Core Training 101 - Train for Stability in All 3 Dimensions

Part 1 - Choosing Stability-Based Exercises

As the field of sports performance training continues to advance, workouts are becoming more and more efficient at transferring their benefits to everyday activities. Exercise scientists and innovative trainers are discovering newer and better ways to help people function better in both their sports, and typical human movements.

One critical area that continues to improve rapidly is core training. This is commonly referred to as abdominal (or 'abs') training, but it really involves every muscle located all the way around your lower torso. And this region is linked to the good health and performance of all the muscles of your hips and shoulders, too.

To put it mildly, this is the most important part of anyone's workout. And how you select your exercises makes a world of difference in the results you receive from your overall training.

For those who have not yet converted to a stability-focused core workout routine, and are still clinging to those crunches and sit-ups as the cornerstone of their program, consider this a plea to make the change your body desperately needs.

What fits the criteria of being a core stability exercise? You can use this simple guide to determine whether an exercise does or does not offer a stabilization benefit.

When performing any exercise, pay attention to the positioning of the shoulders and hips. No matter what the drill, if you can draw a straight line from the shoulder to the same-side hip at all times while your core is under tension, then this is a stability exercise.

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Admittedly, this is a major simplification. However, it explains why exercises like crunches, sit-ups, side bends with dumbbells, and twists do nothing to improve stabilization of your midsection. The crunch causes the shoulders to move in front of the hips, the side bend moves them to the left or right, and the commonly performed version of the twist rotates either the shoulders or the hips, but not both together.

All of these exercises do not follow the proper movement patterns that healthy individuals perform in sports, or everyday activities. The body can produce the most force when your midsection has that perfect hip-to-shoulder alignment in every movement imaginable. Any deviation saps much needed power in sports, and puts you in a greater position to be injured.

Two great examples of simple stability-based exercises are the bridge and side bridge (also known as the plank and side plank). Done properly, they both maintain the straight-line position from the hip to the shoulder while using gravity to put a substantial stress on the muscles of the core. This not only builds up the major abdominal muscles, but also forces the smaller stabilizers deep down towards the spine to kick in and do their job. These little guys play a vital role in good posture and many other basic functions, but are not used at all in drills with no stabilization component.

These are just two simple examples of exercises that promote core stability, but there are countless others that offer a host of powerful benefits. Improved core stability will lead to improvements in the health and function of your entire body, not to mention increases in speed, strength and power. Imagine the gains you will realize in your overall health and athletic performance simply by dropping all those exercises that do not offer this incredible package of benefits, and turning to a stability-based mindset.

Part 2 - Focus on 3-Dimensional Core Training

Most of life's activities take place in three-dimensional space. It is simply the way our world works. Humans are capable of creating movement in all three of these directions: forward and back, side-to-side, and rotationally.

There seems to be one place on Earth, however, that is immune to this basic principle of physics - fitness centers.

For some strange reason, the world of strength training has evolved almost entirely into a one-dimensional environment. Almost every popular exercise occurs in what is known as the sagittal plane, where motion happens in a forward and backward manner.

All strength training, regardless of which muscles you are exercising, should match real-life stress patterns. If you live in a 3D world, a quality workout will train you in the same fashion. With respect to how you develop your core, failing to live by this rule is not only a poor approach, but also a potentially dangerous one.

Your core's main job is to resist the forces placed on it while maintaining a stable position. These forces are constantly being created through exercise, athletic skills, or by the regular activities you perform at work and at home. And they are almost always taking place in three dimensions, not just simple forward motion.

Those who wish to improve the function of their midsection cannot leave themselves vulnerable to injury during rotational (transverse plane) and side-to-side (frontal plane) movements. A strong and healthy core must be worked in all three directions regularly.

The frontal and transverse planes often show themselves to be the weakest when we take people through core testing. This has meant that core training for our athletes overemphasizes adding stress in these two directions.

I strongly recommend that if you are on a steady diet of crunches and sit ups, you should scrap them in favor of drills that apply forces in other planes of motion. You must get past the narrow mindset of training only for 6-pack abs, and open up to a much more valuable approach to training.

A side plank, or side bridge, is a great introductory exercise to work your core in the frontal plane. It requires no equipment, and is easy to make more challenging over time. You can increase the amount of time you hold the plank position, or place a weight on your top hip to increase the stabilization forces required to stay in the correct position.

A simple way to add a rotational force is to get in a basic plank, or bridge position. With your midsection braced, or tightened, all the way around, raise one arm off the ground and attempt to keep your hips from rotating. If you can keep your hips level with one arm off the ground, you have successfully resisted a rotational force through your core.

There are many ways to create lateral and rotational stresses on your midsection. Often times, this involves replicating common sports and real-life movements.

Focusing on 3D core training still includes appearance-related benefits, but it can provide so much more than what is traditionally practiced in fitness centers. You will decrease your chance for injury, and notice improvements in strength, speed and power. It is well worth the effort to change up your program.