Absolute Beginners Guide To The Core

The Core is THE most important region of the body and for most of us we don’t really know what it does or why it’s even essential.
The core is the foundation for your movements each and every day. It allows mobility of the upper & lower body, ( sitting and standing up)directing power to your limbs (running, lifting and pushing) & stabilising your ribcage, spine and pelvis as we move about. There is not a movement that doesn’t engage the core. The core also protects us against the stress of those daily movements & any external force exerted on them. (sports and activities like boxing where impact on the bag for example requires the body to stabilise, brace & create motion with power)

Strong core muscles generate the strength, stability & mobility needed to carry out every day activities:

• like carrying bags of groceries,

• walking up stairs,

• getting in the car and bending to pickup objects , turning & lifting them up onto shelves.

CORE TRAINING FOCUSES ON 3 AREAS

Core Mobility / Core Stability / Core Strength

#1 CORE MOBILITY

This is the movement of your spine and hips. There are 5 movement patterns involved. Isometric / flexion / extension/ side flexion & rotation

• Core mobility encourages natural range of movement and increases flexibility

• Promotes relaxation and tension relief

• Aligns the body and improves posture

• Improves muscle activation

• Increases stability and strength

• Decreases the risk of pain and injury

MOBILITY MOVEMENTS

• Rollups from lying on back into sitting position/ Hip rolls – dropping knees from side to side / Wood chopper diagonal, cross body movement / back extension

CORE STABILITY FOR BOXING

• Good core mobility ensures your body will move with fluidity and flexibility during your boxing training. Without good mobility, muscles become overused in some areas and under used in other areas eventually causing injury.

• Core mobility allows mobility for greater height and hip rotation in kicks, shoulder mobility to perform conditioning exercises like push-ups and skipping

• ensures balance for the upper and lower torso and limbs and creates a solid base to generate power from with both kicks and punchwork.

#2 CORE STABILITY

Is your body’s ability to be able to control the position and movement of your trunk to improve posture and efficiency of arm and leg movement. Core stability training targets the deeper muscles of your core, hips and spine to create a base for support. There are 3 main muscles in use here: Multifidius, Transverse Abdominis and Pelvic Floor.

Let’s make it easy to understand… Imagine a cylinder as your lower torso – transverse at the front, multifidius at the back and the pelvic floor as the base.

During most types of movements these three are in action to stabilise your lumbar spine ( lifting, bending, sitting, twisting walking running and jumping) while the glutes and quads work to stabilise the pelvis.

Have you ever had lower back issues? Back issues can occur when one or all these muscles are not stable or strong.

• Core Stability improves posture

• Resists unwanted spinal movement

• Provides stability and support for daily activities

• Helps improve limb movement

• Improves sports performance

Stability Movements

• Bird dog / Plank / Bridge/ Toe taps / Leg Circles

CORE STABILITY FOR BOXING

• Improves the precision of your punches

• Allows you to improve your kick height and power

• Increases the speed of punches with better transfer of force from the hand to the bag.

#3 CORE STRENGTH

Good Core Strength means you’re able to perform more challenging physical tasks / movements that demand good form and control. The key here is to remember that core connection -a foundational movement found in our Stronger To The Core Guide , and core stability are required first before building on strength. Going straight to core strength exercises without any core connection can weaken the core and have the opposite result.

This is important because building core strength requires you to push your core muscles beyond their normal demands or by holding positions to build endurance strength- remember the greater the force applied the greater amount of core muscle engagement required - If you do not have the mobility and stability of the core region and associated muscles it is easy to weaken the lower back and cause other muscles to over compensate in the movements.

• Core strength enhances your all round body strength and function

• Allows you to perform daily tasks easily

• Improves balance and stability

• Increases speed and agility

• Helps increase power of your movements

• Improves sporting performance

• Creates lean muscle tone

Strengthening Movements

• V -sit and leg raises/ adding equipment like weights / med balls & fitball to movements exercises

CORE STRENGTH IN BOXING

• Improves your training endurance.

• Muscles tire less quickly and are more efficient

• Able to increase the training intensity, adding in further challenging options and equipment

Isn’t the CORE an amazing piece of machinery! Without it, we simply could not exist. There are many articles and exercises that talk about better abs and having a stronger core - but very few address WHY we need a stronger core or better abs. We hope this article has given you some insight in to the powerful benefits of working this amazing muscle group.

Remember to stay connected to your core in all your movements - especially during your boxing classes. The more demand you place on your core, the more attention you should be paying to it in training. Listen out for your coach giving you the cue to GET READY… this is your cue to zip up your core, relax your shoulders & brace through your torso transferring your weight easily from one side of your body to the other as you punch!

Have you read our article on The Benefits Of Boxing Yet?