Introduction: When most people think of core training, they picture exercises like crunches, planks, or leg raises. While these exercises are certainly effective for strengthening the core, there are other powerful movements that engage your core without specifically targeting it. These exercises are known as indirect core training, and they not only build a stronger core but also improve overall strength, balance, and functionality. In this blog post, we’ll explore five effective exercises that indirectly strengthen your core and discuss the principles of core strength training.
What is Core Strength Training?
Core strength training refers to exercises that strengthen the muscles that make up your core: the abdominals, obliques, lower back, and pelvic floor. These muscles provide stability, balance, and power for nearly every movement your body makes.
While traditional core exercises like crunches and planks are great for isolating these muscles, core strength can also be developed through compound and functional movements that challenge your core indirectly. By engaging your core throughout various dynamic movements, you build stability and strength that translates to better performance in other exercises and everyday activities.
5 Indirect Core Exercises That Strengthen Your Core
- Deadlifts
How It Works: Deadlifts are a full-body movement that challenges your posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, and lower back), but your core is heavily engaged throughout the lift. The need to stabilize your spine and maintain a neutral back position as you lift forces your core to work overtime.
Why It’s Great for Core Strength: By lifting heavy weights while maintaining proper posture and control, you develop deep core stability, which carries over into other functional movements. It’s also a key exercise for overall strength and power.
How to Perform:
- Stand with feet hip-width apart, barbell in front of your shins.
- Grip the barbell with both hands, keeping your back flat and chest upright.
- Push your hips back, not down, to lift the bar by extending your hips and knees simultaneously.
- Return the bar to the ground with control, keeping your core tight the whole time.
- Kettlebell Swings
How It Works: Kettlebell swings are a dynamic movement that strengthens the posterior chain and involves explosive hip extension. The core plays a critical role in stabilizing the body throughout the movement, particularly in the hinging motion.
Why It’s Great for Core Strength: Kettlebell swings engage the entire core, especially the lower back and obliques, as you explode through your hips and maintain control of the kettlebell. It’s an excellent exercise for developing power, endurance, and core stability.
How to Perform:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell with both hands in front of you.
- Hinge at the hips and swing the kettlebell between your legs, keeping your back flat and core engaged.
- Explosively thrust your hips forward to swing the kettlebell to chest height.
- Let the kettlebell swing back down and repeat.
- Farmer’s Walk
How It Works: The farmer’s walk is a simple but incredibly effective movement for building grip strength and core stability. When you carry heavy weights in both hands, your core must engage to prevent your torso from twisting or collapsing under the load.
Why It’s Great for Core Strength: As you walk while holding weights, your core has to stabilize your spine and prevent lateral flexion, keeping your posture upright and strong. This dynamic stabilization helps to build deep core muscles that support everyday activities like lifting and bending.
How to Perform:
- Stand with a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand, arms fully extended by your sides.
- Stand tall with your shoulders back and core engaged.
- Walk forward in a straight line for a set distance or time while maintaining good posture.
- Overhead Press (Barbell or Dumbbell)
How It Works: The overhead press is a compound upper-body movement that targets the shoulders, triceps, and upper chest. However, to stabilize the weight overhead, your core must engage to prevent your spine from arching excessively or collapsing under the load.
Why It’s Great for Core Strength: As you press weight overhead, your core muscles activate to keep your torso stable, especially your lower back and abdominals. This indirect core engagement strengthens the entire midsection while building upper body strength.
How to Perform:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding the barbell or dumbbells at shoulder height.
- Press the weight overhead while keeping your core tight and your lower back neutral.
- Lower the weight back to shoulder height and repeat.
- Lunges (Walking or Stationary)
How It Works: Lunges primarily target the legs, specifically the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. However, as you step forward or backward, your core muscles must work to maintain balance and stability, especially during the lowering phase of the movement.
Why It’s Great for Core Strength: Lunges require anti-rotational and anti-flexion stability, as your core must resist twisting or collapsing when stepping forward and backward. This makes lunges an excellent exercise for strengthening both the lower body and core at the same time.
How to Perform:
- Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
- Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at 90-degree angles.
- Push off the front foot to return to the starting position, and repeat on the other side.
The Principle of Core Strengthening
Core strength is not just about doing endless crunches and holding planks. True core strength comes from building stability and control through a variety of movements. The principle of core strengthening involves activating the muscles that stabilize the spine and pelvis, such as the transverse abdominis, obliques, and erector spinae. These muscles are responsible for maintaining posture, balance, and overall functionality.
To truly strengthen the core, it’s essential to perform exercises that challenge your body’s ability to stabilize during dynamic movements. Indirect core training exercises like deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and farmer’s walks teach your body to engage the core in real-world, functional movements, which are far more beneficial than isolating the core in static exercises.
Conclusion:
Incorporating indirect core training into your fitness routine can lead to more effective and functional core strength. By performing compound movements that require core engagement for stabilization, you’ll not only improve your core strength but also enhance your overall performance and prevent injuries. Give these exercises a try at White Lion Strong Gym and feel the difference in your workouts.
References:
- Cressey, E., & Robertson, M. (2007). Maximum Strength: Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program. Hachette Book Group.
- Escamilla, R. F., et al. (2009). “Core Muscular Activation during Abdominal Exercises.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 23(6), 1768-1773.
- McGill, S. M. (2010). Core Training: Evidence Translating to Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement. Sports Science Exchange, 23(4), 1-8.
- Wegmann, A., & Schmidtbleicher, D. (2017). “Training the Core for Functional Performance.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(12), 3201-3208.
