Safe, Effective Core Training 101

I see people training their midsection, core, or abs (whichever you prefer) wrong ALL the time!

Now, assuming you’re not a personal trainer or strength coach for a living, then I wouldn’t expect you to know all the ins and outs of training and nutrition – after all, it’s not your area of expertise.  However, what bugs the crap outta me is personal trainers who are teaching incorrect and/or dangerous training techniques to their clients.

Well, as a reader of DrClay.com, you deserve to be taught the RIGHT way, and that’s exactly what I’ll do.

The core (ab) training flaw that I’m referring to is doing rotational movements for the obliques – the muscles in the core that are the sides, as opposed to the abs (rectus abdominus) which are in the middle.

Sure, doing rotational movements do work the obliques and other muscles of the core.  However, they put quite a bit of stress on the intervertebral discs in the spine.  But it’s not really just the rotation that’s dangerous (and bugs me), it’s rotation combined with spinal flexion that is terribly bad for the discs in your spine!

Flexion + Rotation = Disc Herniation

For starters, we now know that you don’t even have to twist or rotate at all to work your obliques.  In fact, evidence points toward he fact that the function of the core (particularly the obliques) is that of anti-rotation, not rotation!  In other words, the real function of your core / obliques is to keep you from rotating.

Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, the single worst thing you can do for the discs in your spine is to flex and rotate at the same time.  As was pounded in every chiropractor’s head in chiropractic school, most disc herniations occur when flexion is coupled with rotation.  And this is made worse under load, which is precisely what I just saw trainers at the gym having their clients do!

To better understand what I’m talking about, click here to watch the Medicine Ball Twist How-to Video elsewhere on the site.  It will demonstrate how to PROPERLY and SAFELY train your obliques, abs, core.

Now that you know how dangerous incorrect core training can be, you’ll understand how hard it is for me to refrain from smacking trainers upside the head and yelling “you idiot” when they teach clients how to herniate a disc while training their core.

OK, enough of my rant…

Dr Clay

PS Spinal flexion is when you round your spine (as when doing a crunch).  Spinal extension is keeping the spine straight or arched.

PPS Please share your thoughts, comments below – especially if you DID smack a trainer upside the head and yell “you idiot!”