Definition Of Core Strength Training

"Core" is a word you hear thrown around frequently in gyms. Group exercise classes advertise core training, and any personal trainer worth his salt will tell you that training the core musculature is an important part of strength training. Strength training, also called resistance training or weightlifting, increases muscle strength, endurance and tone. Core strength training is the process of exercising the core muscles.

Muscles

The core is more than just your abdominals, though that is what many people associate with the word. The glutes and lower back muscles, called the erector spinae, may come to mind as well. But even these three groups are not all of the core muscles. There is also the psoas muscle of the hips and the multifidus of the spine. All of these muscles stabilize the trunk, including the spine and pelvis, and core strength training targets these muscles. Exercises designed specifically to target one or all of these muscles are core exercises.

Benefits of a Strong Core

To truly understand what core training is, you need to understand the point. You might think that if a six-pack is not a realistic goal for you that you don't need to train your abs and other core muscles. But exercises for strong core muscles reduce the chances of spinal injuries and lower back pain, improve athletic performance, result in better balance and coordination and give you a shapelier buttocks and abdomen.

Sample Exercises for Core Training

Crunches, sit-ups and planks are well-known core exercises, but these are hardly the only ones. Core strength training is not just about strengthening your abs. It's about all your core muscles, usually including more than one exercise per workout so you can work more than one area. Other examples of core exercises include back extensions, supermans, single-leg deadlifts, side planks and bridges. These are all exercises that work the core but are not exclusively ab exercises. Pilates exercises strengthen the core, too.

Guidelines

Core strength training follows certain perimeters for workouts. Core training includes three to four days a week of workouts, with at least one day in between for muscle recovery. Core training workouts generally include two to three exercises, each emphasizing different parts of the core. Variety is important for strength training, whether you target the core or the rest of the body. Muscles adapt quickly to exercise so each workout ideally should include different exercises or at least different combinations of exercises.