Core Training By Unilateral Loading

The two best groups of core training methods come from gymnastics and weightlifting. A deadlift or a squat is a great core exercise – in my opinion, not as good as levers, but plenty good nonetheless. But I want to concentrate on how to teach the core to resist bending laterally, and add my two cents’ on the special worth of an eccentric unilateral load for this.

Eccentric means away from the center, so an eccentric load would be one held in front of you at arms’ length, instead of over your center. Due to the position of the arms at the sides of the body, most unilateral loads are eccentric. The special benefit of this is that the further away a load is from the center, the more leverage it exerts, and the more subjectively heavy it is.

So without further ado, let’s get into the four exercises that can be used to build a powerful core by unilateral eccentric loading.

Exercises to Build Strength And Stability With Unilateral Loading

1: Suitcase Deadlift

Stand as you would to perform a deadlift, but with the bar on one side. You’re going to perform a one-handed deadlift, as though you were lifting a suitcase. Don’t let your deadlift form suffer – this needs even more attention to form than a normal deadlift, even though you’ll be moving a lot less weight.

Use fairly high reps – about 8 to 12 or more – and add these on a day when you don’t normally deadlift. You can do them after you've finished deadlifting, but my experience has always been that deadlifts are called that because after you finish a session, you’re dead. I wouldn't try a new movement when my nervous system is fried and I don’t recommend you do either.

2: Suitcase Farmer’s Walk

Farmer’s walks are hands-down the most effective single move for building all-round physical improvement.  They’re simple, brutal and humbling, and I won’t lie: they’re not fun. At all. But they do work; do them regularly and honestly and you’ll see improvements in everything from how often you get injured to how heavy you lift to how fast you can run up the stairs.

Suitcase deadlift a barbell, or other heavy load – some gyms have special farmer’s walk bars, so check or ask.  Set your hips and shoulders, making sure you aren't putting the load where it shouldn't be by standing badly.  Inflate your chest, keep your neck in neutral and… walk. Try for 100 yards each side, and when you get it, up the weight. If you aren't seriously questioning your ability to finish the task by the 50^th yard, either the weight is too low or you’re ex-Marines. Farmer’s walks are fairly easy on your nervous system – but they are hard on your mind.

3: Circus Press

No-one circus presses any more, which is a real shame. Start by cleaning a dumbbell to the racked position. Next, you’re going to press it overhead, but with some leg drive and with one shoulder elevated, with the palm facing inwards, so if you did it two-handed your palms would face each other. It’s not a push press: it’s a way of loading the lats on the pushing side to lift more than you could either push press or strict military press. You should be looking at circus pressing about two thirds of your bilateral overhead press, and the loading on your core is significant.

4: Waiter’s Walks

Waiter’s walks are overhead farmer’s walks. In a farmer’s walk, you deadlift and then walk. In a waiter’s walk, you snatch or overhead press and then walk. The stability demands of holding a weight steady overhead while you walk, while you simultaneously breathe behind a tight abdomen, will give you a steely core. For an added fitness challenge, try holding a bar in one hand for a farmer’s walk, and a kettlebell or dumbbell in the other for a waiter’s walk. 

When you start experimenting with these movements, remember: anything that really challenges the core also has the potential to give you a nasty injury. Start a little lighter than you think you need to, and train safely, with good posture and a braced core. Good luck!