The term "core training" for me elicits visions of Swiss balls, muscle shirts and male hair care products, along with the according acute gastrointestinal distress. But creating a replacement term seems both arrogant and inefficient, so we'll just go ahead and use it.

The core musculature serves a number of functions including dynamic—trunk flexion, extension, side bending and rotation—and static—stabilizing resistance against forces working to move the spine in the directions previously mentioned. Obviously complete core development must address all functions of the core.

There is no shortage in training programs of trunk flexion and extension work, but typically limited rotational work and even less intentional static stabilization work. The windshield wiper and variations provide both of these. Far more importantly, their performance in public invariably draws the attention of attractive women.


The Basics

Hanging from a pull-up bar, lift your torso to horizontal . Bending the arms to achieve and maintain this position is fine—in fact, you may find that trying to maintain straight arms as you would in a proper front lever will bring the legs in too close to the bar and surrounding architecture to complete the movement uninterrupted. Eventually to make the movement more difficult, you can force yourself to keep your arms straight if your facility and anthropometrics allow.

Flex the hips to 90 degrees and straighten your legs to point them toward the ceiling. Pointing the toes will increase the difficulty slightly and will please any gymnastic coaches wandering by.

Rotate the torso to one side, being sure to keep the spine straight and horizontal and the legs straight. Once you reach the end of your range of motion—probably when the legs reach parallel with the floor, reverse the rotation to the other side.

The movement should be slow and controlled initially. Eventually it can be performed with greater speed for more power development. You may hear some epic back cracking on the first few reps—go easy to ensure this is a comfortable release of tension, not a paralyzing spinal cord break.




Modifications

If the straight-leg version of the windshield wiper proves too difficult for you, you can begin with bent legs. The knees will probably need to be pulled in toward the chest to prevent lengthening the lever and increasing the moment on the shoulders and spine, although how far in they can be drawn will be limited by the location of the bar. Progressively straighten the legs as your strength improves.

If the limiting factor is an inability to hold the torso in position for the movement, the rotational movement can be imitated on the floor with the hip swing while developing the necessary hanging strength separately.

Lie flat on the floor with your arms outstretched to the sides, palms on the floor. Straighten your legs and lift them to a vertical position as they would be for the start of the windshield wiper. Rotate your torso to bring the legs down to one side, then reverse the motion to bring them to the other side. Try to touch the floor with the foot without resting on it before returning to the other side. As with the windshield wiper itself, this movement can be modified by bending the legs to decrease its difficulty.

Basic front lever progressions will develop the remaining strength necessary for the windshield wiper. Hanging from a pull-up bar, bend the legs, bring the knees to the chest, and curl the torso up until your hips are level with your shoulders. If this position is difficult enough for you, maintain it as long as you can without failing. Perform multiple static holds to add up to around 30 seconds total. Once you can do this, begin straightening the torso for your static holds. Once you're able to maintain a straight, horizontal torso for 15-30 seconds, you should be able to perform at least a few windshield wipers.