We have received many questions about training the “core.” Doctors want us to keep our core strong to help protect our lower back and manage lower back pain. Coaches want our core strong so we can be more resilient to injury and enhance athletic performance. Gym-goers train their core to feel healthy and fit, and some strive for the elusive “washboard abs.” Yet while the “core” is one of the most popular terms in fitness and athletic conditioning, many people do not have a clear understanding of what “core” means or how to train it most effectively.
Most people equate the core with the abdominal muscles, especially the rectus abdominis, which is close to the surface of the body and gives those with very little body fat their “six-pack” look. While the abdominals are a component of our core musculature, our “abs” and our “core” are far from one and the same. Core musculature also includes many deeper muscles surrounding the spine and pelvis, the muscles of our lower, mid, and upper back, our pelvic floor muscles, and many muscles surrounding our hips. However, while some may define the core as our entire midsection, trunk, or torso (excluding the legs, arms, and head), the human body is meant to function as a unit. This unit also includes nerves, ligaments, tendons, and fascia. Fascia is like our natural Spider-Man suit—a vast web of connective tissue interwoven throughout and wrapped around our muscles, joints, and internal organs, with strands or sheaths that can be integrated and connected from toe to head.
“Core” classes at your local health club and popular “core” workout videos are often dominated by isolative rather than whole-body, integrative exercises, the vast majority of which are performed on the ground in a supine (on our back) or prone (facing down) position rather than standing on our feet. Doing things like sit-ups, crunches, scissors, and bicycles certainly makes us feel the burn in our abs, and the variety of plank variations can involve the entire body in a more integrated fashion. These exercises can have value, but they should not be considered the entirety of core training. The fundamental movements we perform in activities of daily living and athletics—walking, running, bending, squatting, rotating, pushing, pulling, reaching, etc.—are accomplished not only through muscle contractions but through the integrated and coordinated involvement of our nervous system and connective tissue. These movements do not occur lying down on our backs, flexing our spine (as with crunches), or even in plank positions.
Effective core training should therefore include exercises performed on our feet that involve and place demands on the entire body from toe to head. The goal is to train the body as one integrated unit, with all of our tissues working together as a coordinated “symphony,” rather than with specific muscles “playing solos.” At 1TO1, we believe core training should prepare the body for the way it actually moves—integrated, coordinated, and in motion.