What You Need to Know About Core Training
Six-pack abs are highly coveted features of a physique, with the abdominals being key muscles of our core. They are essential for both athletic performance and overall quality of life. This dual importance of aesthetic appeal and functional necessity often results in misconceptions and improper training methods for the core.
WHAT IS THE ‘CORE’?
Firstly, we need to address what the ‘core’ actually is. Many think the abs (and only the abs) are the ‘core’ because somewhere along the line ‘abs’ and ‘core’ somehow became interchangeable terms. This is a massive misconception that leads to improper training - leaving performance on the table and opening the window for injury.
The core is not a muscle - it is a system. One that is made up of many muscles - much like the ‘upper body’ or ‘lower body.’ Training the abs and considering it a core training session would be the equivalent of training just your pecs and calling it an upper body session.
Now consider what would happen if all of your upper body sessions consisted of exclusively training the pecs - the imbalances placed upon the shoulder would massively increase your risk for injury. When we apply this metaphor to our core and only training the abs, it often times becomes the lower back that is at risk due to the resulting imbalance.
It’s no wonder why the lower back is a common site of chronic pain and injury…
So, what are the ultimate core training tips?
I am a fan of simplicity. So, instead of listing a bunch of crazy muscles you’ve never heard of or won’t remember in 5 minutes, I’m going to give you my oversimplified, yet accurate summation that you’ll remember forever:
‘Nipples to knees - 360 degrees.’
Your core musculature spans your nipples, down to your knees and goes 360 degrees around your body.
That's right, your glutes, your lats, your hip flexors - all of it - is apart of the ‘core.’
WHAT DOES THE CORE DO AND HOW DO WE TRAIN IT?
The first job of our core is to stabilize the spine while the limbs perform movement and interact with the environment. This can also be known as ‘anti-movement’ because our core musculature is resisting movement at the spine.
Secondly, our core acts as a conduit as it helps transmit forces from the ground, through the body - connecting the lower and upper halves (think of how a baseball player generates force with the ground and transfers it to swinging a baseball bat). Our ability to stabilize (as mentioned before) helps determine how strong this conduit will be. The trunk must remain stable and resist unnecessary movement in order to transmit as much force as possible. The weaker the core, the more unnecessary movement takes place - resulting in an energy leak and loss of power output. This equals you leaving performance on the table. When the forces are much higher than what the core can handle, excessive movement takes place and injury typically results. Think of someone getting bent in half by a bar that is much too heavy for them. OUCH! This happens because the force output from the lower body to support the weight on the bar becomes too much for the musculature of the torso to handle. Thus, the weight wins, the torso gives, and you watch someone somersault over the bar. Not a good look.
Lastly, our core can contract to initiate movement - much like you see in a sit up or twisting exercise. These are most often seen in an exercise setting used for training/aesthetic purposes.
When we look at these functions, we can begin to organize what our core training should look like:
1.) Stabilizing the Spine
Most exercises that fall into this category are those ‘anti-movements.’ These should lay the foundation of your core regiment. While a healthy spine can and should move, you need the ability to stabilize it and resist unwanted movement when appropriate. This ensures that we are putting ourselves in the best position to remain safe and injury free.
The spine can move in 4 primary directions - flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation. Therefore, exercises in this category work to resist these 4 types of motion. Here are a few examples:
- Standard Plank (anti-extension)
- Side Plank (anti-lateral flexion)
- Reverse Plank (anti-flexion)
- Pallof Press (anti-rotation)
- Suitcase Carry (anti-lateral flexion)
- L-Sit (anti-extension)
Most of the time, these exercises are done in isometric fashion - meaning you are performing holds for time. Even an exercise like a suitcase carry when you are technically moving (walking), your torso is maintaining an isometric contraction and working in conjunction with the glutes to normalize your gait.
I train these for myself and for my clients no longer than 30 seconds per set 99% of the time. If you can get through 3-5 total sets of quality 30 second holds, then you can progress by increasing external resistance, creating further instability, or changing the angle of your levers (like extending your arms further forward in a plank).
2.) Force Transmission
Once we have laid a foundation of core competency with our stability exercises, we can begin to introduce more dynamic variations that will contribute to the performance aspect of our body. Within this category we will raise the stakes and introduce external loads, movement, and/or implements that force us to organize our bodies to produce and display power:
- Compound Movements (squat, deadlift, overhead press, etc.)
- Athletic based activity (sprints, jumps, throw variations)
- Dynamic Rotation Based Movements (chop & lift variations, bear crawl variations)
These types of movements require our core musculature to act as a conduit while we move and/or exert force while allowing force to travel through the body - most often from the lower body to the upper body - without any energy leaks. If the core is not strong enough to stabilize the spine and keep a strong connection through the torso, the energy leaks can manifest themselves as excessive movement through the spine and can result in injury. This is why the basic stability exercises come first and why they must lay the foundation of your core regiment!
3.) Movement Initiation
This category of our core training is probably what most people think of when training their core. This is where our sit ups, crunches, leg raises, side bends, Russian twists, etc., all come into play. These are the isolation type exercises than can help us target specific muscles and train them more for aesthetic purposes.
DISCLAIMER - you must be at a low body fat percentage - 10% and under for males, 15% and under for females - if you want to begin seeing a defined six pack. Nutrition is 90% of the game here. There are no amount of sit ups and side bends that will melt away the tummy and love handles.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Instead of looking at these as three separate categories to be trained independently of one another, we must understand that they do not all work in isolation. While some exercises do exclusively belong to one category, often times they share commonalities and will overlap with one another depending on the exercise chosen.
It is important to understand the hierarchy of core training. Spine stability first, dynamic movement second, aesthetics third. The spine must be stable in order to keep a strong connection during dynamic movements and the core needs to be functional before it can be visually polished. A person who cannot maintain a plank for ten seconds with no additional weight involved has no business trying to squat or overhead press with external loads (in my opinion).
The exercises you incorporate into your training will depend on not only your fitness level but also your goals. If you are a newer trainee you need to spend more time in the foundational stability exercises before moving on and trying the more intricate training methods. This isn’t to say that these exercises should not be done by advanced trainees, because they most certainly should still be in the mix! I have been lifting for 16 years and still incorporate them into my training on a weekly basis. This is why I am such a big fan of calesthenics movements - for all fitness levels - because it allows the working of multiple muscle groups while simultaneously working full body stability (think of a push up - pressing while maintaining a plank).
With that being said, your stability exercises and transmission exercises should make up the majority of your core training - lets say 80%. This could be evenly split between the two if you’re looking to be well rounded and just a fit, functional individual. If you have more performance based goals and/or compete athletically, 50-60% of that could be aimed towards more of your dynamic variations.
Our aesthetic based exercise will serve as the cherry on top and account for the remaining 20%. Even though most of these types of exercises are more for aesthetics, that isn’t always the case 100% of the time. There is still benefit to isolating certain muscles of the core such as the lower back, obliques, and yes even the abs - that go beyond just aesthetics. But you must be careful to not only train the abs when doing this kind of work!
REMEMBER - Nipples to knees, 360 degrees.
Don't just settle for a core that looks good; empower yourself with the strength and stability needed to excel in every aspect of your training. Follow the proven template and guidelines to build a core that performs when it matters most.
If you want to know how you can get started with a core training regiment that is suitable for you and your goals, we are here to help.
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