The Internet is bulging with articles on the importance of developing core muscle strength. Core strength exercises generally use body weight as resistance and are performed by both men and women in the same ways for the same purposes. Core muscles are usually identified as abdominal, lower-back and hip muscles. Despite the consensus among experts that everyone should have strong core muscles, there is less agreement about the singular attention athletes should devote to this muscle group.
Function
The main function of core strength is that it enables you to keep your trunk stable, not only during athletic endeavors but also in everyday life, according to Sports Medicine Institute International. The institute reports that poor core strength translates into wasted motion that can deplete energy and interfere with muscular control in both the upper and lower body. Even if you do not play baseball or lift weights, trunk instability can result in medical problems associated with poor posture, and this relates to men and women equally.
Evidence of Athletic Benefit
A study published in the January 2009 issue of the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" offers evidence that core strength training correlates with improved athletic performance. A total of 20 healthy subjects completed the study, and the group receiving the core training recorded greater gains on 5,000-meter run times than the control group that received no core training. The subjects of the study included both men and women, and there was no sex-based breakdown of results.
Considerations
A conflicting study was published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" in February 2010, suggesting that there is little correlation between measured "core stability" and performance tests, such as throwing a medicine ball. The authors concluded that while core strength training is important, particularly in the realm of injury prevention, there may be a popular overemphasis on what it can do for athletic performance.
Injury Prevention
The online edition of the "Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology" published a study in April 2007 suggesting that core strength may help reduce occupational injuries. A total of 408 male and 28 female firefighters underwent a series of core exercises for a year. They incurred significantly fewer occupational injuries, and less lost time, than was predicted by yearly averages of injuries and work time lost because of injury. The authors concluded that further research in this area of potential injury reduction is warranted.
Warnings
Before beginning core strength training, you should consult a health care professional to make certain the exercises will not aggravate an already existing condition.
References
- Sports Medicine Institute International: Core Strength
- Florida International University: Does Core Strength Training Influence Kinetic Efficiency, Lower Extremity Stability, and 5000m Performance in Runners?
- "The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Relationship Between Core Stability, Functional Movement, and Performance; Tomoko Okado et al.; Feb. 2010
- "Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology"; Core Strength: A New Model for Injury Prediction and Prevention; W. F. Peate et al.; Apr. 2007
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