Buzzword: "Core"

Courtesy of Bryan Christie Design

When discussing the “core” what comes to mind? Ones thinking about this often talked about area can really make a difference in their training. A person who thinks of the core simply as abs and obliques is missing a huge portion of what’s really going on. First let's look at what this area is actually comprised of.

The core is an area floored by the pelvis and topped by the shoulder girdle. With the vertical dimensions laid out it’s pretty obvious that the aforementioned abdominals and obliques are part of it along with a host of other trunk musculature. Now we are three-dimensional beings so think of the core as more of a cuboid or cylinder with a back, front, and sides.

Because the pelvis and shoulder girdle are very mobile areas, any muscle that controls the movement of these two girdles must be considered part of the core as well. This means muscles that attach to the shoulder girdle but extend above to the neck and head can be considered part of the core and the same can be said for the muscles that attach to the hip and extend below to the lower extremities. We are now talking about muscles such as the trapezius, which attaches to the base of the skull but extends all the way down to the mid back, the hip flexors that control much of the lumbar spine and hip complex but attach to the femur as well, and the glutes which attach to the pelvis on one side, cross the hip joint, and tie into the IT band and femur on the other. Obviously muscles such as the trapezius aren't typically trained as core stabilizers, but they do span the distance between the trunk and neck thus providing stability to the shoulder girdle and displaying how interconnected our musculature is. This extends the reach of the core to a much larger area than most people consider and ones core training should reflect this extended region.

The Trapezius muscle, core?

Hip flexors: Iliacus and Psoas major both posses femoral attachments

The "Glutes", strong pelvic stabilizers and also part of the "core"

Now the reality of what the core does; while it certainly has the capacity to create movement, we use it to prevent movement more often. Many of the muscle of the abdomen and spine are postural and stabilize the body against external forces. One of the main responsibilities of our core is to prevent movement and protect the spine from injury. This means we should put more stock into anti-movement exercises than ones that create movement. Planks, glute bridges, pallof presses and other anti-movement exercises are great for training the core to be strong and stable. This also allows optimum power transfer from the upper and lower extremities, which enhances performance as well as reducing the risk of injury.