Monthly Archives: July 2025

Why you need anti-rotational moves

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Medicine ball chop slam.

  • Courtesy photo by Connie Aronson

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Half-kneeling medicine ball chop.

  • Courtesy photo by Connie Aronson

Most sports involve some type of rotational movement. Golf, tennis, baseball, skiing and hockey all involve rotation.

Up to 84% of athletes have experienced a low back injury during their sport. In training, it is key to increase stability of the spine. Developing high levels of rotary torque is not a task for your lumbar spine and abdominal muscles; movement should be through the hip and shoulder joints. For athletic performance, learning to transfer high levels of rotary torque from the lower body to the upper body is the task of the trunk muscles.

Anti-rotational exercises can enhance your core stability and overall functional strength. In tennis, for example, the wrist, elbows, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle and toes all exhibit a rotational aspect during a simple forehand stroke. However, a limiting factor in creating more acceleration is the inability to control, or decelerate, the rotational action.

Even everyday movements, such as lifting and carrying, benefit from anti-rotational exercises, as they train the core to function as a unified system. This core stability is essential for maintaining proper posture and alignment in life and athletic endeavors.

Medicine ball chop slam

Tip: For both of the following exercises, choose a medicine ball light enough to be thrown hard but heavy enough to provide resistance. (Test a toss beforehand!)

  • Stand upright with your feet parallel and spread slightly wider than shoulder width.
  • Hold the medicine ball by your midsection away from the wall, with both hands.
  • Tighten your glutes; brace your abdominals.
  • Throughout the exercise, maintain a straight line in your body and don’t rotate your torso.
  • Perform a set of slams; repeat on the opposite side.

Half-kneeling medicine ball chop

  • Kneel on a foam pad or gym mat perpendicular to a wall.
  • Tighten your glutes and brace your core. Throughout the exercise, maintain a straight line through your body.
  • Hold the medicine ball with both hands, away from the wall, at hip height.
  • Slam the ball for a set number of repetitions; repeat on the opposite side.

Connie Aronson is an ACSM exercise physiologist and corrective exercise specialist (TBBM-CES). Visit her and her golden retriever, Josie, on Instagram @conniearon.

Supercharge your core- The bird-dog meets the pilates reformer, no springs attached

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Core training isn’t just about strength, it’s about teaching your body how to move efficiently. The bird-dog is a standout exercise that builds spinal stability, reinforces good posture and enhances coordination, all without placing excessive load on the spine.

Often called the quadruped opposite arm and leg raise, it’s widely used by strength coaches and rehab professionals.

What sets it apart is that it helps stabilize the trunk. By lifting the opposite arm and leg while maintaining a neutral spine, the bird-dog recruits deep stabilizers like the multifidus, longissimus and iliocostalis while also activating the hip extensors and the gluteus maximus and minimus.

More than a basic exercise, the bird-dog is an excellent core move, teaching you the ability to move the hips and shoulders independently while maintaining a stable, neutral spine.

Now move this exercise to a pilates reformer machine—with no springs.

Removing the springs adds an element of instability, requiring your core and spine stabilizers to work harder to maintain control. The moving platform challenges your ability to maintain alignment under shifting conditions. Every lift and reach of the arm and opposite leg demands locking the spine on the pelvis and fully extending the hip. Your core has to work harder to maintain balance and alignment, turning this into a highly effective core exercise.

By eliminating assistance from the springs, you shift the demand entirely to stabilizing muscles.

This variation is challenging, innovative and engaging—a core endurance exercise you need to try!

Published July 4, 2025 https://www.mtexpress.com/wood_river_journal/features/fitness-guru-supercharge-your-core/article_96b7ed7d-4f87-4b74-9649-27cc20d0474a.html