How to Build a Strong Foundation
It’s difficult to go to the gym these days and not overhear discussion about abdominal training. Core training has become the buzz word for many people who are in search of those elusive six pack abs. However, there are more reasons to train the core area than just getting a flat stomach.
Core stability training is essential to sports performance, and injury prevention. The body’s core muscles are the foundation for all other movement. The muscles of the torso stabilize the spine, and provide a solid foundation for movement in the extremities.
What does core mean? The core muscles lie deep within the torso. They generally attach to the spine, pelvis, and muscles that support the scapula. When these muscles contract, they stabilize the spine, pelvis and shoulders, and create a solid base of support.
What are the benefits of core training? With a strong foundation, you are able to generate powerful movements to the extremities, which can improve performance in sports or at the gym. Training the muscles of the core also corrects postural imbalances, and reduces your chance of back injury.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of core training is the development of functional fitness. This fitness is essential to both daily living and regular activities.
What is core training? The main concepts of core strengthening programs involve using many muscles in a coordinated movement. Rather than isolating a specific joint, as in most weight lifting, stability exercise focuses on working the deep muscles of the entire torso at once.
Core strength training differs from many traditional abdominal training routines by working both the lower back and abdominals in unison. Many people erroneously target only the front of their body during ab training. With core training, both abdominal and spinal muscles are targeted, as well as the glutes.
Exercises that develop your core strength are yoga, wobble boards, medicine balls, and stability balls. The following pages illustrate several exercises, which demonstrate an excellent form of core training using the stability ball. Stability balls can be purchased at most sport stores, or at department stores in the fitness section. Most women will use the 55 cm. (21 in.) size. For those people taller than six feet, a 65 cm. (25 in.) may be needed.
Who needs core training? Everyone needs core training. Core training should be performed two to three (2-3) times weekly. Athletes may want to include core training even more frequently with their strength training program. Core training for athletes has many benefits including:
- Greater efficiency of movement
- Improved body control and balance
- Increased power output
- Reduced risk of injury
- Improved balance and stability
- Improved athletic performance!
How can I begin training my core? Although there are no doubt countless gimmicks on the market claiming to strengthen the core, most are unnecessary and useless. The use of instability exercise in core training is a really good way to work the entire core musculature system. A couple of inexpensive pieces of equipment that you can use at home are the stability ball and the medicine ball.
As previously mentioned, stability ball exercises are often central to a program designed to improve core stability. Stability ball exercises are believed to activate the trunk musculature to a greater extent than more traditional resistance exercises. The unstable surface of the ball provides a greater challenge to the core muscles than a solid bench, or standing on a stable surface when doing exercises, such as planks and crunches.