“I want to increase my core strength”, I frequently hear from clients. The question I inevitably ask is “why?” The answers are typically either “because it looks good” or “it will help me reduce my back pain.”

Good answers. A+ answers, in fact… Not. There are a lot of misconceptions about what the “core” actually is, and what it does. We’ll clarify those misconceptions in this article.

Myth #1: The Core is Just Your Abdominal Muscles 

The core is really everything from your pelvic muscles all the way up to your diaphragm. In the front, yes, it’s that 6-pack muscle (called “rectus abdominis”, which by the way is just a single muscle, not 6 muscles), but it’s also a few others (for the geeks, it includes the transversus abdominis, internal oblique, and external oblique). In the back, it’s your spinal extensors (those cord-like muscles running along the spine), and the quadratus lumborum (the muscles connecting the ribs to the hips).

Original source: here.

            So no more talking about the “core” and referring only to the abs. To someone who knows what the core really is, you sound like a try-hard pretender. Stop that.

Myth #2: If I Have Good Core Strength, I’ll Have a Flat Stomach or 6-Pack Abs 

False again, bubba. How lean your stomach is has much more to do with your nutrition than with the strength of your abdominals.

You can have relatively weak abdominals, and have a 6-pack. Case in point: cocaine and heroin addicts. Great abs. Not much strength.

You can also have extremely strong abdominals, and have no visible abdominals. Case in point: the heavyweights in weightlifting and powerlifting. Vasily Alexeyev, considered the most successful weightlifting champ of all time (broke 81 records) didn’t have a hint of abdominal definition. But managed to lift over 500 lbs. above his head. Take a look at his abs. Use your X-ray vision.

And take a look at Fedor Emelianenko, widely considered one of the best combat athletes of all time. Does he look like a cold-blooded killer? No. More like the Michelin man, or the Pillsbury Dough Boy. But does he have strong abs? You bet!

Myth #3: A Strong Core Helps Prevent and Reduce Lower Back Pain 

As with anything, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to lower back pain. There are a million reasons for lower back pain, so you have to assess the cause of each person’s individual lower back pain. Ten people with lower back pain can follow the exact same exercise routine for lower back pain, and 4 may get better, 4 will be unchanged, and 2 will actually get worse. Hence, the importance of assessment. And if you want your own core assessed, and a program designed for your body specifically, you can see if you qualify to work with us by filling out this 2-minute questionnaire.

Yes, good core strength is a prerequisite for lower back health. But what if you already have lower back pain, and your core is already strong? Then you have to look at other causes of lower back pain.

The most common mechanical causes of lower back pain are:

  • Lack of endurance in the core.
  • Lack of mobility in the hips
  • Lack of mobility in the mid-back (thoracic spine)
  • Lack of strength and activation in the glutes (your butt muscles)

Those are just the mechanical causes. There are also biochemical and neurological causes, and to have a complete picture of lower back issues, you need to address everything.

And by the way, if you do have lower back pain, and your core is strong, how would you know it? According to Dr. Stuart McGill, the world’s foremost researcher on lower back pain, you need to be able to hold a plank for 2 minutes, a side plank for 90 seconds, and a back extension for 3 minutes. If you can hit those marks and you still have lower back pain, core strength is not the issue. Look elsewhere. If you can’t hit those marks, then yes, core strength is an issue, and it may or may not have additional factors to go along with it. You’d have to assess that on a case-by-case basis.