In this article, we will discuss these two issues:
1. What is the "core"?
There are many popular science articles saying that plate support is considered as an action of "strengthening core muscles". Such a description can easily make people think that flat support will be practiced to the lower back, because in many people's definitions, the lower back is also the core muscle group. I said in the article "Flat support has become a strange way to show off" that flat support mainly exercises the muscles in the front of the trunk. If the muscles in the back of the trunk feel sore, it is probably fatigue or incorrect posture.
So what is the core? I have hardly seen any fitness articles on the Internet in China that clearly explain this concept in theory.
In Baidu Encyclopedia, the core refers to the important muscle groups that are located in the front and back of the abdomen and surround the body, and are responsible for protecting the stability of the spine, such as transverse abdominis, pelvic floor muscles and lower back muscles. The core muscle group is mainly composed of rectus abdominis, oblique abdominis, lumbodorsal muscle and erector spinae.
Personally, I tend to think that the core is not a local or static concept, it includes the whole trunk. When I teach students, I also emphasize to them that the whole trunk is the core. (See the notes in the second lesson of Introduction to Action)
Because in the thoracic and cervical vertebrae, it is not only rectus abdominis, oblique abdominis and erector spinae that protect the spine, but also pectoralis, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, rhomboid and so on. At the same time, the state of scapula and pelvis will also affect the state of spine in many ways.
For example, forward tilting of pelvis can easily make lumbar vertebrae overstretched, backward tilting of pelvis can easily make lumbar vertebrae neutral or bent, forward opening of scapula can bend thoracic vertebrae, and backward retraction of scapula can make spine neutral or stretched.
AP (Athlete Performance) in the United States also put forward the concept of "core column strength", which is considered as the "core column" below the neck and above the hip joint. The pelvis, scapula and spine are all contained in the core column.
The core is not a local or static concept, it contains the whole backbone.
For example, the "core stability" in flat support refers more to the stability of the front side of the body, so the "core stability" in heavy hard pulling refers to the stability of the whole trunk including pelvis, scapular upper limb belt and spine, while the "core stability" in long-distance displacement may refer more to the stability of thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae and surrounding muscles.
(Trunk muscles. Image source: Atlas of Sports Anatomy (Third Edition))
Many people may find the above statement difficult to understand, so let's go back and look at the earliest explanation of "core stability".
2. What does "core stability" mean?
The concept of core stability was first put forward in 1985 in the field of human rehabilitation. The first is "spinal stability", and then "core stability". The "core stability" here refers to "the ability to keep the neutral region of the spine within a certain physiological range to avoid clinical instability". [ 1]
1996 some scholars believe that "core stability" is a "dynamic" rather than a "static" concept. They believe that "core stability" refers to "the accurate and safe dynamic activities of the spine and pelvis in the best arrangement and combination". [2]
According to these two different definitions, it is not difficult to see that the so-called core actually includes the whole trunk.
And "core stability" refers to our ability to control the trunk to transmit strength stably, reasonably and safely in various sports and daily life.
Many people will regard "core stability" as a local, isolated and static training, which is actually influenced by bodybuilding training thinking.
In fact, all movements need so-called "stability", whether we call it "body stability", "core stability" or "trunk stability".
The so-called "stability" includes control and conduction. Look at Chen Bailing's flat support, which has become a strange way to show off. )
Difficult movements with bare hands need stability. (gymnastics)
Short-term explosive sports also need stability. It is necessary to control that precise conduction force of the body. (sprint)
Long-term displacement requires stability. It takes a long time to control the action and continuously output. (marathon)
Intensive training requires stability. It is necessary to transfer the force to the object through the trunk, and finally realize the movement of the heavy object. (weightlifting)
You can see the following picture:
The so-called "core stability" is a kind of ability to keep the body stable and accurately transmit strength in action. It involves the whole person because the body is a whole. It is not a local or static concept (the third point).
It is not only a static action such as plate support, but also included in all action structures.
So if someone asks you in the future, what is the use of "core stability"? You can answer him: you can improve your ability to keep your body stable and transmit strength accurately in action.
Let me share my experience, and you can also be your own fitness instructor-WeChat official account "Chen Bailing's soy sauce table" ID: soychen 0 1.