6 Rules for Core Training – What we think to be true is now a myth.
6 Rules for Core Training – What we think to be true is now a myth.
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Core training has always been a staple in all sport exercises. But as sport and science merge closer and closer, rules change as discoveries are made. What we think to be true is now proven not to be so. And core training exercises are no exception. Nick Buchan of Golfwrx brings us the new rules of core workouts!
Core training is a somewhat contentious and confusing subject!
6 Rules for Core Training – What we think to be true is now a myth.
Power lives in the transverse plane. If you want to unleash strength, power and force, you must harness control of rotation. The keyword here is control. Concentric and eccentric control. To put it another way, rotational stability ensures rotational forces are transferred effectively. Thereby reducing energy leaks that slow down your swing.
As research from the aforementioned Stuart Mcgill shows, no core muscle has a primary vector for trunk rotation. Trunk rotation, and resisting it, happens by blending all core muscles. The abdominal obliques are primary drivers of torso rotation and anti-rotation. Along with deep stabilizer muscles in the back. When you want to rotate to the right, you engage the left external oblique and the right internal oblique. Rotation to the left uses the right external oblique and the left internal oblique. They work as functional pairs.
As you know, the torso connects to the rest of the body. So you have cross-body connections from the gluteus maximus to the opposite side latissimus to generate force transmission on the posterior chain. This force transmission system is known as the posterior oblique subsystem. And is a primary reason you can move your arms and legs together. This movement pattern sling is crucial to stabilization. Stability always precedes force production. When it doesn’t, you have decreased performance and become more vulnerable to injury.
Variations like Pallof presses and chops are obviously great for this. However, single-arm presses and pulls are hugely underrated in this regard.
Utilizing half- and tall-kneeling positions are also great for dialing in that neutral pelvic and spine position so important for efficient power transfer. One of my favorites to tap into anti-rotation and the posterior chain connection is the tall-kneeling, single-arm cable pull.
There’s a myriad of different core exercises, a wealth of opinion on how to train the core and body of knowledge that has increased dramatically during the past decade or so and continues to grow, so it’s no wonder core training is a somewhat contentious and confused subject.
The problem with a lot of golfers’ core training stems from not understanding the anatomy and function of the core, and not utilizing proper progression strategies to actually improve core function over time. Static exercises like planks and side planks are great, but doing them for ever-increasing lengths of time in the name of progression invites fatigue and loses many of the benefits of the exercise with regard to muscle activation and spinal control. Hyper specific “core” exercises that mimic the golf swing may have a place, but if you don’t posses the segmental stabilization to execute them in the first place they aren’t going to do anything for you, and may even leave you worse off.
With that in mind, this article will be presenting the rules of core training I have developed and used with all the golfers I train. Live by these when training your core and you will move better (we need proximal stability to demonstrate distal mobility, so yes training your core can make you more flexible!), keep your spine healthier and generate more club head speed.
New Rule No. 1: Train the function of the core, not the anatomy, for back health and performance.
The muscles of the core and lumbopelvic hip complex work in tandem to protect the spine, particularly your lumbar spine, which isn’t actually designed to move all that much. Most notably, these areas protect your spine during movements in the form of anti-rotation, anti-flexion and anti-extension.
Of course, we don’t want to avoid moving into rotation, flexion and extension at all costs during our daily lives or the golf swing. That’s not my point. However, spinal injury has been linked to the number of these moments we do so it make sense to:
- Not increase that number in the gym (particularly by doing sit-ups or crunches).
- Train to be strong in resisting these movements, which will reduce injury potential.
The work done by Dr. Stuart McGill proves this. By performing core training exercises that force your trunk and spine into excessive flexion (i.e., crunches and sit-ups), the facet joints and vertebral discs within your vertebral column take a beating. The same can be said for excessive extension.
The standard front plank is a great anti-extension exercise, but you have to do it right. The aim of a plank should be to teach the core musculature to hold the spine in neutral posture where the spine, hips, and legs are linear, not arched or drooping. Common compensations are shrugging the ribs up, shrugging the hips up, rolling the shoulders or hips forward, or pretty much anything that’s not neutral.
A good front plank should make your glutes incredibly tired from forcibly making them contract so that your hip flexors stretch and the abs bite down harder. For most, this will also encourage a slightly posteriorly tilted pelvis to prevent them from setting up with hips low and anterior pelvic tilt.
New Rule No. 2: Earn the right to rotate
Power lives in the transverse plane. If you want to unleash strength, power and force, you must harness control of rotation. The keyword here is control: concentric and eccentric control. To put it another way, rotational stability ensures rotational forces can transfer effectively, which reduces energy leaks that slow down your swing.
As research from the aforementioned Stuart Mcgill shows, no core muscle has a primary vector for trunk rotation. Trunk rotation, and resisting it, make use of a blend of all core muscles. The abdominal obliques are primary drivers of torso rotation and anti-rotation, along with deep stabilizer muscles in the back. When you want to rotate to the right, you engage the left external oblique and the right internal oblique. Rotation to the left uses the right external oblique and the left internal oblique. They work as functional pairs.
As you know, the torso connects to the rest of the body (arms and legs), so you have cross-body connections from the gluteus maximus to the opposite side latissimus to generate force transmission on the posterior chain. This force transmission system is known as the posterior oblique subsystem and is a primary reason you can move your arms and legs together. This movement pattern sling is crucial to stabilization. Stability always precedes force production. When it doesn’t, you have decreased performance and become more vulnerable to injury.
Variations like Pallof presses and chops are obviously great for this, however, single-arm presses and pulls do not rate highly in this regard. Utilizing half- and tall-kneeling positions are also great for dialing in that neutral pelvic and spine position so important for efficient power transfer. One of my favorites to tap into anti-rotation and the posterior chain connection is the tall-kneeling, single-arm cable pull.
New Rule No. 3: Master your breathing
Credit to Dean Somerset for putting me on to the importance of breathing techniques in both core work and performance.
A go-to response for many when doing core exercise is to hold their breath. While this isn’t a bad response per se, especially if they’re trying to use a valsalva to increase spinal stability during a movement like a deadlift, not being able to inhale and exhale in pace with an exercise can actually reduce the effectiveness of a core intensive exercise.
Additionally, the speed of breathing can dictate whether a movement is more of a relaxation or mobility movement, or whether the goal is speed and reactive capability development. For core control and stability exercises (planks, side planks, dead-bugs, etc.), you must do the exercises 5 times with 3-5 second inhalations and 3-5 second exhalations rather than simply holding the position for 20 or 30 seconds. Try it. The difference will amaze you.
For speed and power work (see Rule 4), inhales are best with more of a sniffing action. When we inhale in quickly and with some development of negative pressure through the ribs and abdomen, we need to exhale forcefully and quickly. This short, sharp exhale causes the abdominal muscles to brace very hard and very quickly. This improves stiffness and therefore the efficiency of power transfer through the core.
6 Rules for Core Training – What we think to be true is now a myth.
Try this while you’re reading this article:
Place a hand on your stomach and sniff in quickly through your nose and feel what the abdominal muscles do. Then exhale sharply through pursed lips, like you would if you were throwing a very crisp jab. Did you feel how hard the abs became for the second you inhaled and exhaled? That’s your power center.
To see the rest of these important core training rules, go here!
Source : Nick Buchan Golfwrx
Pictures : Golfwrx
Thanks for reading – 6 Rules for Core Training – What we think to be true is now a myth. Hope you learned as much as I did.
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