“Core” “Strength”

Is this post going to be snarkier than general? Quite possibly. I assume you’ve noticed that I put both words of the title in their own quotes after all.

The concept of “core strength” gets thrown about a lot in both physical therapy and exercise circles. I don’t like the usage of either term.

I work professionally as a Physical Therapist and Strength Coach. If you are interested in my services you can contact me at: hirsch.sm@gmail.com or thru Trainerize.

What is Core anyways?

This term is one I try not to use because it’s so squishy in it’s meaning. Different people are referring to different muscles when they use this term. Or they place different degrees of importance on specific muscles.

Usages of the term core that I have encountered and sub variations:

The abdominal muscles: internal and external obliques, transverse and rectus
- But with lower emphasis on the rectus
  - Or emphasis on the “lower” abdominals specifically
- Maybe also the pelvic floor muscles
As above but with the muscles of the low back included
- Or with specific emphasis on the small interspinal muscles* to the exclusion of the big erector spinae
- Of course, the latissimus dorsi are not included by most people despite the large action they have for low back stability
Includes hip flexors i.e. the psoas
- But only sometimes including the rectus femoris
Includes glutes, like the medius and maybe minimus
- But usually doesn’t include the maximus

I’m going to use the term core to collectively refer to the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and the transverse abdominis. These muscles ordinarily work in concert to produce everyday functional movements. I do also refer to them as the abdominal muscles.

In conversation between professionals we can just use the names of the relevant muscles. We know those words.

When talking to clients I can see the use of the term core to indicate a vague concept. But as a professional I know I’m just using a mushy term to avoid a longer explanation for my customer.

What kind of strength are we talking about?

Because I only learned about one kind of strength in the course of my two degrees in this field. And that is maximum force production. In exercise science the meaning of strength is literally maximal F=ma. Sure you can differentiate between single muscle strength and the coordinated strength of a multi-joint movement. Or the difference between strength in a real world application versus a gym exercise. But they are all force production.

But if we look at the exercises that are labeled as being good for core “strength” we see a lot of variation in what they are actually doing.

There are exercises like these:

Plank Rotations

Shoulder Taps

Which are a dynamic version of planks, these particular variants actually mostly benefit the shoulders.

There are exercises like these:

Medicine Ball Plank

Which is a stability plank. It’s arbitrarily harder than a regular plank, but not in a way that requires increased force production, it’s a variation that requires increased coordination to meet the stability demand.

Of course, I have video of myself doing these exercises because I feel that they have legitimate use for shoulder stability, which matters given my injury history and sport – historical fencing. But I don’t do them for my “core” or it’s “strength”

Other examples are isolation exercises. These include any of the various transverse abdominis isolation exercises like drawing in your belly button. But isolating a muscle contraction in a way that’s not like any real world usage is not the same thing as strength**.

Then there’s the Sahrman which is labelled as being a strength test or a “stability” test for the abs or core. But really it is just a skill test. (And I put stability in quotes because it’s not clear what’s stable here or what it has to do with any real world application)

I had an instructor straight-faced tell me that everyone starts off with a low rating on the Sahrman test, but that everyone gets better quickly. That’s a skill test then. Not a strength test. Because it takes longer than a few weeks to develop more strength.

We did the Sahrman in class too, so I’ve tried it from the perspective of the client/patient. At the time I was deadlifting over 100% of my bodyweight with no pain. I also started low on this test and got better quickly. It demonstrably did not correlate to any real world issues in my life.

Actual Strength = Force Production

So what does training actual strength of the abdominal muscles means? It means increasing their capacity for force production. We can do this two ways.

Fewer Muscles, Same Resistance

We can reduce the number of muscles involved but use the same resistance, usually our bodyweight. Fewer muscles with the same resistance requires more force from the muscles being used.

This is what’s going on in a one-arm plank, or a one-arm and one-leg plank.

One-arm, One-leg Plank

Same Exercise, More resistance

That’s what’s going on in a weight plank.

Weighted Plank

So this is a regular plank with, in my case, 50 extra pounds, or about +25% resistance.

