core training myths – Tony Gentilcore

“You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.“

The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s a classic, and many fellow movie buffs and connoisseurs will recognize the quote from above.

It’s one of roughly 816 (give or take) memorable lines from the movie, and it’s uttered by Inigo Montoya. Throughout the movie, Sicilian boss Vizzini repeatedly describes the unfolding events as “inconceivable.”

In one scene of the movie, as Vizzini tries to cut a rope that the Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up, he blurts out in an exasperated tone it was inconceivable that he did not fall.

At this point, Inigo responds with the now famous quote:

So what does this have to do with anything fitness related?

Well, replace the character Inigo with myself, replace the word inconceivable with the word “core,” and you’ll have the exact same scene playing before your eyes. Except, you know, I’d have less chest hair, be a tad more beefy, and in lieu of the swordplay…I’d be rockin some killer nunchuck skills.

What Do You Mean “Core?”

Ask five different people what the core is and how you train it, and you’ll inevitably get five different answers.

Most abundant, though, would be any number of iterations referring to a Men’s Health Magazine cover:

Or maybe Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (that’s right: a doctor who lifts!) because he’s hunky as balls:

Trust me: there’s a six-pack underneath there.

Make no mistake: when most people think core, they think six-pack abs – or, rectus abdominis, if we wanted to be uppity anatomy nerds – that you can cut diamonds on. Too, they think about all the various exercises in the infinite training toolbox which can be used to carve our said six-pack abs.

Crunches, sit-ups, planks, RKC planks, side planks, planks on one-leg, planks with one arm behind your back, planks with alternate reach, planks on a stability ball, planks blindfolded, planks while fighting zombies, and more planks. Because people like planks.

And they wouldn’t be wrong. The “abs” are certainly part of the core and all the exercises listed above have their time and place. Relax, no need to shit a copy of Ultimate Back Health and Performance because I mentioned crunches and sit-ups. I too am a huge fan of Dr. McGill’s work and understand the pitfalls of repeated spinal flexion.

Occasional unloaded (spinal) flexion, for the right population, also has a time and place. But that’s a conversation for another time.

All of it, however, is a teeny tiny fraction of the entire picture. It’s akin to only being able to see the top right-hand corner of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. And that’s it.

How lame is that?

The core is so much more than what we can see on a magazine cover. There’s the pelvic floor on the bottom, the diaphragm at the top, the rectus abdominis in the front, the obliques (internal & external) on the sides, and the erectors as well as all the “ancillary” support musculature: paraspinals, multifidi, longissimus, iliocostalis (lumborum & thoracis), etc, in the back.

It’s more or less a canister.

In fact, the “core” consists of everything from the neck line down to the hips: pecs, lats, glutes, the sexy”v-taper” leading down to you know where, everything. Or, to be overly simplistic: everything not including the legs, arms, and head.

And its main job, contrary to popular belief, is not to crunch or perform countless sit-ups. Rather, the core’s main function is to counteract rotary movement so that force can be more easily (and efficiently) transferred from the lower body to the upper body, and vice versa.

I mean, if you really look at the way the muscles are oriented (especially in the front) you can see they take on a more inter-connected, inter-laced, weblike presentation…designed to resist hoop stress.

This is why I prefer exercises like various chops and lifts, Pallof presses, rollouts, and Farmer carries…as they all train the core in a more “functional” manner.

Chops and lifts help train rotary stability; rollouts tend to train anti-extension; and Farmer carries are superb in resisting lateral flexion.

Pallof presses, depending on how they’re set up, can train every plane of motion and resist flexion, rotation, and extension. And they’re gluten free!

However, we can’t neglect the fact the core is a much more intricate chain of events.

Coming full circle back to the rectus abdominis (RA):

1. Yes, one of its main functions is spinal flexion. But I generally don’t go out of my way to program more spinal flexion, via sit-ups and crunches with most of my clients (especially “computer guy” who sits in front of a computer all day in flexion).

The catch-22 is that many of these same clients are rocking significant anterior pelvic tilt in addition to a flared rib cage (via lower ribs sticking out) which doesn’t bode well for ideal alignment and leads to a cascade effect of faulty diaphragm mechanics, breathing patterns, as well as a metric shit-storm of PRI (Postural Restoration Institute) stink eyes.

