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 AUGUST 20, 2003 Build a Strong Foundation with Core Fitness Build a skyscraper too near a shoreline and, if the foundation washes away, the building topples. The same principle holds for one of the most basic, but often overlooked, components of fitness. No matter how fit you are on the outside, if your foundation, or core muscles, are weak, your whole musculoskeletal infrastructure could collapse. That's why many people in the fitness industry have shifted their attention to strengthening and stabilizing the muscles you can't see. These are the core muscles in your back, belly, and trunk that you likely take for granted, but that are responsible for your posture and ability to function in everyday life, as well as to maintain fitness and to perform well in sports. Strong core muscles, the deepest muscles in the body, are central to the body's movements, says C.C. Cunningham, a Chicago personal trainer. Focusing on improving core muscles will improve your functional strength, allow you to do everyday activities better, such as walking with a briefcase or picking up a baby, and also help you with the mechanics of fitness activities. "A lot of weak links can be traced back to the core. If your abdominal or back muscles are not strong enough to rotate the trunk, you have to rotate your shoulders or hips more to compensate," says Cunningham. She often sees the problem among women who do Tae Bo and those who play soccer, tennis, and racquetball. Stronger core muscles will give you a more consistent tennis or golf swing, a more powerful swim stroke, and a more efficient paddling stroke for kayaking. More Than Crunches To anchor your core, do more than just plain crunches. Doing them on a Swiss ball, one of those oversized rubber balls found in many health clubs, gets your core in game shape. "Most sports start from an extended position where you lean back and curl up toward the center, such as an overhead or serve in tennis or the back swing in golf," says Cunningham. Typical crunches don't train the abdominal muscles like that. Instead, lie with your back on the ball, feet on the ground, hands locked behind your head, and extend your back down a few degrees toward the ground. Do a set of five crunches, squeezing your abdominal muscles and lifting your torso upward, parallel to the ground. Work toward doing two to three sets of 20. Then do rocking oblique crunches: position the ball in the small of your back, both feet on the ground, hands locked behind your head. Rock onto your hips and bend forward diagonally from the waist (not the chest). Come up on the heels of your feet with toes in the air. Lower and repeat, alternating sides. Do 10 repetitions on each side, adding one each day until you can do 25 a side. |
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