EC or MR: Core Stability

[trigwu]

In between my build cycles I have a recovery week. Cutting down from two-a-days to singles leaves a gap of time I like to dedicate to prehab.

I am looking for a decent core stability program, any suggestions?

Additional recovery advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[bigpump23]

i’d be interested as well

[Mike_Robertson]

Fellas,

Try one of the programs I outlined here:

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459822

Stay strong
MR

[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
i’d be interested as well[/quote]

[Eric_Cressey]

Truthfully, I wouldn’t consider core stability to be prehab in nature. Mike did a great job in “21st Century Core Training” when he outlined all the different functions to which you need to devote attention.

Moreover, it really depends how you define the core. From my thesis lit review:

The term ?core? has become increasingly popular in recent years. Core strength training, which refers to programming designed to enhance the ?muscular control required around the lumbar spine to maintain functional stability,? has been endorsed as providing injury prevention and rehabilitation as well as performance enhancement (Akuthota 2004). Broadly defined, the core is the torso, or center of the body, which serves as a link to allow force transference between the upper and lower limbs (Bliss 2005). More specifically, the core may be defined as a box, consisting of the diaphragm as the roof, pelvic floor and hip musculature as the base, abdominals as the front, and paraspinals and gluteals as the back (Akuthota 2004).

Now, lunges hit the gluteals very hard, but they aren’t traditionally perceived as a core movement. It comes down to isolating specific weaknesses and then systematically selecting how to correct them. If it’s stabilization, then maybe you need to just focus on prone and side bridges. Or, perhaps your problems are flexibility related, or you just need to practice glute-activation.

[Mike_Robertson]

Going w/what EC said:

I was talking to my PT buddy Bob about 2 weeks ago, and we got to talking about low back pain. He said that he’s heard a few prominent PT’s, strength coaches, etc. say that one of the surest remedies to getting rid of low back pain is to “get a butt.” What he explained was that by strengthening/tightening the posterior fascia which connects the glutes/low back, you can work to injury-proof the low back as well.

Like EC said, the term CORE can mean a lot of things. Going along those same lines, the lats with their connection to the thoracolumbar fascia could be considered a trunk stabilizer as well. Just food for thought…

Stay strong
MR

[trigwu]

You guys know too much.

With that in mind… I’ll pick up the reading.

Thanks guys!

[Mike_Robertson]

Tri,

The sad thing is the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. It’s never-ending…

Stay strong
MR