In the last 15 years there probably hasn’t been a more over-used and misinterpreted buzzword in fitness than “core strengthening”. There isn’t an exercise program in the world that doesn’t stress the need for improved core function. It’s safe to say that having good core “strength” is important but how do we define it? What is it? How do we measure it? What exercise do we do to improve it? How do we know it’s getting better?
First Question: What is the core?
If you go to any gym and ask the first person you see to describe their core there’s a good shot they would use the term “6-pack” at some point in your dialogue. They might also jump down and demonstrate some high-quality sit-ups, crunches or maybe even some hanging leg raises for the “functional” crowd. It’s no surprise as this is what everyone sees and what the public is bombarded with on the cover of magazines on every street corner. But the 6-pack muscle (rectus abdominis – just 1 muscle that is divided into 6 parts by tendinous structures to give it that look) makes up a small part of what fitness professionals would define as a functioning core.
Through the work of researchers like Stu McGill, Shirley Sarhmann and Physical Therapists/Strength Coaches Gray Cook, Charlie Weingroff and a host of others we have seen a much better definition of what a core is and what it’s supposed to do.
For simplification purposes (or because my understanding of it is simplistic – semantics, right?) we’re going to break the core down into 3 parts: The Spine, the Inner Core and the Outer Core.
Dr. McGill uses a great analogy in his Low Back Disorders text where he compares the spine to a fishing pole that is being held upright by guy wires. Alone, the fishing pole is very flexible and also unstable. When all the guy wires are working together the pole is incredibly stable. Again in simple terms, your Inner Core is made up of these guy wires. These muscles need to work together and at the right time in order to keep your spine (low back, specifically) from losing its necessary stiffness and stability. To achieve this, the smaller inner core muscles need a combination of muscular endurance as well as proper neurological timing. In other words, it doesn’t matter how strong a muscle is if it doesn’t come on at the right time.
Not a great picture but you get the idea
So what’s the right time?
What we know from the research is that in individuals with low back pain/disorders there is a delayed firing of these Inner Core muscles where the Outer core muscles fire first; it should be the other way around. Inner core should be firing milliseconds before the outer core (I’ve tried measuring this with a stop watch but to no avail).
What’s the Outer Core? Again, in its simplest terms it can be thought of as a barrel that surrounds these guy wires. The sides of the barrel are made up of the obvious (“6-pack”) along with internal/external obliques, lats and other muscles that work to extend the spine (help it stand up). To finish the barrel we need a top and bottom though, which can often be forgotten. The bottom of the barrel is your pelvic floor muscles (kegals, ladies?). The top portion is completed by the diaphragm (the muscle you breathe with; not the birth control product).
Back to the mistiming of the inner core; if there is a delay your outer core muscles will take over and try to provide the necessary stiffness to the spine in order to protect it. Muscles that should be doing one thing are now doing another. In the case of the diaphragm if your inner core is not functioning well you can compensate and gain stability by holding your breath.
The chain reaction that is possible when compensations like this occur can have effects all over the body which is why we spend so much time training core stability with proper breathing mechanics. We don’t gain this function from sit-ups and crunches even if the muscles we “want to work” are firing.
Always remember the end-goal with the exercise. Does the exercise work with the goal and are you doing correctly in order to achieve that goal?
In Part 2 we'll look into actual core exercises and how we use them.
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