Core Training - How to NOT waste time
Many associate back pain with poor core strength. They may be connected, but it isn’t as easy at 1 + 1 = 2.
I’ve talked previously on what the “core” is (Link) and I’ve talked about back pain (link).
I’m going to really oversimplify “core” training, and that’s okay since I think it gets turned into something really complicated.
What does the “core” do?
First, I’m going to call it the TRUNK - nipples to knees. What does the TRUNK do. In a given day, the world will require one of 4 things from you:
Anti Rotation - something is trying to twist you, you have to prevent it. This usually involves things using a single hand or single leg, like picking up a suitcase, going up/down stairs or a hill.
Rotation - things moving across your body. Something like swinging a baseball bat.
Extension - picking something up from the ground. The low back HAS to be involved.
Total body - coordinating all 3, especially under load. Carrying people, unloading a truck/moving furniture.
What do all of these have in common? The
They include your entire body. Legs on the ground, arms holding something. Trunk work should “integrate” your arms and legs with your trunk. Mountain Tactical Institute (MTI) calls this Chassis Integrity, and I think it’s the best practical (I hate the word functional) trunk training method out there.
The trunk doesn’t generate a ton of strength, but transfers it between the arms and legs and ground. Therefore general ENDURANCE is more useful than pure strength. i.e., being able to hold a position for X amount of time is more valuable than 5rm hanging leg raise.
Training the Trunk
Since we know the arms, legs, and ground are important, this tells us the limitaitons of non weight bearing isolated trunk work - deadbugs, weighted sit up, supermans, etc.
These exercises still have utility, I just find people dedicate too much time to them. Trunk work should complement your training and teach you positional stiffness. Things like “finishers” done at the end of a workout aren’t really doing anything other than making a muscle mindlessly contract. The effect is local, not systemic.
My approach is simple:
1) High ROI exericses
2) Filler
3) Chassis Integrity
High ROI Exercises
If you are going to isolate the trunk, I like high ROI exercises like 1/2 kneeling chops and lifts. I consider these high ROI because they:
Work multiple planes - you move your arms high <-> low and across your body.
Fool proof - the 1/2 kneeling positions forces trunk recruitment without you messing anything up. Don’t mess them up by trying to flex something.
Chops
Lifts
If you don’t have a $7k Kaiser Functional Trainer, you can use a cable machine. Just put the pulley LOW for lifts, HIGH for chops.
Bands also work and are just as effective. Need some bands, try my affiliate link!! https://amzn.to/3AhiRvW
The skinny bands usually work better for these, you just need something to attach it to.
You can use anything, really - a KB, DB, weight plate, SB, small child. Literally anything.
Filler
This is the most efficient method I’ve found for getting in specific trunk work. This involves just super-setting in a low level trunk exercise with your other compound lifts. It could be something that supplements the lift you are doing, something that you need to work on, or just something you like. Some examples would be:
A1 front squat 5-5-5-5-5
A2 band rotation R/L 5-5-5-5-5
A3 Rest 1:00
or
B1 DB bench press 12-10-8
B2 1/2 kneeling chop 3-3-3
B3 Rest 1:00
So, for group A1-3, you’d perform 5 front squats, then 5 right, then 5 left band rotation, then rest 1:00. You would do this until you finished your desired sets of front squats.
Chassis Integrity
You can read more about Chassis Integrity here (link). I’m a huge fan of this style of trunk work because 1) it’s more applicable to real life and 2) adds an endurance compoenent.
Real Life
Like I stated above, most things in real life are anti-rotation, rotation, extension, or total body. The legs are always involved, so it doesn’t make sense to neglect them when you are training. This is a step in the right direction of reducing injury risk since you are increasing your exposure to potentially injurious things.
Endurance Component
There is likely a fatigue component with injuries. Adding the endurance component addresses this. And endurance is systemic, not local to the indivisual muscles, so total body work is the way to go, IMO.
Plus, raising the HR raises the stakes a little, and this is where true learning happens.
Summary
I don’t see any advantage to isolated trunk work beyond teaching someone to actual feel their trunk muscles working, or an item in the warm up. Once you get beyond that, trunk work should be integrated with things that require you to move your ARMS and LEGS, and the exercise should be sufficiently hard enough to create a SYSTEMIC affect (full body) more so than a local affect (isolation).