What Your Core and Coffee Shop Guy Have in Common

You know the type.

Sitting there with their smug face. The cup of coffee that’s three dollars too expensive. The fake reading glasses that aren’t prescription. Bon Iver Red Rocks playing in their headphones. Everything cool and popular is stupid. We’re all sheep for liking it.

This is your core. It is the anti-everything hipster that you can’t stand, only, in this instance it’s disdain for everything is a good thing.

The primary function of the “core” is to athletically link the upper body and the lower body together. They are not prime movers by design, but intended to stabilize the spine, so in reality the core is there to prevent the spine from moving in ways it should not under stress.

Core movements are best when they are:

• Anti-Extension: Movements that fight against the formation of anterior pelvic tilt (ie. ab roll-outs, hollow rocks and holds).
• Anti-Lateral Flexion: Movements that fight against the spine laterally bending (ie side plank, farmer’s walks).
• Anti-Rotation: Movements that fight against the spine from rotating (ie renegade rows, plank shoulder taps).

The ability for your core be to be against spinal rotation, against extension, and against flexion in certain positions of stress is very important to preventing spinal injuries.

So, next time your core tells your spine that rotating during a deadlift is stupid, don’t roll your eyes.

Let it be the anti-everything hipster it was born to be.

-Dave