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The core is an integral component of physical movement. Whether you’re running, lifting weights, playing sports, or doing household chores, the core is involved in some form or another.
In fact, we could go so far as to say that none of those activities would be possible to perform without a functioning core. Thus, strengthening this area can translate to improved performance in a wide range of sports and exercise disciplines.
As core strength and conditioning expert, Matt Lawrence, tells us, ‘Regardless of your goals, let us not forget that all movement originates from the core and thus good core stabilisation is fundamental for all movement,’ (The Complete Guide To Core Stability).
But as you’re soon to find out, this brief introduction has only scratched the surface of benefits. Below, we’ll explore how core training can improve energy transfer, strengthen your kinetic chain, and improve postural alignment.
Interwoven throughout the blog, you’ll find links to relevant resources such as books, core strength workouts, and training plans.
Benefits of core strength #1: Improves energy transfer
Incorporating core exercises into your workouts can reduce what Michael Boyle calls ‘energy leaks.’ Energy leakage refers to the unwanted dissipation of contraction force (Advances In Functional Training).
For example, when performing a maximal lift, where we exert 100% of our available strength into a single contraction, an energy leak directs some of that force away to nonproductive means. The more force lost, the less we’re able to lift.
It isn’t just weightlifters that spring the occasional leak. The suboptimal transfer of energy occurs during cardio exercise and in every sporting discipline. A clear example can best be identified in road cycling (both a form of exercise and a competition sport). You’ll sometimes see cyclists with their knees protruding out to the sides or bobbing their torso as they push against the peddles. These common mistakes sponge energy away from forward propulsion. To compensate, the cyclist must use more energy to cover the same distance.
Though this is not something that casual exercisers or amateur sports practitioners should lose too much sleep over, few would want to miss out on the opportunity to improve performance and training efficiency.
And while it’s not possible to prevent any leakage, developing our core strength can fill in a lot of cracks.
Benefits of core strength #2: Improves posture
Developing our core strength can also improve postural alignment. ‘Good posture,’ Matt Lawrence observes, ‘ensures that movements can be performed with minimal strain to the joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles,’ (The Complete Guide To Core Stability).
Furthermore, a balanced posture can reduce compression on our internal organs, nerves and blood vessels. Lawrence, who is a core stability specialist, maintains that core strength training can reduce the severity of common postural problems such as lordosis (over-pronounced curvature of the lumbar region of the spine) and scoliosis (spinal misalignment).
However, improved posture also plays an integral part in reducing injury risk. In the NSCA’s Guide To Strength Training, we are reminded that one of the most common causes of exercise-related injury is the improper execution of a technique. Colloquially referred to as ‘poor form’ or a ‘bad lift’, this is identified in the trainer who is deadlifting with a rounded back or hinging forward at the hips when squatting or excessively arching their spine when bench pressing.
Such mistakes – which are surprisingly common – put the lifter at risk of sustaining a severe injury. And these mistakes are a case of poor posture. Simple ways to rectify them are by:
Strengthening the core muscles as this will help maintain correct spinal alignment.
Reducing loads so that you are not required to recruit other muscle groups in a bid to compensate for insufficient strength in the primary lifting muscles – i.e., the lower back (erector spinae) muscles to compensate for weak quads when squatting.
Dedicate part of your workout to what strength and conditioning expert Nick Grantham calls ‘Movement Quality Training’ (or MQT for short). MQT is exactly that: focusing on the quality of a lift and not the quantity of weight lifted.
Benefits of core strength #3: Improved athletic performance
As we’ve seen above, tightening the core improves the transfer of force between muscles by reducing ‘energy leaks.’ An energy leak, remember, is caused by improper lifting technique and/or weaknesses in certain muscles. At the least, a leak will impair performance. At worst, it could result in injury.
Repairing energy leaks also positively impacts the kinetic chain – a term that refers to interrelated body parts (joints and muscles) and how they interact. There’s a considerable body of literature outlining how a strong kinetic chain improves athletic performance.
For example, when a powerlifter performs a snatch or a golfer drives off the tee, a well-interlinked kinetic chain enables them to channel a greater amount of the generated force into the primary sequences of the movement.
