Ab Exercise Tutorial: How to do the Chaos Pallof Press

The Bouncing Pallof Press (and the Walk That Will Humble You)

Here’s a core exercise variation that I found and love. It’s a play on the Pallof Press. While the Pallof Press is an effective core exercie, it can get stale. But with this variation you  Let’s break it down.

First, what’s a Pallof press?

Most people think of core work as twisting, like Russian twists, a crunch with a rotation. The Pallof press flips that. It’s an anti-rotation core exercise. That means you’re trying to stop your body from rotating. The cable or band is trying to pull you sideways and your job is to resist that pulling. Your trunk stays square and still.

Most of the time, you’ll see it done as a press-and-hold for time. Sometims I use a band and add lateral walk. That’s where you take steps to the side while staying square.

The chaotic Pallof Press adds a wrinkle and a little fun to a clasic exercise.

The chaotic twist

Instead of a smooth press-and-hold, you press the band out fast. Here’s where it gets intresting. There’s a 5 or 10 pound plate in the middle of the band. So as you press the weight randonmly bounces around. You have to fire all your core muscle so that unpredictable pull doesn’t push your spine out of it’s perfect position. 

Why does that matter?

Your spine has three systems working together.

1. The passive system – your bones and ligaments, the stuff you can’t consciously control.
2. The active system – your muscles.
3. The neural system – your nervous system, which constantly reads what’s happening and tells your muscles what to do.

The bouncing weight challenges all 3 systems at the same time so your obliques and deeper stabilizers have to engage.

Our bosdyies have sensors that detect changes in joint position. You’ll notice them when you step off the curb wrong and you almost roll your ankle. Those sensors detect the change and force your body to react in an attempt not to roll your ankle. Sometimes it works out well. Others, not so much. But the body’s sensors are always sending those siginals.

Well, you have those sensors along your spine as well. With the Chaos Pallof Press thise sensors help your nervous system fine-tune how your bigger core muscles respond. That sharper feedback loop makes your whole trunk more stable.

Typical core xercises like crunches and situps work your 6-pack, but stabiliazation exercises like the Chaos Pallof Press are important because they improve trunk stablity which allows you to transmit froce through your arms and legs. Sports like golf and tennis rely on core stablity to transmit forces generated with your legs to the ball.

Try the offset walk

Here’s another great core exercise along the same lines, the Chaos Offset Walk. Not sure who invented it, but physical therapist Andrew Lock has helped make it more popular.

How to do The Chaos Offset Walk

Rest a light bar or PVC pipe across your upper back. Just as you would for a squat.

• Load one end with a weight hanging off a resistance band.
• Walk forward a specific distance or number of steps.
• Turn around, and walk back.
• Flip the weight to the other side and repeat.

As the weight swings and bounces, your job is to stay tall without colappisning or leaning to one side.

Start with something around 10 pounds, about 5 kilos.

Progress by walking further. Start with about 30 seconds working up to a minute per set. Once you;re comfortable there, you add weight.

Chaos Pallof Press Variations

Video demonstration of different Chaos Pallof Press versions.

These drills are a great way to challenge your core’s stability. Give them a try durning your next workout. Progress slowly,