The Importance of Working Your Core

Over the years I’ve had many clients question my reasoning when training their “core”. I’ve heard everything from “I don’t want a six-pack…” to “I’m too fat to do that now, you won’t see my abs for a long time!” Thanks to contemporary yoga and Pilates bringing core workouts into the mainstream, everyone is getting educated to the fact that the core is not just your abdominals, and working the core is not just for looks.

It is interesting to note, most traditional martial arts have emphasized for generations to move from one’s center whenever you punch or kick. The power behind these movements comes from the core. Martial arts have always made the core the focal point of both physical and mental training. It is your center of gravity and where you can find your inner personal balance for movement.

The muscle grouping that is considered your core varies from expert to expert. Some consider the core to stretch from the abdominal “six-pack” (or superficial abdominals) all the way around your body to include your lower back down to your glutes. Another may focus on core work as being the smaller inner abdominal muscles, while others may limit it to the muscle structure surrounding the spine. No matter how you look at it, your core muscle group is your spinal stabilizers as it keeps your posture upright. Having weak postural and abdominal muscles being one of the biggest causes of lower back pain, just think of the long-term affects having a strong core can add to your quality of life. It can help you maintain youthful posture as you age, prevent you from back injury during lifting or multi-plane movement, and even make getting out of bed easier during the latter years of life!

Well-Rounded Exercises for the Core:

Plank: Lie face-down on a mat or carpet. Raise your body off the floor, supporting yourself on your forearms and your toes. Your elbows should be directly beneath your shoulders. Raise your hips so your body is straight like a board – do not arch your back. Breathe normally. Hold for prescribed amount of time. (3 sets at 10-30 seconds each.)

Stability Ball Back Extension: Lying with your hips and lower abdomen over an exercise ball, fold your torso over the peak of the ball, placing your hands behind your ears. Your legs should be straight with feet slightly apart for balance and stability. Extend your body away from the ball until you come to a straight diagonal line. (Do not overextend or arch your lower back.) Slowly lower yourself to the starting position. Repeat.

Standing Bicycle: Standing in the neutral position, place your hands behind your ears. Simultaneously lift your left knee up and across your body, as you bring your right shoulder and elbow down and across your body. Return to start position and repeat on the other side. Do each side alternately. Make each movement slow and deliberate for best results.

Captain’s Chair Leg Lift: In an “abdominal chair” support yourself on your elbows (forearms) while pressing back with the torso. Inhale and raise the knees to the chest, rounding the back for strong abdominal contraction. Exhale at the end of the movement.

Stability Ball Crunch: Sitting on a stability ball with your feet slightly apart, roll down on the ball until the ball is supporting the arch of your back. Placing your hands behind your head or crossing your arms across your chest, curl your upper body, squeezing your abdominals and lifting your shoulders and upper back. Return to the starting position. Repeat. (Do not pull on your head or neck.)

These five exercises are a good place to start. Three sets of 15-20 repetitions should do the trick (except for the plank, which is timed). You don’t need to do massive repetitions for results. Focus on form, not force. Form is key to any exercise, but extremely important for the core in order to prevent injury. If you need to add challenge to the work out as you strengthen the muscles, you can add weights to some of the movements.


A few Ab Myths Dispelled:

Crunches aren’t always the best ab exercise. The American Council for Exercise did a study comparing 13 ab exercises for the “six-pack.” They determined that the top three were bicycle maneuvers with alternating legs, captain’s chair leg lifts, and stability ball crunches. (If you have a hard time with crunches, try doing weighted “reaches” or “roll-downs” instead.)

Abs do not need to be worked daily. Like any other muscle, abdominals need rest. “Muscle tissue is muscle tissue,” says David Grisaffi, Corrective Exercise Kinesiologist. “It needs to rest and recover, just like your bicep.”

When you strength train, you break down tissue, which the body then rebuilds so it’s stronger the next time it’s challenged. This process can only take place during rest, which should be a minimum of 48 hours per muscle group. If you work your abs every day, you’ll short-circuit muscle regrowth and limit strength gains.

Working the six-pack does not produce a flatter tummy. The secret to having a flatter tummy is to strengthen the deeper transverse abdominus muscles. (The Plank is a good exercise for these muscles.)

Always remember, to get rid of unwanted belly fat or “love handles” still perform aerobic activity, ideally 30 minute sessions three times per week, so the body has a chance to burn off the excess fat that is stored there.