A number of people recently have asked me about core work and what they should be doing. Core work has got a lot of press in the last while and there is a lot of misinformation out there about it so I've decided to write this to clear up a few issues.
First, lets define what we're talking about. I will define the core as all the muscles of the torso and mid-section. This includes all the abdominal muscles, the lower back muscles, the
gluteal and hamstring* muscles and the hip rotators.
*The hamstrings are included as they work in unison with the glutes to flex the pelvis.
Now, next lets look at what the torso actually does during exercise. Simply put, the torso links upper body strength and lower body strength. It does this in four ways:
- Rotation
- Lateral Flexion
- Felxion
- Stabilization
and stabilization can be broken down to:
- anti-rotation
- anti-lateral flexion
- anti flexion
basically, the opposite of the other function of the torso.
How best to train the torso? This is where it gets somewhat sports specific. For example, a hockey player, who spends a good deal of time with the torso in a flexed position, should allocate more time to anti flexion work than a say a baseball batsman.
Once you decide which areas your specific sport uses more frequently, then you should allocate more torso training time to that area.
So which exercises work best?
- If your sport involves a lot of rotation then medicine ball work should definitely be looked at.
- Wood chopper exercises should be included in any program to develop anti rotation and anti lateral flexion.
- Planks, bridges and plank progressions should be included to cover basic stability.
Torso work can be done in isolation but small changes to your current workout can help work the required areas. E.g.
- performing a unilateral exercise instead of bilateral
- heavy front squats
- performing upper body exercises on one leg
- performing suitcase dead-lifts instead of normal dead-lifts
When to perform torso training exercise?
Traditionally torso exercises, namely sit-ups and crunches, have been performed at the end of a workout. I believe that proper torso training should be performed after plyo work but before any strength work in any workout.
I hope this helps. If you want any more specific information about your own program or your sport please feel free to contact me.
