There's More to Your Core...

Building a strong core improves performance in strength training and sport, supports good posture, and prevents injury. But what does it mean to have a strong core?

What's a Core?

For starters, the core is more than the abdominal wall. A defined 6-pack is an admirable goal, but when building core strength, it is more helpful to think of the lumbo-pelvic -hip complex as a whole, instead of just the abdominals.

The LPHC

The lumbo-pelvic-hip complex (LPHC) refers to the muscles surrounding the lumbar spine, pelvis, and hips that connect the upper body and lower body. These 29 to 35 muscles allow the upper and lower extremities to function and provide a base of stability for daily activity as well as athletic training. When implementing a strength training program that develops the core, it can be useful to think of the LPHC slightly more simplistically by training the abdominals (transverse abdominus, rectus abdominus, and obliques), glutes (maximus and medius), the gait stabilzers (adductor and abductor muscles), and the low back (latisimus dorsi and multifidus).

Conceptualizing the Simplified LPHC

Now we have some muscular equations to build a strong core:

Strong Core = Strong Abdominals + Strong Glutes + Strong Gait Stabilizers + Strong Back

Strong Abdominals = Strong Transverse Abdominus + Strong Rectus Abdominus + Strong Obliques

Strong Glutes = Strong Gluteus Maximus + Gluteus Medius

Strong Gait Stabilizers = Strong Abductors + Strong Adductors

Strong (Low) Back = Strong Latisumus Dorsi + Strong Multifidus

In Sum

This article provides a large generalization of a complex group of muscles., To build a strong core, the abdominals are important, but it is alwo important to develop the glutes, outer thighs/outer glutes, inner thighs, and back. There's more to core than abs, so let's get to work on the LPHC!

Sources

1. Corrective Strategies for Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip Impairments - NASM (Chapter 14, online pdf)