What Exactly is Core Training?
06/02/11 09:27
Core Training has become a popular topic in the field of sport and fitness training. Many fitness experts teach that getting stronger means lifting heavier weights, more repetitions or more sets, but the deep muscles of the back and the deepest layers of the abdominal muscles run at the reflex level. Motor programs control these muscles and they kick in automatically as a result of movement and resistance. If poor flexibility, muscle imbalances, inappropriate training or one dimensional conditioning habits have altered movement, then they may also alter the way these muscles react and stabilize. Core Training is not about strength, its about stability and coordination. Strength is the ability to produce force whereas stability is the act of controlling force.
The word CORE represents the central part of the body – the torso and hips. The core is the powerhouse of the body and even the abdominal muscles are an important part of the core, core training is not about abdominal conditioning. The abdominals should never be totally isolated in training because they are never totally isolated in movement. Abdominal muscles work in coordination with hip and back muscles during acvtivity.
Two excellent forms of core training are Yoga and Pilates. Both forms are demand more strength from the core than from the extremities. ( if done correctly ) Many athletes who demonstrate excellent power- to-weight ratios in the weight room have a very hard time getting through some of the basic core movements of yoga and Pilates. It may sometimes appear that they lack flexibility, but usually core stability is the other factor. These people are not weak and they have been successful in the weight room, but they are unsuccessful in balancing the body and core. The strength of the extremities is not supposed to exceed the strength of the core. The core is the foundation of power and strength. That’s why even the most conditioned athletes find that adding one or two Pilates routines a week into their current physical fitness program gets them to that next level of sports conditioning they were looking for.
Rid yourself of all the preconceived ideas about core training. The biggest mistake is thinking that multiple sets, reps or the isolation of certain muscles groups are needed. Core training is training for movement patterns and stability. If the spine moves, as it does during crunches or sit-ups, the core muscles are strengthened but the core is being made mobile, not stable. Remember, the definition of stability is the ability to control movement and force, not the production of movement or the generation of force. The best training programs or routines require the body to be held in a natural or neutral spine, breathing correctly while moving the arm and legs in ways the simulate the functional ways the core will be stressed not only in every day life but especially in a given sport or activity.
Core training will lay the foundation for your ultimate in strength, power, speed, and agility training. Try some Pilates and/ or Yoga today and see what the difference could make in your life!
The word CORE represents the central part of the body – the torso and hips. The core is the powerhouse of the body and even the abdominal muscles are an important part of the core, core training is not about abdominal conditioning. The abdominals should never be totally isolated in training because they are never totally isolated in movement. Abdominal muscles work in coordination with hip and back muscles during acvtivity.
Two excellent forms of core training are Yoga and Pilates. Both forms are demand more strength from the core than from the extremities. ( if done correctly ) Many athletes who demonstrate excellent power- to-weight ratios in the weight room have a very hard time getting through some of the basic core movements of yoga and Pilates. It may sometimes appear that they lack flexibility, but usually core stability is the other factor. These people are not weak and they have been successful in the weight room, but they are unsuccessful in balancing the body and core. The strength of the extremities is not supposed to exceed the strength of the core. The core is the foundation of power and strength. That’s why even the most conditioned athletes find that adding one or two Pilates routines a week into their current physical fitness program gets them to that next level of sports conditioning they were looking for.
Rid yourself of all the preconceived ideas about core training. The biggest mistake is thinking that multiple sets, reps or the isolation of certain muscles groups are needed. Core training is training for movement patterns and stability. If the spine moves, as it does during crunches or sit-ups, the core muscles are strengthened but the core is being made mobile, not stable. Remember, the definition of stability is the ability to control movement and force, not the production of movement or the generation of force. The best training programs or routines require the body to be held in a natural or neutral spine, breathing correctly while moving the arm and legs in ways the simulate the functional ways the core will be stressed not only in every day life but especially in a given sport or activity.
Core training will lay the foundation for your ultimate in strength, power, speed, and agility training. Try some Pilates and/ or Yoga today and see what the difference could make in your life!