What Are the Core Muscles and Its Function
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What Are the Core Muscles
You may have overhead people saying that they need to work on their core, or even seen workouts that claim that you can achieve a solid core, but what are the core muscles? The core muscles are a group of four muscles that are layered on top of one another. These muscles work together to help us perform all of our everyday movements, from maintaining our balance, performing a proper squat and even carrying our groceries in from the car.
The core muscles are a group of muscles. These muscles are the Transverse Abdominis, Internal Oblique. External Oblique and Rectus Abdominis. Each of these muscles are layered on top of each other, with the Transverse Abdominis being the deepest layer, and the Rectus Abdominius being the most superficial layer. When people talk about working on their 6-pack, they are referring to the Rectus Abdominius, the most superficial layer of the core muscles.
What Is the Function of the Core Muscles
While the core muscles all work together to produce movement, they each have their own specific function and action. Click on each muscle below to learn more about their specifics.
Transverse Abdominis
The Transverse Abdominis is the deepest layer of all the core muscles and plays a crucial role in the support and stability of the spine. The Transverse Abdomins wraps around your spine like a cylinder to help keep the abdominal organs in place and aid in maintaining the intra-abdominal pressure while we breathe.
Internal Oblique
The Internal Oblique is superficial to the Transverse Abdominis, and deep to the External Oblique. The Internal Oblique works together with the External Oblique to help us bend forwards, rotate towards a side and bend over to the side.
External Oblique
The External Oblique is superficial to the Internal Oblique, and deep to the Rectus Abdominis. The External Oblique shares the same function as the Internal Oblique, but the main difference between the two is the direction of the muscle fibers. In the External Oblique, the muscle fibers run in the same direction as if you were putting your hands in your front pockets.
Rectus Abdominis
The Rectus Abdominis is the most superficial layer of the core. It helps to stabilize and flex the trunk. When people talk about getting a six pack, they are referring to the Rectus Abdominis.
How to Engage Your Core
Often when we are working out, you will hear trainers in the gym advising clients to engage the core. For many individuals starting out in the gym, it might be hard to understand why you should engage in the core during almost every movement from squatting to performing a lunge.
Engaging the core helps to protect the spine by engaging the Erector Spinae muscle group. Not only does bracing the core help to protect the spine, it will also help with balance and stability during your movements. For more information about different ways to engage the core, and exercises for you to practice, check out our article on abdominal bracing.
Step by Step Core Activation Sequence
There are many movements you can perform to activate the core. Most of the movements can appear to be quite simple, it is only when we go to perform them do we realize how unstable or weak our core may or may not be. For instance, let's look at the bird dog. This is a very simple body weight movement that can be very challenging for the core if it is weakened. The bird dog can progressed or regressed depending on your skill level. If you are new to this exercise, you can start by just extending one arm at a time, then progress to one leg, and finally progress into one leg and arm at the same time.
You will almost notice right away when you attempt the complete bird dog if core strength is an area that needs improvement as your arms and legs will be very unstable! If you are practicing core activation for the first time, start with the simplest version of the exercise, and then progress as you build core strength and stamina.
What Does Core Activation Mean
There are a few different terms that are used interchangeably when speaking about core activation. For instance, engage the core, activate the core, and brace the core are all terms that can be used to describe or refer to core activation. Ultimately, activating the core means gently creating tension in the torso by drawing the belly button towards the spine. Remember that by activating the core during our exercises, we are protecting and stabilizing the trunk to be able to lift weight.
Core Muscles Anatomy
Remember that the core is composed of 4 layers, the Transverse Abdominis, Internal Oblique, External Oblique and the Rectus Abdominis.
Core Exercises
There are so many exercises that you can perform that will target the core! Remember that almost every exercise can be considered a movement that engages the core, so even if you are performing a Squat, you are still strengthening the muscles of your core! Check out some targeted core exercises below:
Plank
The Plank is a fantastic exercise to perform to build core strength, stability and endurance. Not only is the conventional plank a great core exercise to perform in your workout, there are also multiple variations of the plank to add variety to your workouts and challenge you! Check out our article on 10 different plank variations to try them all!
Leg Raise
The Leg Raise is another great core exercise that helps to build strength not only in the core, but also in the hip flexors. This body weight exercise is simple and easy to perform anywhere, and can also be progressed by adding ankle weights. There are also many variations of the leg raise to try, such as the hanging leg raise or knee raise that can be performed hanging from a bar.
Pallof Press
The Pallof Press is a simple movement that has many benefits including increased core strength, improved posture and improved stability. This exercise can be done at home using a resistance band, or in the gym using a cable machine. Check out our full exercise tutorial here to learn about each step in this exercise.
Other notable core exercises include:
Core Workouts
There are an endless variety of core workouts that you can look up on the internet, or create yourself. Core workouts can be performed using bodyweight, or with equipment. The best part about core workouts is that there are so many variations to core exercises, everyone from a novice athlete to the most experienced individuals in the gym will be challenged! Here is a sample core workout for beginners that can be performed at home for 3 sets of 10-15 reps:
Sit up (progression, reverse crunch)
Plank (progression, push up plank)
Bird Dog (progression: bird dog elbow to knee)
Leg Raise (progression: leg raise with ankle weights)
Kneeling Pallof Press (progression: Standing Palloff Press or Renegade Row)
As you get more familiar with core exercises, you can combine your favourites with cardio movements such as high knees or burpees to create a great High Intensity Interval Workout (HITT).
