Fitness Truths: Do we really need core training?

Abdominal training, or core training to give it is more popular name, divides opinion more than perhaps any other aspect of fitness. Some people will have us believe that specific core training is everything if you want to move well and stay injury-free, whilst others will assert that you don't need specific core exercises to train the abdominals, you just need to do the big exercises, such as squats, deadlifts and push ups, correctly.

But who is right and how much specific core training, if any, do we need?

The term core training is a relatively new term in fitness and an entire sub-industry has arisen through it. There are varying definitions and opinions about what the core refers to, but in general, it is a broad term used to describe the muscles of the abdominals and lower back. I think it is more practical to include the muscles of the backside (the glutes) and the entire trunk, because many of these muscles interact with the pelvis and therefore affect our 'core'. It is probably also true to say that these muscles, such as those of the mid-back and glutes, often need as much, if not more, attention, than those of the abdominals when it comes to stabilizing the trunk, making them hugely relevant.

READ - Fitness Truths: which exercise is best for fat loss?

Everyone can benefit from some direct 'core' training, but my observation is that people either do too much or too little, depending on their personal bias. Those of us who buy into the concept spend far too much time doing planks and exercises on unstable surfaces, in a bid to 'train our core', and not enough time doing the tried and tested exercises, such us squats, chin ups and press-ups. On the flip side, those of us who think that the term core is a misnomer, spend all of our time doing the tried and tested exercises, but neglect any - sometimes much-neede - specific glute, abdominal and lower back exercises.

As with anything, we need to find the right balance, but as a general rule of thumb, I would suggest that beginners, and those of us with specific rehabilitation requirements, would benefit from including some direct 'core training', as when we start out, it is important that the muscles of the lower abdominals, lower back, mid-back and glutes for example, are activated, creating a solid foundation of hip and shoulder stability. Typical exercises at this stage might include lower abdominal activation exercises, reverse crunches, planks, side planks, hip bridge variations, back extensions, and a variety of shoulder stability exercises.

READ - Fitness Truths: fat-loss myths debunked

However once we have this solid foundation, I would argue that we are then able to get most of our core training from our broader training programme. Squats are a great example here, in that you need adequate abdominal mid and lower back strength to maintain a correct squat position, but once you have this, you can get all that you need from regular exposure to squats. It is the same with press ups for example, as done correctly, a press-up is a great way to condition the abdominals, but we need adequate truck stability, perhaps gained initially by doing things such as planks, in order to maintain a good position during our push up.

It is the same with deadlifts, lunges, overhead presses, chins ups and many other tried and tested exercises, in that you need a decent level of core conditioning to perform these correctly, but once you are able to do these in good form, the exercises themselves will take care of your core training requirements. I am certainly not suggesting that you should never do any direct core or abdominal training to compliment these bigger exercises, especially as you get stronger (when you may need to), but they should no longer be the mainstay of your programme, and you should instead focus your time and effort on progressing in the bigger exercises.

As a side note, if your reason for training the core is for aesthetics, the best 'core exercise' that you can do is to lose any additional body fat, enough so that your abdominals will actually show. It does not matter what exercises you do or how you do them, you will not see your six-pack if your body fat is too high, and no amount of sit-ups, planks or side bends are going to change this. How lean you need to be will depend in your individual make-up, but most of this will come down to your diet, not your exercise routine.

READ - Fitness Truths: what time of day should I train?

Jean-Claude Vacassin is founder of W10 Performance . Follow the team on Twitter @W10Performance

Via: Fitness Truths: Do we really need core training?