Getting to the core of your core!

When it comes to improving your performance in fitness or in sport, your core strength plays a vital role. Whether you're trying to lift heavier, run faster, gain more control in your yoga/Pilates practice or improve your sporting performance, good core strength will provide the stability required for improved control, speed and power. 

So what exactly is core stability? We tend to think of it as being our abdominal strength but it is, in fact, much more than this. Core stability can be defined as the ability to maintain control of the position of the pelvis, spine, shoulders and head, in order to provide a stable (but not necessarily still) base of support from which efficient movement can be generated. Core stability is a dynamic process; it allows quality movement to be performed with control and fluidity, whilst also ensuring any unwanted movement is avoided. What does this mean? Well, if you want to master

When considering effective core stability we should look at two very important factors; the abdominal muscles that make up the core and the use of breathing in the dynamic process of core stability.

Here comes the anatomical bit (the inner anatomy geek in me has to come out sometimes). So what exactly makes up the muscles of the core? It's easy to think of the core as being just one set of abdominal muscles. Well, would you be surprised to know that your core is actually made up of four different abdominal muscles, the muscles of the back, the diaphragm and the muscles of the pelvic floor (yes your core stability has a floor!)?  

The four abdominal muscles are the rectus abdominis (the 'six pack' at the front of the body) the internal and external obliques (the 'side abs') and the transverse abdominis (the deeper ab that lies close to the spine). So why do we have four different abdominal muscles? Well the first three mentioned help us primarily with bending forward or twisting from side to side. They can also assist in helping to stabilise the spine when performing movements with the extremities but the primary abdominal muscle tasked with controlling the spine is probably the least well known and the most misunderstood. The transverse abdominis is the deepest of the abdominals. Because of it's unique alignment (it is positioned side to aside as opposed to the others which are positioned in more of an up and down direction) and because it is the only abdominal muscle to have a direct attachment to the spine itself, it acts as the body's internal corset by pulling the abdominal contents in closer the spine while simultaneously drawing tension through the back to help stabilise the back when performing strenuous movements. Simply put, this deeper abdominal muscle is your muscular corset of strength!

So now to breathing. Breathing and the muscles involved in the breathing process directly impact upon core stability due to the effect that the functional use of breath has on thoracic and abdominal cavity pressure (basically the pressure within your thorax). The diaphragm, the most important muscle for breathing, which separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity, is responsible for increasing intra-abdominal pressure, which is required for stability.

During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and lowers towards the abdominal cavity. It moves down very little but does so over a large surface area which, in turn, increases the volume of the thoracic cavity. The thoracic cavity volume increases further as the inhalation continues, the diaphragm continues to contract and the central tendon prevents it from lowering any further which, in turn, forces the lower ribcage to expand upwards and outwards. The increased thoracic cavity volume causes a drop in intra-abdominal pressure (so long as the tone of the abdominals is maintained).

During exhalation, the the diaphragm and other associated muscles begin to relax and the diaphragm moves upwards. The clavicles, sternum and ribs drop with the pull of gravity, further facilitated by contraction of the intercostal muscles and the recoiling of the lungs and the tissue which line the thoracic cavity. The result is a decreased thoracic cavity volume (which expels air from the lungs) and an increase in intra-abdominal pressure.

During exhalation, air can be further expelled from the lungs by contraction of the abdominals, particularly the transversus abdominis, the internal and the external obliques. The engagement of the abdominals facilitate the active exhalation process and breathing out can, therefore, be used to assist connection to the stabilisation process 
(basically when you breathe out there is a natural/anatomical increase in core stability!). To activate your core stability, the visual of the hollowing/drawing of the 'navel back to the spine' during an exhalation can, therefore, be an effective technique for teaching the use of deep abdominals for core stability. However, it should be noted that, functionally, this stability needs to be maintained during inhalation and exhalation as core stability is a dynamic process.

In addition to the transversus abdominals and the internal and external obliques, the rectus abdominis also directly influences the maintenance of intra-abdominal pressure for core stability. Rectus is the primary flexor of the lumbar and thoracic spine and, in addition to both sets of obliques, is also responsible for providing an antagonistic (opposing) stability role against the movement of extension of the lumbar and thoracic spine (basically the rectus abdominis provides stability during a backwards bending/extension). The obliques also provide an antagonistic (opposing) stability role against the movements of lumbar and thoracic rotation and lateral flexion.

Now for the pelvic floor (urgh never a comfortable subject I know!)! These collective group of muscles and connective tissues that make up the base of the abdominal cavity, play an important role in core stability. The pelvic floor act with the thoracic diaphragm and the abdominals to maintain the intra-abdominal pressure during exhalation. You can think of your pelvic floor literally as the floor of you core!

​Anatomical talk aside, hopefully this post has made you realise that there really is a lot more to your core! Next time you're about to tense your abs to stabilise your movement, instead try taking a deep breadth in and, as you breathe out, draw your 'naval back to spine'. Switch on that natural corset of muscular strength!
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