Core Training. One of the most important component of a training program.  We all include in our program exercises like planks, rollouts, knee tucks, rotation/anti-rotation exercises to work the core in all possible ways. 

But what happens when you perform these exercises with high loads or you go to failure on them?

You overload the rectus abdominis, external obliques and in some cases the lumbar erectors. 

But isn’t that the whole purpose of core training?

The answer is, in part.  The rectus abdominis, external and internal obliques as well as the lumbar erectors are part of what we call the outer core.  The thing is there is also an inner core.  The inner core is a term I learned from Dr. Perry Nickelston and it is used to describe the core muscle group formed by the diaphragm, the pelvic floor, the multifidus and the transverse abdominis (TVA).

The inner core is responsible for the muscle activation that support respiration and segmental stability at the lumbar spine.  When these muscles are not properly activated, more stress is applied to the outer core muscles to stabilize the spine and this can further lead to back pain.

So how do we train the inner core?

First of all, the inner core needs some low load exercises to activate properly without having the stronger, more dominant outer core muscles compensating if the load is too heavy.  The inner core is also easily activated by squeezing something between your knees or by reaching overhead with your arms.  With that in mind, I am currently using a variation of the dead bug series that combine both activation patterns of the inner core muscles. 

When performing this exercise, you should focus on keeping your belly thight the whole time, crushing the ball with both knees and you should avoid arching with you lower back as you reach overhead (you want to keep a slight natural arch in your back though).

I’ve had great results from implementing this movement in my own training program.  I still need to play around a little more with these inner core activation exercises, as I’m just starting to understand their true function.  I do believe that inner core training is a good complement to any core training program.

Dr. Nickelston also wrote a very interesting blog post on Carson Boddicker’s website about the inner core where he demonstrates 2 simple progressions of exercises that  work on activating the inner core.  You should definitely check it out HERE.