Most would agree that a strong core is essential to sport and injury prevention. So, what is the core and how do we train it to maximize performance? Generally speaking, the core consists of the low back, the lateral trunk, the abdominals and the hips. Many people just focus on the abdominals when training. For years, largely based on traditional anatomy and body building routines, athletes and coaches believed that endless variations of situps were the way to a “strong core.”
As our knowledge of functional anatomy and sport performance has grown, we began to realize that training for performance often required a different approach. Hence, “functional” and “sport specific” training emerged. Simply stated, the more an exercise/movement looks and feels like the sport activity to be performed, the greater the carryover to that activity. We also realized that all forces must go through the core, whether they are generated from the top down or the bottom up. If the core is weak or inefficient, energy will be “leaked,” and the end result is decreased performance — and/or injury from compensation.
When designing exercises to enhance performance, one must look at the activity or skill and ask how gravity, ground reaction forces and momentum affect the body, and how all the muscles and joints interact to complete the skill or movement. Let’s examine the situp. One lies on their back and attempts to flex their spine and lift the shoulders off the ground, in essence only contracting the abdominal muscles. From a performance or function perspective, when in a game or practice would you ever be lying on your back doing this? I’m hoping your answer is never! Are the gravitational forces the same? Are the ground reaction forces the same? Is the momentum the same? Do all the body parts interact similar to a skill/movement? The answer is rarely, if at all.
In most sports, the body is primarily in an upright vertical position with various components of vertical, horizontal and rotational movement acting against gravity, producing and reducing ground reaction forces and momentum. Therefore, training the core in an upright position would be a better choice to facilitate better muscle, joint and balance receptor activity, ultimately leading to better carry over to the skill/activity. Not to mention saving your spine and discs the beating we now know they take from repetitive situps. Repetitive flexion of the spine is known to cause disc degeneration, poor posture, tight hip flexors, breathing dysfunction and a handful of other problems that lead to breakdown and poor performance. The overall objective is to enhance the athlete’s ability to load in order to more effectively explode.
If we examine the function of the abdominals (only one aspect of the core, but everyone’s favorite), they are designed to stabilize the spine in an upright position and control extension and rotation. They (and the entire core) connect the hips and the shoulders. Think of walking. When the left foot goes forward, the opposite arm swings forward. This allows the abdominals to elongate into extension and rotation to then create a better contraction to assist in taking the next step and propel you forward efficiently.
The exact same mechanism is at work when jogging, throwing a ball or hitting a tennis or golf ball. The muscles must be appropriately lengthened to facilitate a more appropriate contraction/reaction. The lateral trunk muscles help stabilize and control lateral movement for tasks such as carrying objects in one arm or moving laterally. The posterior core muscles assist in controlling forward movement of the trunk and returning to the upright position, such as in reaching forward, squatting or carrying things in front of you.
Our muscles maximize their ability to contract by being eccentrically elongated prior to concentrically contracting, like a rubber band. Think of throwing — athletes extend and rotate their trunk as they reach back, elongating all the musculature (loading) and then rapidly contracting forward (exploding) to forcefully accelerate the ball. The more efficiently the athlete can “load,” the more effectively he or she will unload. This cannot be trained via the situp. The legs, core and arms have to work and be trained in a coordinated fashion. Remember, we are training for go, not show! If you know situps cause the above mentioned problems, why would you subject your athletes to that? There are many safe alternatives to situps.
These exercises are easily done using just a medicine ball or small hand weight. The speed of the movement can also be varied. Always ensure good control, and avoid excessive back bending. Perform two to three sets of 12 ro 15 reps.
Chris Kolba, PT, PhD, MHS, CSCS, is a physical therapist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
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Vertical Core Training: R.I.P. Situps originally appeared on usnews.com