In this context training the RA to control rib position (ribs down) is very important. We need to train them (along with the external obliques) to contract isometrically to resist extension of the thoraco-lumbar region.

In other words, as Mike Robertson notes: “We need to teach our upper abs to control our rib position so that we can maintain optimal alignment of the rib cage during exercise and daily life.”

Walking around in a “flared” rib position in concert with an excessive anterior pelvic tilt is a one-way ticket to Mybackhatesmeville, USA.

Case in point, here’s an example of what I mean:

In the first picture my ribcage is flared out and the (imaginary) line between my nipples and belly button is long (excessive lumbar hyperextension). Conversely, in the bottom picture my abs are braced – essentially creating a flexion moment (not movement) – and the line between my nipples and belly button is shorter (less extension). This is the position I’d ideally like to stay in for most of the day, especially while exercising.

Now, I’m am NOT insinuating you need to walk around all day “checking” yourself, making sure your abs and glutes are engaged, but I am saying it’s something that should enter the equation. And we can help address it by training the RA.

Read: Deadbugs, motherfucker.

2. An often forgotten “role” of the rectus abdominis is posterior pelvic tilt. Making the RA stronger/stiffer is another fantastic way to help “offset” excessive anterior pelvic tilt.

Remember: flexion from extension to neutral is different than flexion to more flexion from neutral.

Two exercises or drills that fit the bill are:

Reverse Crunches

Cuing Posterior Pelvic Tilt With Squats and Deadlifts

See what I mean?

We can’t be so “concrete” in our thought processes when it comes to core training. I could sit here and wax poetic on how I feel the lats are an often under-appreciated core muscle (learning to engage them to a higher degree while lifting heavy things works wonders with regards to spinal stability and performance).

Or that building bigger, stronger glutes would make for a better use of training time than any of those silly 30-minute ab blaster classes people take…but I’ve talked long enough.

If I may, let me introduce you to something….

Advanced Core Training

My good friend, Dean Somerset, just released is latest resource, Advanced Core Training, and it’s something that covers traditional core training as well as a bunch of voodoo theory stuff that will make your face melt.

In it you’ll find:

Detailed outline of core and hip function plus what the results of the assessment mean

Simplified walkthrough of the approach to core training that can be used for everyone. from rehab to elite performance.

Simple changes to variables like breathing and speed that can help change an exercise from a mobility drill to a speed and reaction drill and even to a max strength drill.

Tons of practical takeaways and coaching cues to help viewers implement the exercises and techniques immediately.

Those of you who were fans of his Ruthless Mobility series will find the material here a nice adjunct/sequel.

And if that’s not enticing enough: it’s on SALE at 40% off regular price this week, and you can earn continuing education credits too.

Baller.

Check it out HERE. You won’t be disappointed. Dean’s wicked smaht.

Note From TG: Today I have a treat for everyone: a guest post from world renowned strength and conditioning coach, writer, and educator, Nick Tumminello.

Nick’s someone whom I have a lot of respect for, and someone who I feel is at the upper echelon of coaches who “get it.” He recently released an excellent resource, Core Training Facts & Fallacies and Top Techniques that I feel would be an excellent addition to any fitness professional’s library (or for anyone who likes to geek out to anatomy talk and debunking a lot of misconceptions in the industry).

Enjoy!

Gajda and Dominquez first used the term the “core” in their 1985 book Total Body Training to describe all of the muscles which compromises the center of the body. So, contrary to popular misconception, the core is not just your abs and lower back; the core is all of your torso muscles (shoulders, chest, glutes, abs, mid-back, lats, etc.) minus your extremities (arms and legs). (1)

Now that we’ve got that established, we can’t talk about using core training exercise applications that will likely transfer into improved core performance until we first establish what the trunk (i.e., core) muscles do in athletics (and in general function).

In addition to its respiratory function, the core musculature does two things:

1. The core functions to transfer force by limiting movement.

This is the one we hear about a lot: The function of the trunk musculature is to remain stiff in order to transfer force between the hips and the shoulders.

As an example, during a barbell push-press, both the legs are able to work with both the arms simultaneously to drive the weight up by transferring force through the trunk via the torso musculature remaining stiff and creating a stable platform, which allows the extremities to more effectively express force.

