Core training, especially for athletes, should be specific to the required sports skills; thus, particular muscle groups in the core may be more or less important for a given individual.
You can't turn on the television nowadays without seeing the "latest and greatest" piece of gadgetry to promising tighter abs and a firmer backside, all while emphasizing the training of core muscles. It seems that in the last few years that strength training has evolved to emphasize the strengthening of core muscles. These muscles include the muscles of the trunk and pelvis in addition to the traditionally trained muscles of the shoulders, arms, chest, back, and legs.

The core muscles consist of the following:
abdominals (rectus abdominis, tranversus abdominis, internal and external abdominal obliques)
muscular structure of the hips (iliopsoas; rectus femoris; sartorius; tensor fasciae latae; pectineus; gluteus maximus, medius and minimus; semi - tendinosus; semimembranosus; biceps femoris; adductor brevis, longus, and magnus; gemellus superior and inferior; obturator internus and externus; quadratus femoris; piriformis)
muscular structure of the spine (erector spinae; quadratus lumborum; paraspinals; trapezius; psoas major; quadratus lumborum; multifidus; ilio - castalis lumborum and thoracis; rotatores; latissiums dorsi; and serratus anterior).

What are the advantages of core strength training in sports performance? What equipment, if any, is required for this type of training? What is the evidence that core strength training, when added to a training program, is more effective than more traditional types of strength training? These are some of the questions that I am regularly asked as a strength training expert.


Causes In The Surge Of Strengthening Core Muscles



Training the trunk and pelvic muscles has always been part of strength and conditioning programs for athletes. Power generates from the hips - thus it makes sense to focus on the core. The recent buzz about "functional" training and "sport specific" training, that is trying to make training as performance-specific and applicable to real life as possible, has lead to an increased awareness by many strength and conditioning coaches.

Within the fitness industry, several companies have developed specialized equipment and integrated core-conditioning programs that have carried over to the fields of group exercise and personal training, bringing "core training" to the masses.

The recent popularity increase of core training is also the result of a greater emphasis that has been placed on training for dynamic, multi-plane/multi-directional movements. These movements are more efficiently developed when core strength training and multi-directional exercises are utilized.

Another factor that has been important, although often over looked, is a greater awareness of the fact that most physical activities require transfer of energy from large to small muscle groups in an efficient manner. General theory now is that core strength training provides a greater possibility of limiting injury, enhancing rehabilitation, and/or improving performance by conditioning the core muscles in a sport-related manner.


Rationale For Emphasizing Core Muscles In Strength Training Programs



When athletes produce the necessary movements in their sports with increased efficiency, their overall performance improves. Greater strength of the core musculature increases the stability of the pelvis and spine and improves body control or balance during athletic movements, thus enhancing the efficiency of movement.

The athlete generates greater power output, not only from the core musculature, but also from the stabilizing muscles of the shoulders, arms, and legs because many of these muscles are anchored to the spine or pelvis. When the spine and pelvis are more stable, the peripheral muscles are biomechanically more effective.

The torso is used either actively or as a stabilizer in just about any athletic movement; thus, it makes sense to target those muscles for strength training. Those muscles should not be trained exclusively in isolation because they work in a combined fashion to perform whole movements.

For example, when you try to improve a baseball player's swing, you don't think about strengthening individual muscles but rather all the muscles involved in creating the movement patterns of the swing.

Core strength training can enhance neuromuscular reaction and that this can lead to improved athletic performance. A stronger core requires less forceful contractions of the peripheral muscles to produce a given amount of power, so the muscles-both in the core and in the stabilization-are less likely to be injured during training and competition.