Training the Core

By Taylor Tollison

http://www.elitesoccerconditioning.com/

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At the very heart of becoming a great athlete is not only having a strong and powerful core, but one that will reduce injury. Most every strength and conditioning program should have at least two goals: 1) improve performance 2) reduce injury.

Comprehensive is the key word when designing a solid program. No longer is it sufficient to just do crunches or sit ups. Current core training programs focus on training the hip, lumbar and pelvis region.

Why is training the core important?

1. The core is where all movement begins. (1)
2. "A weak core is a fundamental problem inherent to inefficient movement that leads to predictable patterns of injury."(1)
3. If our arms and legs are strong but our core is weak there will not be enough force created to produce efficient movements. (1)
4. If you have good core strength and you take a step the energy will pass evenly through your foot, calf and hip-right up the core and through the roof of your head. (2)
5. If you have bad core strength, speciaically hip instability, the energy will leak out at the hip, then the body must compensate, thus leading to injury.
6. By strengthening the core one becomes more able to better utilize the muscles of the extremity like the legs and arms. (3)

What is the core?
 

The core is where the body's center of gravity is. (1) Many people think of the core consisting solely of the muscles of the stomach. In actuality the core consists of the parts in the lumbo region, pelvic region and hip region. Here are some of the muscles that are part of each region.

1. Lumbar Spine Muscles
   • Erector spinae
   • Quadratus lumborum
   • Transversospinalis Group
   • Latissimus Dorsi
2. Key Abdominal Muscles
   • Rectus Abdominus
   • External Oblique
   • Internal Oblique

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