As another example, during sprinting, the torso musculature stiffens and limits the amount of torso rotation in order to effectively allow the hips to transfer force up and across the trunk (i.e., diagonally) to the opposing shoulder, and to allow the shoulder to transfer force down and across to the opposing hip.

In short, along with running and sprinting, many of our free weight and cable-based strength training exercise applications – from squats and deadlifts to pressing and pulling movements – involve torso stiffness where your core muscles are primarily functioning to transfer force between the extremities.

This reason is why we use a variety of anti-rotation, anti-extension and anti-lateral flexion exercise applications: to potentially improve the ability of the core muscles to remain stiff and more effectively transfer force during a variety of movements.

2. The core functions to produce force by creating movement <–This is the most neglected aspect of core function in sports performance training.

What we just covered above can easily give us the false impression that our core musculature only has one kind of a passive role in performance: where the torso only functions as a stable platform that channels force between the hips to the shoulders vertically, horizontally and/or diagonally.

Hence the current emphasis the training and conditioning field has with “anti-movement” core training exercise applications.

However, the torso musculature doesn’t just transfer force, it also helps to produce force.

This reality is perfectly summarized by the researchers in a 2012 study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, which stated:

“Core strength does have a significant effect on an athlete’s ability to create and transfer forces to the extremities” (2).

And, it’s this aspect of core muscle function that’s often ignored and neglected by strength coaches, fitness professional and athletes, which is why I’m highlighting here in this post.

Put simply, just by looking at athletes in action one cannot deny the obvious active, movement role in power production (i.e., force summation) the trunk has in sporting actions like throwing, golfing, batting, punching, etc.

As you can see in the images above, in the loading phase (before the exploding phase) of a baseball pitch, a soccer throw, swinging a golf club, and throwing a punch, there’s movement of the trunk, which creates eccentrically lengthening (in various planes of motion), so the torso musculature can actively contribute, along with the legs and arms, to produce power.

Power is the Summation of Your Levers

It’s often said that power comes from the summation of force. But it’s your levers (i.e., your joints, which are controlled by muscles and connective tissues) that produce the force. So, producing power is really about summating your levers in a coordinated and synchronized fashion to produce maximal force.

Keep in mind that your spine is one big series of levers – each segment is a small lever. With these realities in mind, you can appreciate the trunk’s contribution to power production in sporting actions like throwing a ball and swinging a golf club or tennis racquet.

You can also appreciate the active contribution the torso has in power production by trying this simple experiment:

First, perform an overhead soccer medicine ball throw (use a medicine ball that’s approx. 4-6lbs) in the normal fashion (as it’s performed in athletics) where you extend at your spine and hips a bit (I didn’t say go to end range) in order to allow your (anterior) torso musculature to eccentrically load. ]

Then, compare that to an anti-extension soccer style throw where you don’t allow your spine to move at all. You already know which of the two throws will be more powerful. Not to mention, which throw will feel more natural and athletic.

Check out this video to see this topic being discussed in real time:

It’s important to note that what we’re really talking about here is heavily related to the “Serape Effect,” which Logan and McKinney discussed in their 1970 book Anatomic Kinesiology (3).

So, although identifying the fact the torso doesn’t just transfer force and reduce force by limiting movement, but also helps to produce force by contributing to many foundational movements to athletics, is nothing new it’s one of the most ignored, and therefore neglected aspects of core training.

Improving Core Performance

Now that you understand both aspects of core function in athletics: to transfer force and to produce force, you know that you need to train both in order to maximize your strength and performance.

You can learn the exact exercises we use in our core training system to maximizing performance and improve core function in the Core Training: Facts, Fallacies & Top Techniques 3-part video series.

These videos give you a virtual front row seat to a closed-door workshop uncovering the myths and misconceptions around core training and teach you the Full Spectrum Core Training System.

Learn More Here

References:

Dominguez, R, and Gadja, R. Total Body Training. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons; 7-12, 1982.

J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Feb;26(2):373-80. Effect of core strength on the measure of power in the extremities. Shinkle J, Nesser TW, Demchak TJ, McMannus DM.

Logan, G., and W. McKinney. The serape effect. In: Anatomic Kinesiology (3rd ed.). A. Lock- hart, ed. Dubuque, IA: Brown, 1970. pp. 287–302.

Unconventional Core Training