Too often a “new” training method or exercise will emerge and everyone will jump on the bandwagon and quickly incorporate the exercise or change to the new training method. The attitude is that if so and so who is the world record holder does it must be good, therefore I will copy it. I call this the monkey see monkey do syndrome. The use of chains in weight training, physioballs in co [...]

A key concept to understand in regard to core function is the “Serape Effect.” This concept was articulated by Logan and McKinney in their book “Kinesiology” over fifty years ago. The serape is a Mexican garment that is draped loosely over the shoulders and is crossed in front of the body. The concept serves to reinforce the concept of the muscles of the core as a connector [...]

The ground is where we live, work and play. It is always there, like gravity, so a goal of training is to learn to use it to our best advantage. The role of the ground in movement is something martial arts practitioners have understood for thousands of years. A Tai Chi instructor summed it up best:Rooted in the feetPowered by the coreReflected by the armsManifested in the handsMovement begins at t [...]

There is an excellent review article in Vol 85, Supplement 1, March 2004 Archives of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation. The title is"Core Strengthening"The authors are Venu Akuthota MD and Scott F. Nadler, DO.To quote from them "... all core muscles are needed for optimal stabilization and performance." I find it very ironic that many experts who preach functional multi joint an [...]

Core training, core stability and core strengthening are terms that you here all the time now. The core has no scientific basis or if there is I cannot find it. Does anyone know where it started? There is even an argument as what constitutes the core. In some ways I wonder what isn't the core? Also what are the optimum ways to train the"core"? [...]