One of the biggest and most misunderstood concepts I hear people refer to when it comes to exercise is none other than the concept of core. People are always saying that "you need to strengthen your core" or "I have a pretty nice core". When you ask one of these individuals to describe what the core is I generally hear a few muscles get tossed out; abs, obliques, low back and perhaps the occasional transverse abdominis(TVA). Although those muscles are indeed a part of the core, it goes far beyond just what you read about in a magazine or the common conception of what the core really is all about.
The core is actually a common word we trainers use to describe a massive collection of muscles, joints, spinal vertebrae and even fascia(connective tissue that covers muscle). This collection is called the Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip complex (LPHC). This complex has an argued 29 plus muscles in addition to the lumbar spine, and the pelvic girdle
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| The core is a lot more complex then what you usually see here. |
Ever hear the term center of gravity? Well this core or LPHC is exactly where all that occurs and is responsible for the origin of movement itself, not too mention balance and proper movement of the kinetic chain (or fluid body movement in simple terms, this will have to wait for it's own post). The core offers spinal and postural stability as well as acting as a buffer of sorts between the relationship of force in the upper and lower body and finally, of course, offers proper movement of both upper and lower body functions. As I have discussed before, the body is a functional team that works at it's most efficient when all the muscles, joints and so on are activating properly. Though they work well as a team, they all have different jobs and different functions and you can imagine with so many muscles in this LPH complex there is a lot that can go wrong if one or more are not working properly.
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| A lot more makes up the LPHC than you might think |
When we experience low back/hip tightness and/or pain or perhaps tightness in the hamstrings and even upper back this can be an early sign that one or more components of the LPHC is not functioning at it's most efficient. When trainers perform assessments on an individual, they are looking for misalignments and imbalances that can help us distinguish which area of the LPHC needs the most attention in order to "put you back together" if you will. The importance of core training goes far beyond having a tight midsection or hard abs, it's very existence can either aid or hinder the most basic movements in our day and a lot can go wrong in a short period of time. Integrating multi-planer (although the core almost always activates in multiple planes in the process of stabilization and functional motions) movements is a great way to keep this complex running full steam ahead and although the occasional crunch isn't the worst idea from time to time, keeping the LPHC active during a workout is always a great idea. Performing exercises for each individual muscle in the core would take a long time and as I said, it's not a bad idea to do such from time to time on the larger muscles, you must also perform other actions to either; strengthen a particular muscle group or perhaps decrease the amount a particular muscle activates during movements to allow the others in the LPHC to function properly. So the next time you hear the term "core" be sure to take a moment and appreciate the complexity of it and how important it is for more than just great looking abs and balance.
Below I have listed the majority of the muscles in the LPHC, which should have a separate post, but this is not a college course so the information is here because I love to give it and hope you will learn a little more. Now do you think a crunch and an oblique twist will work the complete core?
Transverse Abdominis
Internal Oblique
External Oblique
Rectus Abdominis
Diaphragm
Multifidus
Quadratus Lumborum
Psoas Major
Gluteus Medius
Adductor Longus
Adductor Magnus
Adductor Brevis
Gracilis
Pectineus
Latissimus Dorsi
Quadriceps
Hamstrings
Groups of muscles in which contain some from the list above, but I didn't want to list every little one of them so I put them in their respected groups.
Hip Flexors
Pelvic Floor Muscles
These muscles have been argued to be a part of the LPHC, although some organizations do not recognize them. I see the argument for their involvement and support them to a degree.
Erector Spinae
Iliotibial Band (IT band)
Gluteus Maximus
Gluteus Minimus
Gastrocnemius
Soleus
Sartorius
Internal Intercostal
External Intercostal
Thoracolumbar Fascia
Thanks for reading !
"No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they'd die for" - Martin Luther King Jr.
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