Real Core Training

Introduction

I have been requested to do a post today on core training.

Lets start by first understanding the definition of the "core."

The core is a group of muscles that stabilises the torso including the spine and the vital organs.

The core consists of the following muscles that work as a team to create stability; the transverse abdominis (TVA), the internal and external obliques, the intercostals, the errector spinae, the quadratus lumborium, the multifidis and the most popular muscle that most people know of in the torso, the rectus abdominis (otherwise known as your six pack).

The main role of the core group of muscles is to maintain a rigid torso whilst the limbs are moving an maximal or submaximal velocity.

A good example of this is a 100m sprinter. The sprinter moves their arms and legs at maximal speed, in order to finish the race in the fastest time. The function of the core is to remain tight during the whole race to stop excess movement and lost force production and lets not forget, protection of the vital organs which are also inside the torso.

Understanding the function of the core helps us gain a greater understanding about the most realistic/sports specific way that we should all train our core group of muscles.

Whilst doing variations of sit ups, crunches, leg raises and rotational exercises like russian twists are good for isolating individual areas of the core muscles the crossover to real life functionality is poor.

The Loaded Carry
The loaded carry is one of the best real core training exercises. There are many different variations of loaded carry but some of my favorites are as follows;
1-Single arm dumbbell carry
2-Farmers walk
3-Suitcase carry
4-Overhead carry
5-Yoke walk

Single Arm Carry
This exercise is great as you will be pulled to one side as your walking, forcing your core muscles down the opposite side to work as a group so that you aren't pulled over to the side your holding the DB on. These are great as a warm up to any workout as they dont necessarily have to be heavy and they get all of your limbs and torso working.

Farmers Walk
The farmers walk is another good warm up or metabolic finisher at the end of your workout depending on how heavy you want to go. You will hold a dumbbell or a kettlebell in each hand and walk for a set distance at speed. All of the core group of muscles will be engaged during this exercise.

Suitcase Carry
You will need slightly more room to perform this exercise than the others. For the suitcase carry you will stand between two barbells, before performing a deadlift and walking a set distance with them both in your hands. Because of the length of the barbells, it may be best to do this exercise outside or at a quite time in the gym. This exercise will challenge not only your core group of muscles but also your grip, forearms and trapezius too.

Overhead Carry
This is one of my favourite core exercises. It can be done single handed or with both hands overhead. If you have limited shoulder mobility you may want to avoid this exercise or try the single handed version. The placement of the object in hand must be held slightly behind your head and stacked directly over the shoulders. Walk for a set distance or time. This exercise engages all of the core group of muscles.

Yoke Walk
This is the version of a loaded carry that you can really overload. Place a barbell in a high bar potition on your back (ontop of your trapezius), unrack the bar from the rack and go for a walk for time or distance. Because of the amount of weight that you can load up and walk with, this exercise causes the greatest amount of stabilisation requirement. I would not reccomend that you did this when training alone and if you do train alone, always ask for a spotter when performing this exercise. This works not only every muscle within the core but it works every muscle in your body.

Summary
So now we understand that the core muscles work as a group to stabilise our torso whilst our limbs are moving. The faster we move our limbs, the more we need to  stabilise our core muscles. Sit ups, crunches, leg raises and other core isolation exercises are fine but the crossover to real core strength and stability is very minimal. Incorporate one or all of the above versions of loaded carry to see a huge boost in performance and asthetics.

Until next week, train hard, stay positive and never stop developing yourself in every aspect of life.

BC