CORE…No More!!!
By David Kathmann, MS, RSCC, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Written on January 2, 2013
I’m going to start off my blogging
with an issue that comes around every year and applies to everyone from the
mother of three to top tier athletes. Everyone wants “a tighter, stronger
core”, “six pack abs”, “a toned midsection”, or whatever your favorite line is
to strengthen up the midsection in time for summer. If one thing frustrates me
more than anything in the world of strength and conditioning and personal training,
it is the inability for trainers and strength coaches to think critically. This is highly present in understanding
how the body moves, especially in light of research and experience. Many strength and conditioning coaches
and personal trainers blindly follow the newest trends and don’t take the time
to step back and critically think about the effectiveness of the hottest new
piece of equipment or exercise.
One of the most overrated, useless, waste-of-time examples of this is
isolated core exercises.
Lets
begin by laying out what some (not all inclusive) of the “core” (trunk;
midsection) muscles are: rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal
obliques, transverse abdominis, erector spinae, quadratus luborum, multifidus,
longissimus thoracis, diaphragm, psoas major, illiacus, latissimus dorsi,
gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, trapezius, pelvic floor, …
and the list goes on. You see how
much the “core” is connected with the rest of the body and which begs the
question, “what is the function of the ‘core’?”. The main function of the trunk musculature (“core”) is to
stabilize the spine and translate force generated against the ground from the
legs and hips on up.; not to lie on our toes and forearms (planks) or to flex our spine forward (crunches) in
an attempt to get those washboard abs. Side note: if you want that elusive
6-pak, guess what, you already have it!
The only problem is that layers of fat cover those razor abs and the
only way to get them to show through is a cleaner diet, but I digress.
So that is where your 6-pak has been hiding . . . inside of you.
How then does one strengthen the
trunk muscles without apparatuses such as the BOSU Ball? Simple, use the body and trunk muscles
as they are intended: as an entire unit.
This means to choose exercises that have you translate force from the
legs and hips to your upper body and/or exercises that stabilize your spine.
This includes main, compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, overhead
presses, bench press (yes, bench press), pull ups, Olympics lifts (a.k.a. weightlifting
in the Olympics; clean and jerk and snatch), and similar movements. Most of these movements require you to
translate force from your legs up your body and to the barbell, while
maintaining a stable spine. I know that “core” exercises do in fact work your
trunk muscles (based on EMG readings), but nowhere near the level that a
relatively heavy squat or deadlift can. Also, these main exercises allow you to
incrementally load the movements to not only progressively strengthen the trunk
musculature, but the rest of the body as well. However, I must note that these movements (the main
exercises) are hard, much harder than a
plank on a stability ball. Also,
there is some coaching and thinking involved in performing these movements
correctly. If you already have a personal trainer and you are doing isolated
core movements, then you may want to start looking for a new strength coach,
because he/she either is too lazy to teach you how to train properly or doesn’t
know how to teach the main exercises correctly. Either way, they don’t have
your best interest in mind.
Arnold knows the benefits of squats. Do you?
There are exceptions regarding the
ability to perform the main exercises, but a very limited amount. If one movement is contraindicated for
an individual for the time being, be it due to a surgery or some other existing
“situation”, then the individual can most likely do some of the other movements
pain-free. Of course, in my opinion, these people should have already been
getting strong with the main exercises before the surgery or “situation” and
deserve a little break, but I’m an idealist. Rarely is a person ever
contraindicated from doing all the main, compound exercises for any extended
period of time, but is only able to do
“core” exercises. Just doing one
or two of the main exercises (at even 50% of a person’s 1 repetition max) can
elicit far better trunk muscle strengthening than any glute bridge or quadruped
extension (3).
If
you aren’t convinced that the main exercises mentioned above are sufficient
enough to get your “core” strong, then 1)
You haven’t had enough experience getting strong with the main exercises, so start getting stronger 2) Do your research homework (Check out the resources
after this blog) and 3) Test
yourself. I’ll provide you with
an example you are familiar with, the leg press. How much can you leg press? The house, I bet. There are probably not enough
polyhexigonal plates in your gym to leg press because your legs are so
strong. Now, can you take that
exact same weight you can leg
press and squat it? I’m going out on a limb and going to
say, “No.” Why not? You just
proved your legs are strong enough to lift the weight, so why can’t you do it
while standing up with a bar across your back? Simple, you don’t have a stable, padded chair to help you
out. The reason you can’t squat
more than you can leg press is because you have to support all the weight of
the barbell and have to translate the force your strong legs can generate
against the ground up (wait for it), yes, your trunk (a.k.a. that core you’ve
been working on), to the bar on your back. Squats require you to maintain a neutral, stable spine and
work the trunk the way the muscles are suppose to work (force transfer and
spine stabilization). Be diligent
in your training and keep adding weight each time you squat, and when you get
your squat up to a respectable weight, you’ll notice your core is much
stronger. Now, tell me how effective a superman, back extension is now!
Don't be "that" guy who is "working" his core harder.
Here at Pro Fit Strength and Conditioning, we focus our training on getting the entire body stronger with
the main, compound exercises, and use the body in unison, as it is intended
for; not as isolated, individual parts.
This gives our clients an efficient, high quality workout with
outstanding results. If you don’t
know where to start or need some high quality coaching to learn form and
programming, then come see us at Pro Fit (training@pfstrength.com) and we will
get you started in the right direction. So, stop sitting on your stability ball
or stirring the pot or whatever you are trying to do to isolate and tone your
“core” and get to training and getting stronger, all over!
Disclaimer: All photos in this
article are not property of Pro Fit Strength and Conditioning and are intended
only for visual entertainment.
References
- Chulvi-Medrano,
I., Garcia-Masso, X., Colado, J.C., Pablos, C., Alves de Moraes, J., and
Fuster, M.A. Deadlift Muscle Force and Activation Under Stable and
Unstable Conditions. J. Strength Cond. Res. 24(10): 2723-2730, 2010.
- Hamlyn,
N., Behm, D.G., and Young, W.B.
Trunk Muscle Activity During Dynamic Weight-Training Exercises and
Isometric Instability Activities. J. Strength Cond. Res. 21(4): 1108-1112, 2012.
- Nuzzo, J.L., McCaulley, G.O., Cormie, P., Cavill, M.J., and McBride, J.M. Trunk Muscle Activity During Stability Ball And Free Weight Exercises. J. Strength Cond. Res. 22(1): 95-102, 2008.
2012 Pro Fit Strength and Conditioning www.pfstrength.com
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