Practitioner Reboot: The Outdated Concept of "Core" Work

 "We did core today." 

That phrase makes me furrow my brow and chuckle at the same time. I suppose it is a vestige of bodybuilding and assigning body parts to workouts.

We can do better for our athletes if we evolve our mindset and programming to think beyond the isolated torso. And that black hole of training called "stability."

If you must give a session or a part of a session a name, I'd like to suggest an alternative framework. We'll stay on the "c" theme, but start from a foundation of movement, not stillness. To do this, I ask you to leave behind ideas of isolating and activating torso muscle groups. Embrace the terms connection, coordination and control.

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Most of life (and sport, for that matter) are not still. 

In archery, biathlon, gymnastics or rowing, the stillness we observe is part of one or many transitions from one posture to another. The athlete demonstrates significant control and coordination for a relatively short time; moving through or repeating those transitions.

In alpine ski racing and freestyle snow sports, athletes resist and manage massive compression and shearing forces forces. Same for weightlifting.

Baseball and golf call for explosive rotation from the ground up. Water polo changes things entirely. Volleyball calls for explosive striking in the air.

Curling demands high skill and a deft touch while you and an object slide on an icy surface.

The human torso never acts in a vacuum. But this is what many athletes believe and experience during "core" work in the weight room. We effectively reduce coordination and skill to isolated strength endurance, defined by timed holds or by any number of reps. And equate value with burn or struggle, rather than the grace of a transition or the effective transfer of energy from an extremity to an implement. 

Might it be more useful to design tasks that ask athletes to "find the sweet spot" and have the "that was effortless" sensation, rather that design those things that cause them to "feel the burn?" Don't we want to challenge them with tasks of connection vs tasks of stillness-- so they learn to value the role of the torso as supporting actor and not the star? Don't we want connection, coordination and control?

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I spent several years in physical therapy school trying like hell to assess, grade and remediate poor lower abdominal strength. I chased torso stability in the pursuit of back health.

This never helped me help others move better. 

To perform well, people need experiences and skills that help them develop body awareness and solve movement problems. The key here being movement. Movement that asks them to connect, control and coordinate themselves in relation to their environment.

Take a step back and look at your programming through a lens of "connections." Develop a toolbox of static to dynamic; but be wary of lingering on the static side of things. Think graceful sequencing vs rigid stillness; more "whole" than "part." Finally, consider your words and labels carefully. Labels matter. Words inspire confidence and the expression of physicality; or they inhibit it. Labels shackle exercise prescription and practice patterns, if we let them.

Do better than be a "parts is parts" kinda coach. Happy Friday.





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