Body Mechanics | CORE: What is it good for?

CORE: What is it good for?

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“Tighten your core”, “fire your core”, and “keep your core stable”. If you workout at Body Mechanics, chances are that you’ve heard these statements more than once. But do you really know what they mean?

The term “core” is rather trendy right now within the fitness industry, however most of the focus still being on the “six-pack abs”. But if you, or your trainer, believe that the core means the “abs” you are missing the boat.

The term “core” can be defined in two ways, general and specific. The general definition includes the muscles of the abdominals and vertebral column. The muscles of the abdominals include: the rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques, and transverse abdominis. The rectus abdominis are the most superficial layer, or the “six-pack abs”. The next layer down is the external obliques. Under these lie the internal obliques. Together these two muscles make-up the “love-handle muscles”. The deepest layer in the abdominals is the transverse abdominis. The muscles of the vertebral column that are generally included in the “core” are: the erector spinae, and the quadratus lumborum. The erector spinae are the large “low-back muscles” that run along-side the spine. The quadratus lumborum are the muscles that run deep next to the erector spinae.

While these muscles are indeed included in the ”core”, at Body Mechanics we have taken it a step further and included several other muscle groups in the “core”. These include: the multifidus, the adductor muscles of the legs, the iliopsoas, the gluteal muscles, and even the quadriceps and hamstrings. The multifidus muscles are the small muscles that run from vertebrae to vertebrae in the spine. Iliapsoas muscles are more commonly known as the hip flexor muscles and attach from the thigh to the lower lumbar vertebrae. The adductor muscles are on the inside of the thigh or “groin” muscles. The gluteals include the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, and gluteus maximus. Collectively these are the “buns”. The quadriceps and hamstrings include the muscles of the front and back of the thighs respectively.

Great, now you know what muscles are included in the core, but why is the core so important? Basically no human movement can occur without the core being engaged. Try this: from a seated position, place a hand on your abs. Now stand up. Notice that the abs contract? That’s the core stabilizing the upper-body so that you don’t tip over.

Each muscle or group of muscles serves an important role in the movement and stabilization of the back. The rectus abdominus flexes the trunk, as in bending forward against resistance, or performing crunches. The internal and external obliques work together to perform rotation and some flexion. The transverse abdominus perform the act of compressing the abdomen. This muscle, more than any other, provides the support for the spine during lifting. That is if it is well trained and strong. The erector spinae extend the trunk, as in a back bend. The quadratus lumborum perform lateral flexion, like side bends. The vertebrae of the spine are assisted in stabilization by the multifidus muscles. The iliapsoas muscles perform hip flexion, when the knees are brought up to the chest. The glutes act together to perform hip extension such as stepping up onto a box and hip abduction like side leg lifts. The quadriceps performs knee extension like kicking, as well as hip flexion. Bringing the heel up to the glutes, or knee flexion, is performed by the hamstring muscles. They also assist in hip extension.

These are the movements performed by the “core”, but there is another role that is just as important: stabilization. This stabilization can occur on the spine, the pelvis, or both, as is often the case.

The four muscles of the abdominals primarily perform stabilization of the spine: rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques, and the transverse abdominus. This occurs when all of the muscles, especially the transverse abdominis, contract and create pressure in the abdominal cavity, supporting the spine, like a weight lifting belt. What happens in de-conditioned people is that these muscles either do not contract enough, or in the wrong order. This puts the spine at great risk for injury. Trainers at Body Mechanics work on teaching the body to “fire” these muscles in the proper sequence, as well as strengthen them to withstand the rigors of life.

The abdominals as well as all of the other muscles of the “core” mentioned above perform pelvic stability. The job of these muscles is to prevent the pelvis from tilting too far forward or too far backwards, resulting in potential injury. If any of these muscles are weak, tight, or not “firing”, the pelvis will not be stabilized, and injury is possible.

You can see that the “core” is a complex system of muscles that include the abdominals, hip muscles, and leg muscles. These muscles act to provide movement, and stability to the spine and pelvis. A majority of low-back pain, hip pain, and knee pain can be attributed to weak or improper “firing” of the muscles of the “core”. Body Mechanics trainers focus on the proper training of these muscles so that our clients can live full, active lives.