Zerchers for Core Strength

Thank you for the excellent article on Zerchers.

After you’d mentioned the Zercher deadlift a few weeks ago, I trawled many pages deep in google results, through forums and articles, and book excerpts, trying to find as much info as I could on all the Zercher variations.

And in one article, you were more able to cover it more comprehensively than I was able to find with all that searching. This seems to be pretty much the definitive Zercher article.

About the only question I have, that wasn’t directly answered in the “How to Use Zerchers” section, is how to focus specifically on core strength and ab strength.

I noticed three things:

  1. when I fail a deadlift or pull, it’s because I break at the low ab/low back area (this happens right off the floor)
  2. the strength I built at Z presses didn’t transfer over to standing presses; right now I’m actually stronger at Z presses
  3. I still struggle with not hyperextending my low back on standing presses

All of that has me thinking “weak abs, weak core”.

Would a good approach be to use one or two higher rep sets of Zercher deadlifts, after my pulling work? My thinking is that the prime movers will be fatigued, so this will target the accessory musculature and also provide a pump to adjunct the strength work.

[quote]LoRez wrote:
Thank you for the excellent article on Zerchers.

After you’d mentioned the Zercher deadlift a few weeks ago, I trawled many pages deep in google results, through forums and articles, and book excerpts, trying to find as much info as I could on all the Zercher variations.

And in one article, you were more able to cover it more comprehensively than I was able to find with all that searching. This seems to be pretty much the definitive Zercher article.

About the only question I have, that wasn’t directly answered in the “How to Use Zerchers” section, is how to focus specifically on core strength and ab strength.

I noticed three things:

  1. when I fail a deadlift or pull, it’s because I break at the low ab/low back area (this happens right off the floor)
  2. the strength I built at Z presses didn’t transfer over to standing presses; right now I’m actually stronger at Z presses
  3. I still struggle with not hyperextending my low back on standing presses

All of that has me thinking “weak abs, weak core”.

Would a good approach be to use one or two higher rep sets of Zercher deadlifts, after my pulling work? My thinking is that the prime movers will be fatigued, so this will target the accessory musculature and also provide a pump to adjunct the strength work.[/quote]

Any form of Zercher lift will help. But I really like Zercher goodmorning for this. I also like reverse hypers for that specific issue.

All right, thank you.

Bumping this since I have video that kind of captures what happens.

Right around what looks like rep 8 or 9, I pretty much lost complete control of my lower back and abs, and the set falls apart.

Just to clarify, this is where you think the Zercher goodmorning will help?