THE CORE. What is, importance and functions.

Hi everyone, I thought it could be interesting to go trough a series of articles extracted from a book I really like and rely almost 90% of the times I need some information about specific type of core training. So, there we go.

WHAT IS THE CORE?

The core is the foundation for your movements, enabling mobility in the upper and lower body, directing power efficiently to your limbs, and stabilising your spine, rib-cage, and pelvis against the stress of those movements, or of external forces exerted upon them.

The core plays a key role in everyday biological functions. It creates internal pressure within the abdominal cavity, holding the internal organs in place, and helping with the expulsion of air from the lungs, and of bodily waste.

The core muscles, in particular the traverse abdominis and pelvic floor, are also active during childbirth.

AN INACTIVE CORE

Modern lifestyles are highly sedentary, meaning certain core muscles may become inactive. If you do not exercise your core muscles regularly, you will lose the ability to engage them instinctively while performing everyday movements such as bending and lifting. When this happens, other muscles may take over from them, which can lead to muscular imbalances (when one muscle is stronger than its opposing muscle) and, possibly, injury in the longer term. A common example of this is poor posture, which can cause imbalance in your hip and buttocks muscles, resulting in lower back pain. Core training helps to improve strength, stability, and mobility, reducing the likelihood of such imbalance developing.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CORE

Your core acts as an axis along which the muscles of the hips, abdomen, and back interact to support ad stabilise the spine, providing a solid base for movement in the legs and arms. It is a key part of your body’s support structure (if you were to strip the spine of all muscle, leaving just bones and ligaments, it would collapse under 9 kg of load. Strong core muscles generate the strength, stability, and mobility needed to carry out everyday activities such as carrying shopping, climbing the stairs, and getting into a car. They also play crucial role in more demanding dynamic sports, helping to transmit increased power and stability, and performance, while also reducing the risk of injury. As a result, core development is a key objective of elite athletes and their coaches.

FUNCTIONS OF THE CORE

Although traditionally associated with the abdomen, the core plays an important role in functions throughout the body:

· Stabilising the thoracic cage and pelvis during movement

· Providing internal pressure for biological functions

· Maintaining the strength, stability, and mobility of the spine

· Providing an axis of power for the kinetic chain

BENEFITS OF CORE TRAINING

A balanced and focused core-training programme can have a positive impact on your physical well-being as a whole. The benefits of core training include:

· Improved posture

· Increased protection and “bracing” of your back

· Greater balance and coordination

· Greater power and speed

THE KINETIC CHAIN

The Kinetic chain is a movement system consisting of myofascial (muscular), articular(joints), and neural (motor) components. Each of these individual elements are dependent on the other for optimum performance, both when the body is moving and when it is stationary but active (for example when you are holding a weight in your arms).

The idea behind the kinetic chain is that every part of your body, including muscles, joints, and nerves must work together to produce movement. It is particularly important to keep this in mind when bending and lifting, exercising, and playing sports to ensure you are using the right muscles in the right way, thus reducing the possibility of muscular imbalance and injury.

Source: CORE STRENGTH TRAINING, DK