Core Your Health
Core strength. Functional training. It's the current fitness buzz and no wonder! Trainers and physicians recommend these techniques for everything from reducing backache to Olympic training. Here's the inside scoop on what these terms mean and how they can help you perform better—no matter what your task.
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Core Strength
Your "core" is the trunk of your body. It includes the abdominals, pelvis, butt (gluteals) and certain back muscles. Strengthening these muscles builds the center of your body and helps stabilize your spine.
A strong center helps make all your body's activity easier—whether running a marathon or lifting a box in the garage. |
Functional Training
Over the last 10 plus years the fields of physical therapy, athletic training and performance enhancement have progressed training methods into a form that is markedly different from the traditional. Traditional training involved pushing or pulling weight to make the muscle bigger, and—we thought—stronger and better able to do its job.
Today, training is more functional, thus the name functional training. Functional training strengthens core muscles to improve performance and decrease injuries. These methods use exercises that mimic the body's natural movement. We train for optimum function, instead of simply building muscle mass.
In functional training, we prepare both the joints and the muscles around those joints to respond correctly to the forces they will face at work or play. A critical part of that effort is to build a strong core—the central source of balance and movement.
Be Centered
You can be a very fit individual and still not effectively engage your core trunk muscles while doing a task. Many times we compensate for poor core function by overtaxing other areas of our body. A good portion of the time, this compensation leads to injury.
In fact Australian physical therapist, Stuart Mcgill, has researched back injuries and found that the transverse abdominus of the stomach and the multifidus muscle of the back experience rapid atrophy following an episode of back pain. Without specific retraining of these muscles, you can be at risk for repetitive episodes of back pain.
In other words, when our core is compromised we use other muscles to get the work done. And that leads to greater loss of strength, balance and spinal health down the road.
No matter what your fitness goal, a strong core is essential. That's why modern training isn't just about building muscle. It's about reducing injuries and improving performance. But remember that no core stability program is a "one size fits all" solution to individual needs. The key is to develop in-depth core strengthening program under the guidance of a performance enhance specialist, athletic trainer or other trained professional who can help you develop a program that meets your particular needs and body type.
Sample Exercises
To view photos and descriptions of exercises designed to strengthen the core, click here >>
The Prevea Core Performance Center is located in the lower level of the Prevea Ashwaubenon Health Center, at 760 Pilgrim Way across from Bay Park Square Mall. Call (920) 496-4750 for more information or to schedule an appointment.