It doesn’t take exercises like this to have good core strength though. I had not done this exercise in nearly two years when I shot this video. I did mostly basic exercises like bench press, deadlift and variations, squat variations, rows and pullups. If you look at the muscles used for these exercises it is clear that they use the abdominal muscles. And that they use them functionally. And that they are going to be put under high load that develops strength if you do these basic exercises at high load. (I love feeling my bench press in my hip flexors.)

I think strength of the abdominal muscles matters. Just not in the way I normally see it presented in both physical therapy and personal training.

* There’s a debate as to whether these muscles even produce motion instead of just being positional sensors. Compare their leverage and size to the other abdominal muscles.

** Yes, of course, I am familiar with the theoretical underpinning of why TA isolation is thought to be useful, but I’m not going to explain the evidence that shows it is not, in this particular post.

Putting Together the Program

Last week I posted about the basics of a strength training program – Getting Started with Strength Training. It contains the basic elements of what strength training should include. This post is about everything else that goes into putting together the program: warm-up, planning your sessions and progressing the plan.

Warm-up

Exercise should be begin with a warm-up. It’s problematic to jump straight from cold, “I just drove to the gym”, to vigorous exercise. Doing so increases the risk of injury.

What’s not necessary is stretching, in the sense of doing static positions to feel a stretch. Especially for long holds. A brief stretch, if it helps you feel more ready to move isn’t bad.

The Warm-Up is literally named. You should have a light sweat going by the time you are done. Your pulse should be above 100. But it shouldn’t be tiring or difficult either. A light jog, a few minutes on the bike, jump rope, really whatever works for you is fine.

How long this should take depends on the context. It will take longer to warm-up on a cold day outside than it does in a hot gym. A bike ride or jump rope may warm you up a bit faster than a light jog.

Building dynamic stretches into the routine is helpful but not essential. It’s a topic that will be covered later.

Cool Down

Taking some time to cool down after a workout is also helpful. Rather than jumping straight into a cold car. A short walk. Or just doing light exercises as the end or your workout etc.

Building it into the plan

I always encourage folks to build physical activity time into their routine to make it easier to get the recommended amount of activity. This ties into designing a program for yourself because if you can warm-up by walking to the gym and cool down by walking home, then it’s easier to get the workout done in a reasonable amount of time. Or jog, or bike to the gym.

Planning Each Session

Here’s a suggested break down of the exercises in the first post into a 2 day a week plan:

Day 1

Squats
Bench Press
Step-ups – use a box/step platform, not the padded bench, if you’re gym has one
Bent-over row
Planks
Side planks

Day 2

Straight leg deadlift
Pull-ups
Split squat
Overhead press
Planks
Side planks

This is intended to be a basic, easy starter plan. If you feel like it’s not enough you can message me for suggestions or watch for future posts.

Make sure to have a day in-between the workouts.

Progressing the Plan

Week 1 just use 5# weights for everything. It’s supposed to be easy, and the point is to learn the movements. Any movements you’re not sure about feel free to do without weights initially. It’s more important to get the movement right than it is to look impressive at the gym.

When you reach a point where you can do 15 reps at that weight, and feel good about the movement, for all 3 sets, then it’s time to progress. Progress slowly at first add 2.5#. At the low end of weight gyms typically have dumbbells in 2.5 pound increments or even smaller. But you may need to look for some magnetic 1.25# weights and add a pair, depends on the gym.

Once you get around 30# you should start increasing weight in 5# increments.

The progression scheme is for each exercise individually. Which means that keeping track of everything can get awkward.

Record your progress

Bring a notebook. You won’t be alone in doing so. Or use a note taking app on you phone.

Or use the Jefit app. It’s the best app for this purpose that I’ve encountered. (Hahahaha, I don’t get any money from them – just in case you were wondering)

Upping the Intensity

After a month up the intensity. Now aim for 12 reps. Obviously the same weight won’t be a challenge at fewer reps, so up the weight on everything. Not a lot for the first set. See how that first set goes and then bump it up a notch for the 2nd or 3rd set based on how that went.

I’d suggest going up in intensity level at 1 month intervals, as discussed in the last post.

When you reach a month at the 6RM level then it’s time to up your game to some more serious strength training. Which is not today’s post.

