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The Importance of Core Strength

An article by Mike Schultz CSCS of Highland Training

Working core strength is essential to the success of any endurance athlete. It is a commonly overlooked part of training that may be the most important part of your program. Your core consists of a large group of muscles. If the muscles within your core become weak while racing or training, your legs will be soon to follow. Core strength can be done with simple easy to perform exercises and without the use of weights or machines.

To understand how important core strength is, stand, lift one knee waist high, to mimic a run stride or a pedal stroke, and feel how your abdominal muscles need to be engaged. If you are a cyclist or a runner, you are completing this action 80-100 times a minute, over many hours, engaging your core on every stride or pedal stroke between both legs. Your core is continuously worked, without even a second of rest, compared to your legs.

Core strength refers to all of the muscles located, front and back of the body, between your upper thighs and hips, to your upper chest and back. Gaining strength within these muscles is very important but it is also important to keep in mind the type of strength you want to gain. If you are an endurance athlete, you need to keep endurance in mind while working core strength. When working core strength for endurance, it is more important to perform many reps or hold poses for longer periods of time. If you were to work your core for a power and speed sport such as football, you would need to incorporate more focus on using weights while working core, and performing shorter durations with more explosive movements.

For endurance athletes, core strength can be worked easily and can be done in any setting, with or without weights. Yoga and Pilates are two great examples of core strength workouts that can be done anywhere. But if you are not into yoga or Pilates, you can work core strength with a few simple exercises. Holding an upper push up position, otherwise known as “plank” position, for one to two minutes is one simple way to incorporate many core muscles. Plank position targets the muscles of the lower and upper back. You can easily move from the upper push up position to a side arm balance by reaching one arm in the air, stacking the feet to one side and supporting yourself with the opposite arm. A side arm balance is a great way to work your oblique muscles or the muscles located within the side of your body under your armpit. Simple leg lifts are another great way to work your abdominal region and can be done with bent or straight legs. You can lay your back flat on the floor, while lifting legs in the air, or balance on your sit bones while holding your legs in the air for as long as you can. Both lying on the floor and balancing on your sit bones will work your abdominal region in a slightly different way. Simply working with these three poses can help you build more core strength over time. But remember to keep focused on the endurance mindset and challenge yourself to work more repetitions or durations to gain more core endurance.

Core work such as yoga or working the exercises listed above is best done twice a week, for most weeks of the year. Rest from strength work is also important to allow for recovery and gains. Strength work, such as core strength work, helps maintain a balanced system, which helps prevent injury. But core strength work also plays a key role in helping improve athletic performance. If you have a stronger core to work with, then you have more potential to work longer and harder on your other body parts, such as your legs!

Mike Schultz CSCS