Strengthening your core is important because this area creates a solid foundation for your body, including your neck, back, legs and arms. Though it is frequently associated with abdominal work, your core actually encompasses four primary muscle groups and includes other associated muscle groups. It's important to strengthen all of them in a core strength training program.
Identification
Your core resembles a cylinder that goes around your midsection. Your transverse abdominus, which creates a "girdle" around your belly, is one of the muscle groups in your core. Your pelvic floor sits at the bottom of the cylinder and consists of a group of six muscles. Your diaphragm muscle creates the top of the cylinder. The 1- to 4-inch long multifidi fibers that fan out from your spine are also part of your core. However, many other muscles play an important role in your core stability and function. For example, the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex consists of 29 muscles that attach to your core. These muscles help with stability when you maintain balance and provide a base of support over your center of gravity during motion.
Significance
If you do not properly train your core, your risk for injuries increases. These include abdominal strain, groin strain, pelvic misalignment, lower back pain, hip flexor, adductor and abductor strain, and musculoskeletal disorders, according to Paul J. Goodman, author of the National Strength and Conditioning Association article, "Connecting the Core." Poor core training also potentially detracts from athletic performance in many ways. These include poor gait mechanics, poor acceleration or deceleration and poor postural alignment.
Types
Core programs need to include lower back-specific exercises as well as abdominal work. However, it's vital that programs also include your upper torso muscles as well as those in the hip area, Goodman says. Many core programs train core muscles and those that function along with them independently. However, your body seldom uses a muscle alone. Instead it activates chains of muscles to complete movements. Exercising just one muscle in that chain can cause it to become too strong in comparison to the others it works along with. A dominant muscle can overpower other muscles, which sometimes leads to injury. If you have a muscle in the chain that is weak, however, working it independently will help strengthen it so it plays its full role in the chain of movement, notes personal trainer and health and lifestyle coach Michael Finn of California. Do full-chain exercises first and exercises that isolate your weak muscles second, Finn recommends.
Considerations and Examples
When you design a core program, slot the exercises that require the most balance first and those that require the least, last, Finn recommends. Good multichain exercises include the regular plank, in which you hold the top of a pushup position; the side plank; and the reverse plank, in which your belly faces the ceiling instead of the floor. The dead bug, in which you lie with your back pressed to the ground and lift your opposite arm and leg, is another good core exercise. Performing crunches on an exercise ball also will work one entire chain of muscles needed to promote a strong core. Allow enough rest for the core muscles you work to recover fully between workouts.
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