There is a fairly common notion that the root of good performance and injury prevention is having a “strong core.” The appreciation for “core” strength is reflected in many tactical athlete fitness tests, including: the sit-up, carry, leg-tuck, or power throw tests (to name a few). Many times, when I start working with clients, they are quick to blame their reduced efficiency in the gym or pain in their back due to "core weakness” However, as I dig further to find out what that means or why they think that, a lot of the misunderstandings and misinformation about what the “core” is and how it is used gets exposed. Today, we hope to define what the “core” is to set up future articles on how to train it for your daily lives and work.
When we talk about the “core” we are referring to the area of the torso between the sternum to the pubic bone. Immediately, most people recognize the abdominals are involved, but we want to stress that it doesn’t stop there. Think of the “core” as a dynamic canister: the diaphragm is at the top, the pelvic floor is at the base, the abdominal muscles are at the front and sides, and the spinal muscles are in back. All sides play a role and when working together are a foundation for good performance.
The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle. When you inhale, the diaphragm should contract and flatten out. When you exhale, your diaphragm relaxes and rises. This excursion process of the diaphragm contributes to:
Air filling the lungs more fully
The creation of intra abdominal pressure
Stimulation of the vagus nerve, promoting the “relaxation” response of your parasympathetic nervous system - which can lower stress hormone levels
Lowered heart rate
The pelvic floor is a group of layered muscles in the bowl of our pelvis. Both men and women have pelvic floors and their purpose is not just for peeing or pooping. The pelvic floor muscles have the ability to shorten and rise or relax and lengthen. This allows the pelvic floor to:
Provide support to your organs
Help manage intra abdominal pressure
Contribute to stability
Aid in sexual activity, urination, defecation, and passing of gas
Act as a sump-pump of blood and lymphatic fluid for the pelvis
The final components of the core are the abdominals and back muscles. You have muscles running deep across the trunk (transverse abdominis), diagonally (external and internal obliques) and from top to bottom (rectus abdominis at the front, quadratus lumborum, spinal erectors, multifidi at the back). These muscles have different abilities to contract and move in different directions, allowing:
Protection to your organs
Mobility - the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal positioning of these muscles contributes your ability to bend forward, backward, sideways, and rotate.
Stability
Contribution to intra abdominal pressure management
Load transfer and movement abilities of the lower extremities and upper extremities
Hopefully after reading the above, you can start to see how all of these work together to have a very impressive role on your movement. This is why we can’t just do crunches or planks and expect to have a strong “core.” Weakness, over activity, underuse, or incoordination of any of these muscles can cause dysfunction in the entire system. This may be seen in your performance by relying on breath holding to lift heavy items, leaking when going from a still position to running, or limited hip or shoulder mobility because the trunk or pelvis has been pulled in a certain position. Where you move or don’t move in one area is going to impact each subsequent part, eventually impacting other areas of the body.
A well-functioning “core” is not just about being strong, but also knowing how to apply that strength in a coordinated effort. The core should:
Protect and contain your organs
Allow pressure management (we need pressure, just not too much or too little - it is a matter of discovering how you create it and use it)
Provide stability and mobility for the spine, trunk, and pelvis
Promote load transfer to the extremities in different postures and movements
To best achieve the jobs listed above, people should discover how they move and why they move as they do. Once we see how someone uses (or doesn’t use) the different “core” muscles, we have to be intentional in what we train and how we train it. A good program will take into account:
How you breathe and utilize your intra abdominal pressure when moving
Your postures and positions to optimize coordination and activation of the different components of the core
Stability and mobility - performing a plank hold can be a great exercise and can have a place in developing your fitness. However, your training can’t stop there because there are very few jobs and daily activities that require us to only be still. Incorporating exercises that stress stabilization in one area, while moving in another further prepares us for the demands of our life.
Variability in movement, under various conditions so you are prepared for your performance needs
There is a lot to learning how to utilize your “core.” However, we truly believe once you figure out how to use the different components to your advantage, movement efficiency, comfort, and total performance will improve. Stay tuned for our next movement article as we will continue to dig deeper in this topic and start discussing how to train these different components!
I hope you have found this article valuable. If you have more to add, we’d love to hear it! Comment in the Forum or on Facebook at fb.com/fuelmoverecover
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