What to Expect When You Are Starting

Oh yeah, you are going to be sore. That’s normal. It may take a day, or two, to feel it. It may take a day or two to resolve. That’s all normal too. As you make this a regular routine it will become less of an issue. Pain or discomfort in your muscles is normal. But pain in the joints is not.

You may want to massage the sore muscles. That’ll help them feel less icky but it isn’t magic. You’ll still be sore.

You should take it easy on days you are sore. That means some walking, other light exercise is fine. But don’t go lifting weights.

Conclusion

Good luck, strength training is fun. More fun than a treadmill. But I may be biased.

As always, if you have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask in the comments or email.

Getting Started with Strength Training

(This is an update of a post from my old blog)

This is about getting started with strength training. For those who have little or no experience with the topic.

I firmly believe that just about everybody will benefit from strength training. It has different health benefits from cardio and flexibility training. It is part of the ACSM guidelines for physical activity for adults.

One of the big reasons is that strength training is all about functional activities. I could rename the core exercises of a typical strength training program as:

Picking up heavy things
Carrying heavy things
Carrying heavy things up and down the stairs
Pushing something
Pulling something
Keeping your spine stable

First though, we need to properly define strength training: Strength training is exercises hard enough that you can only do 12 in a row or fewer. Or, with isometric exercises, a position you can only hold for less than 45 seconds.

Otherwise what you are doing is endurance training. Which is not the same thing.

Primarily, it’s not about which exercises you do, but how heavy. Bodyweight squats are an endurance activity for most folks because they can do 15 or 20 or more. But if you did the exact same exercise while holding weights – enough weight that you could not do more than 12 – then the exercise would be strength training instead.

The basic exercises I recommend here are dumbbell exercises. This is because adjustable dumbbells are cheap, readily available and usable at home; alternately they are commonly available an just about any gym. Dumbbells also address a common cause of hesitation in new folks, the concern about the bar, in barbell exercises.

The Exercises

Squats – can also be done with the dumbbells held by the side
- Can also be done with a goblet style hold for lower weights
Split squats
Straight leg deadlifts
- Alternate option, easier to do safely – Hip thrust/bridge with weight (you can start this with dumbbells in your lap. You need to put your back up against something sturdy. I push a chair up against the wall).
Bench press – can be done on the floor, a bench isn’t necessary
Bent-over row
Shoulder/overhead press – do this standing not seated
Pull-ups (a pull-up bar can be gotten that works in almost any apartment and doesn’t require tools to install). Here‘s a primer on doing pull-ups if you can’t yet.
Planks – when you get up to 45 seconds, start adding weight. Put it on the small of your back
Side planks – when you get up to 45 seconds, start adding weight. Put it on your hip
- Start with the bent knee version if necessary

This set covers every major muscle group in the body and works them in all the major planes of motion. So it is very nearly complete.

The amount of weight you are looking for is something that will develop strength, which means higher weights and lower reps.

Start at 12-15 RM – Repetition Maximum – the number that you can do before you cannot do another with good form.

Start easy on the exercises to develop your form. In the long run good form is much more important that increasing weight quickly.

For each week pick an intensity level. Do all of your exercises at that level. Every 4 weeks you can increase the intensity level.

Intensity levels:

15 RM – learning the movement
12 RM – building endurance for the movement
10 RM – building muscle
8 RM – building muscle and strength
6 RM – building strength

I wouldn’t go higher than that without a spotter though.

Do the workout at least twice a week and each session has a rest day in-between another session. So not more than three times per week.

Aim for multiple sets of each exercise. 2-3 sets is a reasonable workout.

But if you only have time to do one of each then start there.

You need to rest between each set to get the most out of it.

12-15RM – rest 60+ sec.
8-12RM – rest 90+ sec.
6-8 RM and heavier – rest 2-4 minutes

You can shorten the rest periods if you alternate exercises between different muscle groups e.g. push/pull or upper/lower. But you’ll still need rest between sets. This sort of plan can be done on “light” days.

For strength training you should also have a “heavy” day where you don’t alternate like this, take appropriate rest periods and do fewer exercises.

Questions? Feel free to ask.

There’s a part II about Putting Together the Program.