Muscles in Balance

It is no mistake or coincidence that the Tan t'ien, the source of the body's energy in Eastern meditation as well as martial arts, is located in the body's core (three finger widths below and two finger widths deep to the navel). The core is the center of our body's strength, the "powerhouse" and foundation for all of our movements. The muscles that comprise the core, which span the lumbar spine, pelvis and hips, must be strong and work functionally with the rest of our bodies to transfer force through our legs to our shoulders in a squat or deadlift, through our feet into our hands in an overhead press, or through our lats into our arms in a pull-up. Without strong and functional core musculature, you simply cannot expect to lift heavy and safely.

However, weight training is only one aspect of the use of our core muscles. The core is the source of a powerful swing of the bat in baseball, a knockout uppercut in boxing, or a cross-court pass in basketball. The core stabilizes our spine and prevents dangerous shearing forces from causing damage to the joints of our vertebrae, helping to keep our backs healthy and pain free.

Ironically, the muscle that we think of first when we hear the term "core training," the rectus abdominis (your six pack...or keg, depending on your diet!), really serves very little importance when it comes to stabilizing the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex. The deeper muscles, such as the transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, quadratus lumborum, and the muscles of the pelvic floor do all of the work 'behind the scenes' while the rectus abdominis gets all of the press and photo opportunities.

Besides the external obliques, the muscles of the core are often an afterthought in most weightlifter's routines (or not even a thought at all if they're not familiar with basic functional anatomy!). Lucky for us that our bodies are smarter than we are: by using the compound lifts as the majority of our exercise selections (squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, pushups, etc), our core muscles will be active with every rep, developing and improving along with the rest of our lifts throughout the course of our workouts. This isn't to say that you shouldn't worry about core training as long as you're squatting, either; rather, you should choose your additional core work with care to compliment the functional role that these muscles already play in your daily activities as well as your gym work.

So skip the sit-ups and ditch the crunches: they were never going to do much for you anyway (abdominal definition has far more to do with body fat levels than it does with endless amounts of crunches and leg lifts. Don't believe me? Have a look at some of my clients' results: I guarantee you that they have never performed a single crunch while working with me!). Instead, fill your accessory core work with a healthy dose of side bridges, overhead squats and rotational work...

...Or you can just do what this guy does:



As you can see, the muscles of our core work together so that the rest of our muscles can work together too. They are the foundation that our Body Temple is built on, like the chassis of a car or the roots of a tree. So whether you're a breakdancer or a martial artist, never forget that your power stems from your Tan t'ien.

-Jonathan