Think core training is all about crunches and six-packs? What if the real key to a strong, pain-free core is the muscles you can’t see?

Hosts Amy Hudson and Dr. James Fisher dive deep into the science of core strength, bust common myths, and reveal how personal training can help you target the low back and pelvic muscles that truly support your spine, posture, and overall function.

• Today’s episode features hosts Amy Hudson and Dr. James Fisher addressing a listener’s question about the core.
• Dr. Fisher starts his contribution by discussing the origin of the core, as well as where it’s located and why its role is crucial.
• Amy points out that, for many people, “core” is synonymous with abdominals - when, in reality, other muscles, including the back, low back, and pelvic floor, are all part of the core.
• Wondering whether you have weak muscles in your core? If you’ve experienced some degree of low back pain or low back stiffness, then those may be symptoms of a core that needs to be strengthened…
• “One of the most common reasons for non-specific mechanical low back pain, which accounts for about 80% of back pain, is simply weak lumbar muscles,” says Dr. Fisher.
• Furthermore, it’s been shown that strengthening the lumbar muscles can reduce back pain.
• Dr. Fisher explains why the plank isn’t an exercise that can serve as a good assessment of our trunk - or core - muscles.
• Having a weaker core and the challenge of training low back muscles link back to the so-called deconditioning hypothesis - Dr. Fisher unpacks this further.
• Paraphrasing Dr. Fisher, Amy stresses how “It’s not very easy to effectively activate and train and strengthen those muscles in the low back with everyday activities.”
• Dr. Fisher highlights how low back muscles are predominantly type-1 muscle fiber, so they’re not high-force muscles, but rather high-fatigue resistance muscles.
• Dr. Fisher and Amy go through some workout routines that can help strengthen low back muscles (especially the ones you don’t see).
• Working in their laboratories with people with low back pain, Dr. Fisher and his colleagues have seen a 200% strength increase over a 10-week training period.
• Dr. Fisher and Amy talk about why doing a bunch of sit-ups isn’t the right way to obtain six-pack abdominals.

 

 

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Previous episode - Beyond the Gym: The Role of Protein in Personal and Strength Training Success

Previous episode - Evidence-Based Strength Training: Ditching Old Paradigms for Proven Success

 

 

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