The “Core” Of The Matter – Part 2

Last time I talked with you about the basics of core training, the areas of the body it involves and the purpose of the core stabilizing muscles.  The previous article served as an overview to relay to you an idea about how to safely isolate or focus on training the core.  I want to get back to a previous point I do not think I spent enough time talking about.  I had stated that the core muscles essentially transferred power from the legs to the extremities in athletic movements.  If there is extraneous movement in this area of the body then we most likely see leaks in power and force.

I would like to expand upon this not so much from an athletic standpoint but from an everyday way of life approach.  We need to think about how the body functions as a whole.  When we bend down to pick a dumbbell up with our hand its not just the bicep that is involved in lifting the item.   The lift requires a multi sensory response via the central nervous system to activate a multitude of muscles which ultimately function as a unit, not in isolation.  We need to stop thinking about muscles and need to think more about proper anatomical movement.  I remember reading a great description about how everything in the body is connected.  If we think of the muscles as the sausage then the fascia is the gut connecting the sausage links.  This interconnecting chain moves spirally and diagonally through the body and can explain why dysfunction in one area can cause pain in another.  The fascia is a web type tissue that envelopes the muscles and connects the soft tissues of the body together.  I think this description can help us understand that when we pick up that dumbbell off the floor, before the dumbbell is even in our hand, muscles in the trunk and core region are firing to stabilize our spine.  Through proper core training we are looking to enhance the speed at which these stabilizing muscles fire, the amount of muscles firing, and the synchronicity at which they fire.

When we train the body in isolated parts like using the leg extension, leg curl or chest press or any single joint machine, we ask the body to produce a movement that it doesn’t really recognize.  This type of training is generally referred to as body building.  If we are looking for a more “functional” way of working out then we need to begin to consider changing up our routine.  I have included a few substitute exercises for some common traditional exercises.  Give them a shot…I think you will find yourself sweating a little more than normal.  This is not always a bad thing!