In the context of powerlifting, this translates to the improved prospects of executing a successful snatch. As a powerlifter approaches their one rep max, the slightest mistake or misdirection of force could cause them to abort the lift. For the golfer, it means driving the ball closer to the green and potentially completing the hole under par.
But how does core training fit into strengthening the kinetic chain?
Core and the kinetic chain
First, it could be argued that the core forms the largest link in the chain as it connects the lower and upper body muscle groups. Any action involving the coordination of multiple movements – such as the snatch or golf swing – relies on the core as an interlinking intermediary.
Second, every compound lift or functional exercise relies on the core either to stabilise the body or support the sequence of actions. Again, before executing a snatch, powerlifts tighten their core as they settle into the start position. The core remains contracted as they initiate the lift. Let’s have a look at how it fits together.
Step 1: After taking the strain, the powerlifter explosively drives through the legs before the core and back take over.
Step 2: Using core and glute strength, the bar is physically propelled off the hips which creates just enough lift and upward momentum for the powerlifter to swing themselves under the bar.
Step 3: Once beneath the bar, they snap their arms into place locking it into position above their head. This is a crucial point in the lift as the powerlifter is in a deep overhead squat. Here, core strength is of paramount importance as it enables them to maintain perfect posture while keeping control of the bar. Any movement in the bar may force the powerlift to abort the lift.
Step 4: The moment they are stabilised, the powerlift stands bolt upright.
Benefits of core strength #4: Improved combat conditioning
The core muscles can provide a measure of protection for the ‘abdominal viscera.’ Boxers and full-contact combat sports practitioners devote a considerable slice of their training to core strength. In an interview, Iron Mike Tyson said that he performs over 2500 abdominal exercises as part of his pre-fight routine.
In Shaolin Kung Fu there is a discipline called ‘steel jacket.’ Proponents of steel jacket pay special attention to strengthening their torso. This is achieved through a combination of conventional and unconventional methods. For example, in addition to performing lots of core exercises (and completing ab circuits), Shaolin Monks forge a steel jacket by beating their body with iron bars.
This is not as nuts as it sounds. Boxers use medicine balls to toughen their midsection. And in amateur clubs, it’s not uncommon to see boxers drumming their gloved fists against each other’s stomachs. (At least it wasn’t uncommon in my old boxing club.)
Why do boxers and Shaolin Monks willingly subject themselves to what can only be described as a form of controlled physical assault?
Benefits of core strength #5: Protects internal organs
The simple reason is that strong core muscles protect fighters from blows to the body. Blows that may otherwise impair their ability to remain competitive throughout a contest. Anyone who’s been hit in the solar plexus knows how much it hurts and how it saps your energy. Well-developed core muscles can soften the shock.
However, by way of a disclaimer, those are just examples to support my argument that a strong core can provide protection. I’m not in any way advocating these techniques nor am I suggesting that you should use them as part of your combat conditioning training.
The exercises in DK's Core Strength Training manual are a far safer (and less painful) way of forging a steel jacket.
5 benefits of core stability exercises
While drafting this list of benefits of core strength, I discussed them with a group of fitness enthusiasts. Without exception, they were all surprised to discover that the core promotes so many positive outcomes.
Moreover, many had not even considered the core as an integral component of physical exercise. After exploring how core strength can improve athletic performance and reduce injury risk, they all pledged to include more core workouts into their regime.
Though it’s not been explicitly stated, this article aims to inspire exercisers to start core training so that they can tap into some of the benefits outlined above. This aim has indirectly been achieved. Hopefully, it will have the same impact on you as it did on the group of fitness enthusiasts.
To conclude with a quick recap, the benefits of core strength include:
Sealing energy leaks, which improves the transference of energy.
Improved posture and strengthens the lower back both of which have been shown to reduce injury risk.
Improved athletic performance by forging a more robust kinetic chain.
Enhanced combat conditioning. Core training develops many physical attributes that form an essential part of the fighter’s arsenal.
And finally, strong core muscles can protect the internal viscera.
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About Adam Priest –
A former Royal Marines Commando, Adam Priest is a content writer, college lecturer, and health and fitness coach. He is also a fitness author and contributor to other websites. Connect with Adam at info@hungry4fitness.co.uk.
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