Core strength and function is greatly misunderstood. Many people believe that core strength refers to six pack abs and shredded midriffs.
This is not the case. Your core is like a cylinder that wraps around the middle of your body. It consists of the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, transversus abdominis, quadratus lumborum, and the gluteals.
Yup, your bum is also part of your core. So wanting those vanity booty pumps is not just for looks! Strong, full glutes help to protect your spine, knees, and hamstrings from injury.
Core Strength Done Wrong
Core strength, like previously mentioned, is not about a “six pack”.
In fact, training the rectus abdominus (the muscles that form the six pack) and ignoring the rest of your core, is not only inefficient, it can be dangerous.
It is important to realize that in order to have a properly functioning and mobile body, we need to train using movement patterns that our bodies perform in a natural setting on a regular basis.
In other words, movements that we use to complete daily tasks.
I can tell you right now that crunching endlessly isn’t one of those movements. And you could be doing more harm than good.
Aside from vanity, the main reason to train your core muscles is to prevent back injury and other injuries.
The core protects the spine and provides it with stability and mobility in order to move safely and pain free.
Improper core training, including focusing only on the rectus abdominus muscles, can cause muscle imbalances that create dysfunction and pain.
The opposite of what most active, health seeking people are hoping to accomplish.
Core Strength Done Right
Core strength is most important for stability.
Core stability is multifaceted but basically if you can effectively stiffen your core, you improve athleticism. Your core forms the base for all other activities, from bending, hinging, throwing, reaching, etc.
If you can stiffen and brace your core effectively, you can more athletically and safely perform these movements in the gym and your daily life.
Another duty your core performs is to protect your spine. Your spine is a stack of bones that are flexible.
Since your muscles allow you to move around to perform functional tasks, you need to have flexibility.
However, it is not enough to just have flexibility because we also need to be able to bear loads (lift, carry, push, press). Loads can be weight lifted at the gym, but also our children, groceries, moving boxes, and pets!
The problem with this, if you haven’t figured it out yet, is that if you want to bear load, you typically want to have it on a strong, stable, sturdy base.
Typically, if you were to design something like this, you would not create it with flexible stacks but with something immovable.
Since our spines are flexible but also need to be sturdy, our core muscles are required to provide this stability. The front, back, and sides of our body need to be stiff and stable or your spine can buckle.
Pain can also result from micro-movements in the joints of the spine when our discs have become flattened due to injury or age.
Creating stiffness in the core can help to tame this pain and work to heal from it.
How to Train for Core Strength and Stability
Core strength training should focus on allowing the core muscles to do what they are meant to do — transmit and resist force.
They are not meant to produce force and completing a lot of bending forward movements can cause pain in the low back.
Using your core the way it is supposed to — to unite the upper and lower body in it’s movements — will help you create not only a strong core, but a stable and functional one as well.
So how do we do that?
- Plank positions (anti-flexion): when you perform planks properly, you are preventing your low back from arching and your tummy from sagging down. You are resisting the force of gravity and engaging your core.
- Rotations (anti-rotation): when you perform rotation exercises such as wood chops, paloff press, landmine windshield wipers, your core is forced to resist the motion of side-to-side force order to perform a controlled movement.
- Contralaterals (anti-lateral flexion): any unbalanced loads or lateral loads will force the opposite side of your core to engage in order to keep yourself upright and resist the lateral force. Examples are side planks, load carries with one side loaded, kettle bell windmills or standing side bends.
Core Circuit
Below is a core strength circuit that I’ve put together using these movement patterns.
In this circuit, you will train the glutes and core as one unit for functional strength and mobility.
If you are unaccustomed to any of these movements, look them up on YouTube or have a personal trainer show you them in person.
Please note that if you have had children (as I have), you should check for diastasis recti before performing these movements.
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Perform this circuit in the order listed as it is designed to engage your core and properly activate all of you muscles before moving on to more intense movements.
- Side Planks x 5/side
- Wood Chop (with medicine ball, weight plate, dumbbell, kettlebell, or go weight free) x 5/side
- Kettlebell Swing x 15
- Hanging Leg Raise (or perform laying on back on floor and do reverse crunches from side to side) Twist x 8/ side
- Opposite Knee to Elbow Mountain Climbers x 15/ side
- Kettlebell Windmills x 5-10/ side (can use a light dumbbell instead)
For another killer core workout that hits every muscle in your body, especially the glutes and abs, try this Kettlebell Squats and Swings HIIT.
Great article. The plank (and variations) is definitely the best core strengthening exercise.
Thanks! I agree.
Wow these are great tips. Definitely want to implement them after I have my second baby in a month!
Awesome! Thank you and congrats on your little one’s imminent arrival!
So informative. Definitely didn’t know how important core strength is.
I love it when people can learn something new! Thanks for commenting 🙂
I had a c section like 5 years ago and my still have the pooch. I’ll deff have to try these out
A mummy tummy is not a flaw! But core strength IS important and it can mean that you have diastasis recti and a weakened core so, be sure to check for diastasis first! 🙂
pinned and saved for post baby! thanks for sharing.
Thank you!! Happy pregnancy!!
Thank you for this! I have been trying to build my core strength for awhile and hopefully these exercises will help!
They definitely will! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Im always scared the kettle ball is going to come down on my head! LOL great circuit! Thanks for sharing.
Oh girl, me too haha. But I do it anyway :p
This is exactly what I needed to see today. I am so out of shape from being inactive through winter. Trying so hard to get back into a regular fitness routine.
I was also slacking this winter since I moved and was adjusting and starting a business. Ugh. Back to it now!!
I loved reading this! Thanks so much for sharing all of the exercise moves – I can’t wait to try them!!
XO, Katie
Thanks so much!!