This Fitness Buzzword Needs To Go Away.....

It's mind-boggling.

New clients still come in telling me right away that their "core is weak,"

They look surprised when I tell them that the "core" extends from the shoulders to the knees.

"My core is weak." = "I am weak."

How did we get here?

It seems to have started with textbooks and academic articles released 20 years ago, one of which notes core strengthening had become “a major trend in rehabilitation.” The paper comments that research on its effectiveness is “severely lacking,” other than in studies on low back pain.

Back then, physiotherapists considered “the core” as “everything except our long appendages,” including our glutes and lats.

Before long, "core work" became a buzzword in yoga, Pilates, and ballet, leading to a preoccupation with "Where is the core work? How will I tone my abs?"

The "core" doesn't need to be targeted

You don't need to do "core work."

Rather the bodybuilding approach of "targeting" or "isolating" the core, it needs to connect and coordinate the other parts of the body.

Building up abdominal muscles results in a thicker waist--not the goal of anyone I know!

Lifting weights using full-body movements works "the core" in the way that it’s designed to do.

If you're looking for abdominal strength, do heavy squats, deadlifts, and compound joint exercises....correctly.

It’s impossible to do a squat, a bent-over row, a straight-legged deadlift, and most other exercises without working your core.

Or, as I say frequently, "If you're not using your 'core' in every exercise, you're doing it wrong."

While we're at it, it’s a fallacy that core training is critical to addressing low back pain. A variety of exercises, including HIIT, “general exercise,” and lifting weights helped people with low back pain.

It's time to retire the term "core."

When referring to the muscles of your midsection, it's not difficult to say the word, "abdominals." It's specific, as opposed to the wildly general term "core."

And another thing.....

When you're looking to strengthen your quads, would you say, "This one really targets the rectus femoris".... or "This exercise strengthens the vastus lateralis...."

Of course not!

The quadriceps are 4 muscles that work together to straighten the knee.

Why would we say that an exercise "targets the obliques" ...(usually accompanied by a gesture aimed at the sides of the body)?

1) The abdominal muscles work in concert. There is no reason to focus on isolating the obliques, rectus abdominis, or transversalis.

THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER!

2) When someone tells you an exercise "works your obliques" there's a 99% chance they've got it wrong. I see it all the time. Most people are clueless about where the obliques are OR how they move.

Now you know more about "the core" than most fitness professionals!

You can show off your advanced knowledge by joining me in putting that term on the shelf.....right next to the Shake Weight....🤣