When We Think “Core”, We Think “Abs”
Most of us value the visual aesthetics of our core more than the functional and that’s perfectly normal. But there’s obviously a practical benefit to well trained “abs”. The main objective of core training which is often overlooked is to uniformly strengthen the deep and superficial muscles that stabilise, align, and move the trunk of the body, especially the abdominals and muscles of the back.
As you probably already know, an inefficient core has been scientifically proven to cause multiple issues with our pattern of movement or worse, cause injuries. Why? Simply put, the core is centred around the lumbar spine, pelvic girdle, abdomen, and hip joint. Each of these components support the directional movement, balance, and stability of everything we do.
A great example of an inefficient or underdeveloped core is seeing a lower back arch during an action such as an overhead press.
The core musculature has been divided into 3 parts:
Local Stabilisation System
Global Stabilisation System
The Movement System
When well trained, all three of these parts are beneficial to the entire body. The local stabilisers are the muscles that provide support to our vertebrae. They support the spine and pelvis which aid in reduction of lower back pain. Muscles that make up the core stabilisers are transverse abdominis, multifidus, internal obliques, diaphragm, and pelvic floor musculature.
If we liken the global stabilisers to a door hinge, we can envision the pin and the knuckle of a door hinge absorbing and transferring the load/force from the door and wall and allow it to open and close. Global stabilisers act as transferers. They’re muscles that attach the pelvis to the spine and transfer load/force between the upper body and lower body. They also help core stabilise when the pelvis and spine are in movement.
The primary muscles that make up the global stabilisation system include: the quadratus lumborum, psoas major, external obliques, portions of the internal oblique, rectus abdominis, gluteus medius, and adductor complex.
Interestingly, some 4 distant muscles that attach themselves to the spine and/ or the pelvis, make up the movement system. Most people have well developed these muscles which allow them to do functional activities compared to our local and global stabilisers. These muscles include latissimus dorsi, hip flexors, hamstring complex and quadriceps. These muscles are responsible for control of the muscle when it’s shortened, and force is produced (example upward phase of a leg extension exercise) and eccentric deceleration during dynamic activities (example a squat jump and finish with a stable landing for eccentric training and deceleration.
To effectively train these systems, two approaches can be used:
Drawing-in maneuver
Bracing maneuver
To perform the Drawing-in maneuver:
Pull the region just below the navel towards the spine and maintain the cervical spine in a neutral position. Example: Floor Marching exercise where you lie on the floor with a flat back by drawing-in the navel throughout the movement. This creates tension in the low back contributing to spinal stiffness and increasing stability.
To perform Bracing maneuver:
Think of bracing as the act you do when you are being tickled. There’s a conscious reaction to tighten your core or abdomen, right? This reaction illustrates bracing well; however, unlike being tickled, the act of bracing during an exercise is intentional tightening of your global muscles. This includes the rectus abdominis and helps with trunk stability.
Evidence has shown that no one approach is better than the other. I recommend using both (at a minimum) just as I do with my clients. An example could be using the drawing-in manoeuvre day 1 and bracing on day 2 of training. Alternatively, you could use both techniques in some exercises such as a ball bridge. Begin the exercise from the bottom with the navel drawn-in and finish at the top with the core braced. I have personally found this technique very helpful in strengthening the core and giving it the overall aesthetic, everyone seeks. Naturally, everyone’s requirements, fitness level and pacing will be different, so it doesn’t make sense to lay out too many exercise specifics here in this post.
Overall, if one part of the core system is stronger than the others, the body senses imbalances and forces are not transferred or used properly. This could result in overcompensation, inefficient movement and even injury. And let’s not forget: a nice-looking set of abs is sexy, but a functional core can help you look sexy all over!
Don’t forget, I’m not just blogging, I’m also a certified trainer. Contact me to get to work! -Eric