Beyond the Six-Pack: Functionality of the Core

If I mention core training and you think “six-pack” you will never have a set of well-defined abs. The area of the body referred to as the “core” is far more than the Rectus Abdominus or “six-pack” muscle. Most people have the idea that if the Rectus Abdominus is being worked then core training is complete. The majority of people confuse training the functionality of the core with having visible abs. Training the functionality of the core muscles is about improving total body stability, strength, and power. Ultimately true core training leads to improved coordination, balance, and athleticism. Training for visibly defined abs leads to errors, confusion, and frustration. There are 168 hours in a week. If a person spends five of those hours exercising, that leaves 163 hours to completely undo what happens in the gym. The visibility of the abs is the result of a highly-controlled diet. Every body has a muscle structure of the “six-pack.” However, most people never see their abs because they cannot but down the fork and back away from the table. Abs happen in the kitchen, developing the core happens in the gym.

The primary function of the core muscles is to keep the spine in the proper, upright position. Proper spinal alignment is the key to healthy, pain free movement of the human body. Traditionally, when people think “core” they think of muscles collectively on the front of the body in between the bottom of the chest and the waist. These muscles include the Rectus Abdominus, transverse abdominals, Internal and external obliques, serratus anterior, rectus sheath, and linea alba. 

But the muscles of the core are dedicated to the task of keeping the spine properly aligned and the spine runs from the base of the skull down into the pelvis. Along the backside of the body, starting with the base of the skull and down to the pelvis, there are several muscles: sternocleidomastoid, splenius capitis, levator scapulae, trapezius, rhomboids, erector spinae, spinalis thoracis, longissimus thoracis, serratus posterior, and quadratus laborum. That is just the muscles of the back.  As I said earlier, the spine goes all the way into the pelvis. The pelvis is stabilized by the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, the adductor and abductor muscles, tensor fasciae latae, satorius, pectineus, and illiopsoas. All of those muscles, more than thirty in total, work to stabilize the spine to keep the body in proper alignment. Sound confusing and complicated? It is not; understand that crunches alone are not going to cut it here. 

An injury or strength imbalance in one or more of these muscles will prevent the spine from staying in proper alignment. A minor problem will result skewed movement and a loss of strength and balance. A severe problem may leave a person in debilitating pain that makes life very difficult. Stability throughout the muscles of the abdomen, neck, back, and hips leads to ease of movement, better balance, and fluid movement. The stability of these muscles can easily be trained by any activity that challenges balance. Exercises such as lunges, split squats, forearm planks, side planks, bridges, bird dogs, and a few yoga poses are all excellent ways to train the stability of these muscles.

Stability and support of the spine is the most important function of the core muscles, however, these muscles also form the foundation of total body strength and power.  In everyday life and in athletics, a weak core will limit the body’s ability to utilize its strength. The core controls movement of the body through three primary movements; spinal flexion, spinal extension, and rotation. For optimal mobility and athleticism all three of these movement patterns must be trained.  Training these movement patterns with a properly balanced program is vital for maintaining proper posture and mobility.

For any person that has tried exercise the crunch probably was a part of the program. Spinal flexion is controlled by the rectus abdominus muscle. Anyone who has performed a crunch or leg raise has done an exercise that moves through spinal flexion. The problem with this is that most people spend all day seated behind a desk. Being in the seated with poor posture puts the body in a position of constant spinal flexion. For most people, training the body through more exercises that encourage spinal flexion is a set up for serious posture problems and pain.  Unless a person has body fat levels low enough to have visible abs, 12% or less for men and 18% or less for women, than  exercises such as crunches are usually not worth the time and effort.

It would be in the best interest of most people to train exercises that work through spinal extension to counteract the effects of prolonged periods of sitting. A prioritization of the muscles of the hamstrings, glutes, and back is necessary to improve core stability, strength, and mobility. Collectively these muscles are known as the Posterior Chain. It is these muscles that often grow weak as a result of long periods of sitting. As these muscles weaken over time strength imbalances begin that lead to deviations in proper spinal alignment and posture. To counteract this, an emphasis should be placed on training spinal extension. Think of it this way, if you cannot see the muscles when you look in a mirror, training it should be a priority. Most people only train what they can see. That is a mistake. Exercises such as rows, band pulls, back extensions, deadlifts, glute-ham raises should be trained more often than anything the works the muscles on the front of the body. A ratio of at least 2:1, for some people maybe 3:1, of posterior chain and spinal extension to spinal flexion exercises would be appropriate. Personally, I never do crunches, I spend enough time sitting that I do not want spend any time training through the spinal flexion motion.

The final primary movement of the core muscles is rotation. This is primarily controlled by the internal and external obliques, which also make some contribution to spinal stability. While rotational training may have little carryover to everyday life, it is vital to almost any athletic pursuit. Try hitting a golf ball or throw a baseball without rotational strength; the results will be less than impressive. For the average fitness enthusiast, the rotary torso machine, cable rotations and medicine ball twists are adequate exercises. But for someone wishing to improve athletic performance it will be necessary to get off the floor and really train to rotate explosively; Heiden jumps, rotational medicine ball tosses, and suspended rotations with a TRX band will all develop rotational strength while improving stability.

A properly functioning core in more than just the abs and requires more than crunches to properly train it. Stability, mobility, strength, power, and athleticism are all influenced by and limited to the functionality of the core muscles. Structuring a training program to eliminate strength imbalances and improve posture is a necessity for anyone who wishes to maximize their body’s potential. Alone, crunches will not cut it.