Everyone wants great punching power and nice six-pack abs, but some people are aren’t sure what it actually takes to achieve these things. The Pallof Press exercise, a fundamental core exercise, can challenge all your abdominal muscles, as well as your arms and back, without putting pressure on the spine to help you gain strength in both your stomach and your arms. To learn more about the progressions of the Pallof Press, read on for instructions to help you strengthen your body.

What You Will Need

To complete the Pallof Press exercise, you will need a power band and a fixed, immovable point, like a power rack. Loop the band around the power rack or fixed point and make sure that it is secured to the equipment at approximately the same height as your torso.

Basic Pallof Press Exercise

To begin, take hold of the power band with both your hands, placing one hand over the other. Stand in an athletic position with your feet a little bit wider than shoulder width apart, your shoulders back, chest up, and knees bent. Make sure you to keep a distance from the rack so that the band is stretched out with a little bit of tension and hold your hands at the midline of your torso (around your sternum).

Steps:

• Extend your arms straight in front of you.
• Bring them back to your sternum in a controlled fashion.

Be careful not to rotate towards the band or shift your body off center in any way as you press. If you’re struggling to keep your body stable, your band may be too heavy or your stance may not be stable enough.

Pallof Hold | Progression 1

When performing the Pallof Press Iso Hold, the first variation on the Pallof Press exercise, the point is to engage in isometric exercise to help you build strength in one specific area. Instead of simply extending and bending your arms, you will pause at the full extension of your arms for a brief isometric hold.

Steps:

• Extend your arms straight in front of you.
• Hold them straight for 15 to 20 seconds.
• Bring your arms back to the middle of your torso.
• Repeat the movement.

Pallof Press Extend | Progression 2

As you perform this variation of the Pallof Press, you are expanding the isometric exercise from the Pallof Hold to include another static exercise that will help train more areas of your body than a single hold of the first progression.

Steps:

• Extend your arms in front of you.
• Hold the position for several seconds.
• Extend your arms further until your elbows are locked.
• Hold for a few more seconds.
• Return your arms to their original position.
• Repeat the sequence.

Pallof Rip | Progression 3

For the Pallof Rip, your stance and arm movements will be the same as the basic Pallof Press exercise. Once your reach the extended position, instead of returning your arms to your sternum, hold your arms out and begin moving your arms laterally back and forth about five inches across your torso.

While every version of the Pallof Press is meant to help you stabilize your core and avoid rotation, this particular progression is more challenging, as it forces you to actively keep your body from rotating as your arms move.

Additional Variations

As with many exercises we perform at Gloveworx, there are innumerable variations to the Pallof Press exercise that help you focus on specific issues or goals. Some of the other variations include changing your stance, adding vertical movement to the press, and adding weight to the band. Discuss the best types of Pallof workout for you with your coach at Gloveworx!