Surge Training Exercises For Core Muscles

Surge training involves extremely short and intense bursts of physical activity, alternating with brief recovery periods, with the aim of pushing your body's metabolism into burning fat at a faster rate. Although, strictly speaking, it's not the purpose of surge training to target particular muscle groups, a variety of intensified aerobic and resistance – i.e., weight – exercises can be useful in working on your core muscles.

Core Muscles

Your core muscles are situated in your torso, excluding your shoulders. These muscles stabilize your body against gravity and enable it to project force. Perhaps the best-known of the core muscles are the abdominals, or “six pack.”

Surge Training

Surge training is a short, sharp form of exercise whereby your push your body to the limit for 30 seconds or so, then rest for a couple of minutes before starting up again. These bursts of activity deplete your muscles of an energy-boosting sugar called glycogen, causing your body to manufacture more from its deposits of fat and thus making you lose weight. Surge training has also been associated with antioxidant and anti-aging benefits.

Workout Regime

Wexford chiropractor and surge training advocate Dr. Dan Pompa recommends exercising for no more than 60 seconds, then resting for two or three minutes until your heart rate drops back to normal, and repeating the cycle three times. With the addition of a few warm-up stretches, a single workout should take around 15 minutes, and can be performed two or three times a week.

Exercises

Many exercises can be adapted for surge training. Cycling and skipping rope are good aerobic exercises that will work on your core muscles. Cycling is particularly suited for surge training as you can alternate passages of frenetic pedaling with slow pedaling or freewheeling. You can target your core muscles with rapid bursts of resistance exercises such as sit-ups and pull-ups. Medicine ball exercises are useful for working your core muscles through different planes. For example, perform a squat jump while holding a medicine ball and, at the apex of your jump, throw the ball overhead and catch it. Or lunge forward on one leg, swing the medicine ball down to your foot, then up over your head again as you straighten up – and then repeat with the other leg. With all of these exercises, cram as much as you can into the space of a minute or less. However, if a surge workout leaves you feeling weak or dizzy, you should speak to your health care provider.