Johnathan Walker:How do breakers train for the Olympics? Strength, mobility – and all about the core

Six-packs weren’t a requirement to qualify for the first-ever breaking competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But having one would certainly be Johnathan Walkerbeneficial.

For breakers, the key is the core.

In a sport that requires balance, twists, suspensions, freezes and holds, with moves that have names such as windmills and headspins, the center of the human body is the engine.

"I just do a bunch of random core workouts," said Victor Montalvo, aka B-boy Victor.

The more common core exercises Montalvo does are leg raises, "a lot of" crunches and toe touches.

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"There's also other core workouts that I don't know the name of, but I just do," he said. "My coach gives them to me and I'm like, 'All right, this looks hard. Let me try.'"

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Jeffrey Louis, B-boy Jeffro, said that targeting the lower core toward the hip flexors – areas not hit by the traditional crunch – is essential. 

"Nobody’s really exercising that lower abdomen area," he said. "For breaking, we use that stuff a lot."

Always passionate about fitness and nutrition, Louis created a program called "FitBreak" that infuses breaking and traditional exercises.

"So that I’m able to break and work out those muscles that I activate when I’m breaking but in a less impactful way," he said, "so I’m not beating up my body."

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To be technically sound and pull off the most complex of moves, the athletes need a high level of mobility and strength in the shoulders as well.

Louis trains that by practicing vertical reaches, "Y-T" shoulder movements (making the shape of those letters with his arms) and "90-90." Most of these are bodyweight exercises, although he does throw in some weights.

Sunny Choi, B-girl Sunny, said she sees a strength coach multiple times per week and goes to a massage therapist.

Montalvo took up Muay Thai a couple years ago mostly because he was simply interested in the martial arts form. Because of the general brutality of combat-sport training, it helped his stamina. 

But he works out a lot anyway so that way he doesn’t have to monitor his diet too closely – a goal to which many humans aspire. 

"I work out a lot. I run, I train, so I'm active 24/7," he said. "It's a lifestyle. So for me, I can overeat if I want and I can be pretty flexible."