Keep your arms straight as you slowly begin to swing your arms overhead toward the floor. Use your abdominals to keep the lumbar region of your back in contact with the floor at all times. Slowly swing the body bar back up and over your body to return to your starting position.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Seated Side-Straddle Stretch
- "Stronger Abs and Back"; Dean & Greg Brittenham; 1997
- "101 Workouts for Women"; Muscle & Fitness Hers; 2007
- Bodybar.com: The Body Bar
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