Tuesday, January 26, 2016

At the core

Or is that the middle? Eh, anyway, contrary to what many seem to believe, there is much more to the "core" than just your abs. Your core is a complex series of muscles, extending far beyond your abs, including everything besides your arms and legs. It is incorporated in almost every movement of the human body. But it's really easy to ignore many parts of it. Core muscles are what support your spine, they're the ones that hold things together. The major muscles that move, support and stabilize your spine are what make up the core. Major muscles included are the pelvic floor muscles, transversus abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, erector spinae (sacrospinalis) especially the longissimus thoracis, and the diaphragm. Minor core muscles include the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and trapezius. Your core is not only where your organs and central nervous system do their work, it’s also where your body’s largest veins and arteries are based. Keeping strong core muscles will help ensure everything stays protected. They are what keeps your lower back from going out on you once or twice a month. Core exercises train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen to work in harmony. This leads to better balance and stability, whether on the playing field or in daily activities. In fact, most sports and other physical activities depend on stable core muscles. Weight lifting certainly does. And I've grossly neglected mine. Of course I've also had numerous holes punched through my abdominal wall in the last few years. Twelve or so of them if I counted right.

As the weight I lift increases I'm finding that I'm noticing my core more. And I'm also noticing that it needs some attention. There's more to building a strong core than simply doing some sit-ups and crunches. Here is an example of what some of those muscles are responsible for and an exercise to target them:

RECTUS ABDOMINUS
  • Location: Covers the area from sternum all the way down to the pelvis bone.
  • Function: Pulls the upper torso to the hips
  • Exercises: Crunch or Sit-up
OBLIQUE
  • Location: Side of the waist.
  • Internal Obliques
  • Transverse Obliques
  • External Obliques
  • Function: Tilt and twist the torso
  • Exercises: Side Bends and Decline Oblique Crunches
INTERCOSTALS
  • Location: Between the side of the rib cage. It comes into play when you flex the torso and twist from side to side.
  • Function: Elevation and depression of the ribs
  • Exercise: Air Bike
SERRATUS
  • Location: Between front abs and lats.
  • Function: Pulling of the scapula forward and around like in the motion of throwing a punch
  • Exercises: Barbell Pullovers and Cable Crunches

One of the interesting things about core exercises is that there are many of them that can be done with nothing more than your body and some room on the floor. They don't require a gym or any special equipment, just some time and dedication. Here's a list of 25 of them. The internet can provide plentiful examples of each one being performed.

  1. Plank hold
  2. Side plank hold
  3. Spiderman plank
  4. Reverse plank
  5. Side oblique crunch 
  6. Side oblique leg raise
  7. Oblique core crunch
  8. V-up 
  9. Single leg crunches
  10. Superman
  11. Bird dog 
  12. Cat dog
  13. Row the boat crunch
  14. Lying leg raise
  15. Straight leg toe touches
  16. Bicycle abs
  17. Scissor kicks
  18. Butterfly sit-up
  19. Russian twist
  20. Lying windmills
  21. Low belly double leg reach 
  22. Swan dive
  23. Standing crunches
  24. Lying leg circles
  25. Supine twist 

There are two different types of muscles that make up the core: The muscles responsible for stabilizing respond best to isometric exercises held for a period of time or low-intensity (bodyweight) exercises for a higher number of repetitions. The muscles responsible for providing movement of the trunk respond best to increased loading (resistance) for a fewer number of repetitions—this rep range won’t make the muscles bigger, but will be more effective at stimulating the muscle fibers; for optimal results the muscles should fatigue before twelve repetitions. If you can complete more than 12 repetitions, increase the load or resistance of the exercise. When using heavier resistance for a fewer number of repetitions, the rest period between sets or between circuits should be longer. For example, an exercise with a heavy resistance for 6 repetitions should be followed by a rest interval of 1 ½ to 2 minutes.

For some reason I have resisted focusing on my core but I do believe it's time to change that. It is part of the strong foundation and a house built upon a poor foundation won't last long at all. And cardio, I loath cardio. And I need to do more of that too.

 Sources:

from the twisted mind of @

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