Exercise of the Week: Cable Rotation With Physioball

Rotational strength is a major source of power for many sport skills, including batting, throwing, shooting a hockey puck and hitting a tennis groundstroke. When performing one of these moves, if you don't rotate your core, you suffer a dramatic reduction in power.

Jimmy Rollins, All-Star shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies, performs the Cable Rotation With Physioball to develop his rotational core strength. Holding a physioball minimizes the activation of upper body muscles. The core rotator muscles are isolated—particularly the obliques. The exercise helps you explode through your lower body and core to finish a powerful athletic movement.

View the video above to see Rollins performing the Cable Rotation With Physioball.

• Set cable machine to chest height
• Assume athletic stance perpendicular to cable machine with arms straight out holding physioball
• Grasp rope in left hand so cable is across center of physioball
• Powerfully rotate 90 degrees to the left
• Return to starting position in control; repeat for specified reps
• Perform set on opposite side

Sets/Reps: 4x12 each side