A superb exercise for core that can teach you a lot about the kinetic chain, power production and grounding.

Here is a very powerful exercise Eero discovered while moving a shopping cart in IKEA (you never know when good ideas find you!).

What makes this exercise special is that it incorporates a very powerful principle regarding the kinetic chain that is part of Tai Chi and Qigong.

Obviously all the masters of boxing or sports like baseball have mastered this as well. There is simply no real power without learning how to leverage your kinetic chain and create power through a chain of movements.

From one joint to another you can transfer “kinetic energy” until it all accumulates in your hand. This can also be called "qi" although qi is a lot more as well.

In order to transfer energy without blockages, your body must be loose. For this reason, the ancient masters emphasized looseness and relaxation, something we cover in Health Qigong.

Without mobility and looseness, the energy won’t move efficiently from one link to another causing problems with effective power production.

And where does the energy come from? It comes from the ground - your support.

That’s why in martial arts they always talk about grounding – you can’t have proper power without.

Likewise, in Athlete 20XX Method for 4 weeks we do nothing but stability training. Why? Because more stability and support means more power! Stability also keeps the joints safe.

The legend Muhammad Ali said that you should float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

It’s a good saying but not 100% true because without proper grounding (floating like a butterfly) you won’t have true power and Ali was never known as a power puncher. Maybe you can sting like a bee but some people want to punch like a sledgehammer.

By practicing this exercise you will not only develop awareness and cultivate the principle regarding power generation and kinetic chain but you will also develop the hips, core and upper body.

Especially when it comes to the core and obliques (one of the main sources of power), this exercise is absolutely superb.

If you don’t have access to a prowler, you can practice a similar “lagging” motion without any resistance. This is what they do in Tai Chi or Qigong. You can also use external weights or a cable machine.

Add Levels to Your Training

We don’t only do the casual "curls and abs workouts". We have far more developed methods to make you healthy, structurally sound, athletic and powerful.

To get a great introduction to our methods, please see The 10 Commandments. It’s 100% FREE and filled with knowledge to help you guide your training in the right direction.

It’s a fact that regular workouts and training won’t make you thrive in sports or martial arts or give you true functional ability.

It’s also a fact that a lot of mainstream methods are designed to destroy your joints and as a result reduce your self-confidence, not raise it (been there done that).

To learn more about what people have called “fitness enlightenment”, see The 10 commandments of Universal Strength Training.

Stay strong.