One of the biggest buzz words in the fitness industry is the core. Training the core has become a crusade for many personal trainers.  The plank exercise has become the torch bearer for these core fanatics. The longer you can hold a plank, the better your core! Core training has also become confused with abdominal training, but the core is much more than just holding a plank for endless minutes or doing multiple sets of crunches.

What is the core and why is it so important to your training? According to the American Council on Exercise, (ACE), the core muscles are the muscles that move, support and stabilize the spine. These muscles help you bend forward, backwards and to the side. The core muscles help you stand up straight, twist to the side and hold your spine stable when you move. Basically, we are talking about the muscles between the sternum and the pubic bone. The core is responsible for helping in many of the movements we do every day as well as providing stability and protection to our spine.

The body works together as a unit and when we focus too much on a specific exercise or area, we can lose balance in our training. Keeping the muscles of the body in balance helps us move better and keeps us safe.

A good program for the core includes exercises to help stabilize the spine like front and side planks, anti-rotation exercises like single-arm carries and full body exercises like the squat and deadlift. Learning to properly brace the abdominals, low back muscles and glutes provide stability and protect the spine. This is especially important during dynamic exercises.

Planks provide stability in a stationary position. Once the basic plank is mastered, you should move to more dynamic versions of the plank like a pushup. A pushup is a moving plank using the resistance of the body.

Twisting and bending exercises should also be part of a good core program. Planks with twists, Romanian deadlifts, (RDL’s), and cable machine crunches are just a few examples.

Don’t make the mistake of confusing the core with just planks or crunches. Use exercises that bend, twist, move, and stabilize the trunk and you will be good to the core!