Strong To The Core
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What do we mean by "core strength"? Is it just your abdominals that need training? Find out the what and why of training your core muscles... A lot of people think "core muscles" refers just to their abdominal muscles but the core includes all the muscles of the trunk that help with stabilizing and moving the spine and pelvis. Having strong core muscles, also called trunk muscles or the "inner unit," that work together properly is important for all movement, from sports to basic functions of daily life. A strong inner unit is a prerequisite for prevention of injury, enhanced sports performance, improved balance, and proper muscular development. Core muscles Core muscles include anything that has to do with one of the five major postures: standing, sitting, lying on the back, lying on the stomach, or on hands and knees. This means that in addition to abdominal muscles, the core is made up of all the muscles of the lower back and shoulders, the internal and external obliques, pelvic muscles, transverse abdominus (TVA), gluteal muscles, and hamstrings. Therefore to maximize your core strength working just one or two isolated groups of muscles isn't enough. You need to focus on integrated training exercises that work several muscle groups together such as compound resistance exercises and challenging core work. Swiss ball exercises are especially good for working the core because the unbalanced platform the inflated ball creates means more core muscles are recruited. What do the core muscles do? We now know where the core muscles are but why do we want to work them?! • While no one is ever completely safe from injury, strong core muscles go a long way toward injury prevention in both sports and routine activities like carrying groceries or picking up a child. • Strong core muscles help your extremities to work well in conjunction with the rest of your body. So when you're teeing off or serving, muscles throughout your body contribute to the effort and cushion the strain on your joints. • Back injuries often result from weak core muscles, so by strengthening the core your spine will be more stable and you'll have less risk of herniation or a bulging disc. Our lower back muscles are often weak and are the first thing to go when we bend forward or twist. A strong core and core muscles can help reduce and prevent lower back pain. How do you train the core? There are several ways to strengthen your core muscles. Talk to a qualified personal trainer to see what sort of exercises are best for you, and to make sure you're doing it correctly. You should aim to work on strengthening core muscles three times per week for at least ten minutes per session if you want to notice a real difference. Focus on the quality of the core exercises rather than the quantity of repetition, and keep the speed slow and controlled. If you can do more than 25 reps of an exercise it's either too easy or you are going too fast! Exercises such as crunches, sit ups, oblique twists, back extensions, alternating arm and leg raises, plus a host of Swiss ball exercises are all good for working the core area. Also include compound resistance exercises such as squats, bench press, lat pull downs, and shoulder press to work the core muscles in a more dynamic method. |
