The burning sensation of building core strength can be incredibly satisfying, whether you’re holding a plank or struggling to finish your last set of sit-ups. That burn can give him a sense of accomplishment, but it shouldn’t be the only measure of his core strength.
The core is the literal center of your body, a key transition zone between your upper and lower limbs. When it is strong, it makes all your movements more efficient.
But true core strength isn’t defined by tight, toned muscles and a flat stomach.
The following misconceptions about core strength may be preventing you from fully developing your midsection. By learning how to really cultivate core strength, you can build your strength in a way that fully supports your training and everyday life.
This is the six pack
The formal name for the superficial “six pack” muscle, which runs from the base of the sternum and front ribs to the pubic bone, is rectus abdominis. You can feel this muscle contract during sit-ups, in a forearm plankon top of a push upand in yoga arm balances like Bakasana (crow or crane pose). When fully contracted, it arches your belly and rounds your lower back.
But there is much more to core strength than just the rectus abdominis. A series of muscles surround and support your abdomen and allow you to move in all different directions, including the internal and external obliquestransversus abdominis, erector spinae, quadratus lumborum, and the respiratory diaphragm, as well as the pelvic diaphragm.
Explore basic workouts involving all of these muscles, which could be as simple as adding supermans and side planks to your usual routine. While results are not always visible, you will feel a difference in your ability to perform challenging exercises with less stress.
You must shorten the muscles to strengthen them
Concentric contraction, when you bring the two ends of a muscle closer together, might be the most common way to build strength. But it is not the only way.
A muscle can also be strengthened with isometric contractions, which tense the muscle without changing its length. For example, when you stop and hold at any point during an abdominal contraction or hold Paripurna Navasana (Boat Pose).
Strength is also developed through eccentric contractions, which engage a muscle as it lengthens under load, such as when you lower your head and shoulders slowly toward the ground after that contraction.
A varied approach to core strength training is key to supporting your daily movements.
Basic workouts must exhaust you
A truly functional core is about more than just strength. Building your abdominal muscles also includes stretching them in a variety of ways for flexibility and mobility. Your ability to twist or bend laterally requires flexibility in your obliques and quadratus lumborum. Your ability to get into backbends depends on the elasticity in your rectus abdominis and the other anterior core muscles. It is more important that your workout is thorough and complete than exhausting.
By all means, savor that burn if you want. But don’t let your core strength training end there.
land of rachel it’s a Medical Yoga Instructor offers group and individual yoga sessions in Queenstown, New Zealand, as well as on demand at Practice.YogaMedicine.com. Passionate about the real-world application of her anatomy and alignment studies, Rachel uses yoga to help her students develop strength, stability, and mental clarity. Rachel is also a co-host of the new Medicine and yoga podcast.
