Waterfall Series – Press Ups

The Waterfall series on the Ladder or the Archway is the absolute best for pure front of the body core strengthening. While you're working the same muscles as a sit-up or crunch, you're asking your body to do the same thing in the opposite direction. The extra space you gain by being off the ground allows you to add fun variety, like Press Ups.

One thing that makes core exercises on the Ladder more challenging than a sit-up or crunch is the breathing.  At the bottom of the motion (in this case when the hand weights are on your sternum) you need to inhale again so you have something to exhale as you're doing the concentric contraction (shortening) of the abs. That adds to the challenge of these exercises as you're already strongly contracted in your abs and intercostal muscles (between the ribs). So how do you take an inhale when you've wrapped yourself so tightly?

The overhead press portion of this exercise increases your core strength by increasing the "level length", the distance from the end of the motion (your hands) to the fulcrum of the motion (your pelvis). Adding that extra weight at the end point is much different than fingers interlaced behind your head or resting on your torso.