Athletic to the Core

There’s no hotter topic in the training world than core strength, but I find that the majority of people really don’t know what makes up the body’s core muscles or how to effectively train them for athletic performance.  

What I find is that most people confuse abdominal training for core training.  And, while abdominal training contributes to a stronger core, it hardly completes the job when you consider that there are actually 29 muscles that make up the core musculature.  We can generalize it and say that the core is made up of the abdominal, hip and low back muscles but we would still be doing a disservice to the many smaller core muscles that lie well beneath the surface and assist in athletic movements.   

Since the core serves as the body’s center of gravity and is the origin of all movement, you can imagine how important it is for an athlete to train the core properly.  What kind of core training do you usually see when you walk in a gym?  Maybe some crunches on a stability ball?  Medicine ball rotational throws or floor slams?  Low back extensions?  I am not suggesting that these are bad exercises but I would suggest that they are a bad place to start when beginning a progressive core training program.  The video below illustrates a great start to core training.  Take a look . . .

What do I like about this video?  If you watch closely, you will notice that although the athlete has moving parts, his core is stable and immobile through each progression.  I believe it is so important to train the core first as a stabilizer before progressing to flexion, extension or rotational movements.  

Think about how we want our core to function in athletic movement.  We expect the core muscles to absorb the forces that are transferred through the body.  This function reduces the probability of injury in our extremities and allows for more efficient movement making for a better, more productive athlete.  

Take, for example, an athlete making a cut.  If the athlete’s core isn’t strong enough to absorb the forces created by stopping to change direction, you will more than likely observe an athlete whose trunk bends like a tree in the wind, which makes the athlete slow to get in and out of cuts.   

The core also acts as a transfer point for forces that are born in the lower half and must exit through the body’s upper extremities.  I often give my athletes the garden hose analogy.  What do you get out of the nozzle of a hose when you turn a faucet on full strength?  Hopefully a strong stream of water.  But, what if you poke holes in that same hose and then turn on the faucet again?  You’ll notice that some of the water leaks out, making the end stream of water much weaker.  This is what happens when an athlete’s core is weak.  The energy produced by the legs doesn’t transfer to the upper body because it leaks out when passing through the core.  This definitely doesn’t make for an explosive athlete.

So, training the core first as a stabilizer may not be as active or fun as all the other movement oriented core exercises, but it is a must if you want the core to serve as the nucleus that unifies the body’s movement.  Remember, athletic development is a process that requires patience and core training is no different.

Your Coach,

Brian Utley