Core Training 101: Overview, Benefits, and Best Exercises
This article was originally posted on http://www.fitnessgeared.com/forum its a FUZO original
Conditioning the abdomen and lower back muscles has had many names during the last few decades. As far as Fitness Geared forums can remember, in the 80s we remember it being called “abdominal training” or “ab work”. There wasn’t much attention given on the lower back because we put all our focus on the mirror front muscles. Then during the late 90s — and even up to now — we call it “core training”, which now includes the importance of the lower back.
So what is core training anyway, and why is everyone going crazy about it? Well, let’s find out.
Core Training Overview
Your midsection that is commonly referred to as the core includes all the muscles in the front, back, and sides. In anatomical terms, we’re talking about the transverse abdominis, erector spinae, obliques, and lower lats. These work as stabilizers in your entire body.
In essence, core training is doing specific exercises to develop and strengthen these muscles. Just like any other muscle in your body, if any of these core muscles are weak, it will affect the rest of your body. For exmaple, weak core strength can result in lower back pain. Weak core muscles can also affect your posture or daily activities such as walking and running.
With that, core training is something that everyone must do, not just bodybuilders or those looking to look good. Not only will it help with a person’s athletic performance, but will also help in life’s everyday tasks. Think about it — you are bending, twisting, and reaching almost every day, all of which require your stabilizer muscles to work. Ever get hurt doing any of those movements? It’s probably because your core isn’t strong enough.
Core Training for Athletes and Bodybuilders
Staying healthy is key for athletes. The last thing a coach wants is for their athlete to blow out their back by picking up a weight on the floor, or by simply moving around on the field. With a strong core, these unfortunate instances can be avoided.
Having a strong core is very important for performance athletes, but so do bodybuilders. With all the squatting, deadlifting, overhead pressing, and rowing that bodybuilders do, having a strong core is very essential. Handling the poundages necessary for building mass requires a very strong midsection if a bodybuilder wants to stay healthy. The heavier the weights get over time, the more and more the core needs to work in order to support the body. Imagine going for a personal record in deadlifts and your lower back muscles give out halfway through your first rep. Ouch.
And of course, the other reason why bodybuilders need to prioritize core training is for the beloved six pack. By doing core exercises that hit every angle, one can expect to get plenty of attention at the beach or a lot of cheers at the bodybuilding stage.
Core Training Myths
A lot of people think that working out their abs is the solution to fixing their fat midsection.
Wrong.
In order for a human being to see abs, the solution is in the diet, not the training. The only way for someone to see six-pack abs in their stomach is if they lower their body fat, and this is done by following an eating plan that puts your body in a calorie deficit. Only by doing this will your body start to shed off a few pounds of fat from the midsection.
Core training is just that, to strengthen the core muscles. If people spent more time eating better as opposed to doing more ab exercises, there’d be more people in this world walking around with six-packs.
Another myth is on core stability itself. Ever see someone standing on a bosu ball while barbell squatting? Well that’s because they think that doing that “exercise” works on core stability. Again, wrong. It’s just plain stupid and dumb to do such thing. Trying to stabilize your core on an unstable surface is like trying to cure cancer with cancer. The best way to strengthen the core is by hitting it from all angles, whether it’s by doing flexion, extension, lateral flexion, anti-flexion, anti-extension, and anti-rotational exercises. Not by standing on an unstable surface.
Best Core Training Exercises
So what exercises are good for your core?
Well, as mentioned above it’s best to hit the core from every angle possible. Too many people just do crunches alone thinking that they’ll strengthen their abs and see a six-pack. Big mistake. There’s too many muscles in your core to only be doing a single-dimensional exercise.
There are a lot of great core exercises out there for us to list out, but in addition to doing the big lifts like squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses, other ancillary core exercises such as below are great:
•Romanian deadlifts
•Farmers walks
•Suitcase carries
•Planks
•Leg raises (hanging or on the ground)
•Side bends
•Oblique crunches
•Jackknife sit-ups
•Bear crawls
•Woodchops
The list goes on and on. The key to core training is to keep it simple and not overcomplicate it. Do what’s effective, not what looks cool. You’re at the gym to work out, not to perform circus acts.