Forget about sit-ups, planks, or exercises on the Swiss ball. Today I’m going to show you the best deep core exercises out there according to science. And believe me, it’s not going to be the ones you are thinking of right now.
Content
Deep Core Exercises – What Most People Think Of
Most people think about:
Even though you can definitely do those exercises, there’s definitely a more effective way.
In order to find the best exercises, we need to know what the deep core muscles are and what functions they have, so that we can target them more effectively.
What Are the Deep Core Muscles?
There are 5 main deep core muscles, that you have to know:
- Transverse abdominis
- Multifidi
- Diaphragm
- Pelvic floor muscles
- Spinal Erectors, particularly the deeper fibers
Functions Of the Deep Core Muscles
Transversus abdominis:
- Trunk rotation to the same side (with unilateral tension)
- Exhalation and increase in abdominal pressure (with bilateral tension)
Multifidus:
- Trunk rotation to the opposite side (with unilateral tension)
- Lateral flexion to the same side (with unilateral tension)
- Extension of the spine (with bilateral tension)
Diaphragm:
- Inhalation
Pelvic floor:
- Stabilization of abdominal and pelvic organ positions
Spinal Erectors:
- Rotation and lateral flexion of the spine (with unilateral tension)
- Extension of the spine (with bilateral tension)
Now that we know the muscle functions, we can choose exercises that load them with sufficient resistance and do so progressively.
I want to emphasize “sufficient resistance” and “progressively” here.
Because if we take a look at the literature on the effectiveness of the exercises I mentioned earlier (Bird Dogs, Dead Bugs etc.) we quickly arrive at the following conclusion:
The core exercises being performed have too low an intensity to sustainably strengthen the deep core muscles. This is shown, for example, in studies by Souza et al. (2001) and Ekstrom et al. (2007).
Souza et al. (2001) examined the Dead Bug and Bird Dog exercises, concluding that these exercises activated the deep core muscles at less than 40%.
Ekstrom et al. (2007) also looked at other typical exercises such as Glute Bridge, Single-leg Glute Bridge, Plank, and Side Plank, finding similarly low muscle activation levels.
Additionally, there is a study by Danneels et al. (2001) that focused on individuals with chronic back pain, showing that standard core exercises did not lead to muscle growth in the multifidi.
They recommend performing progressive strength training in both dynamic and static ways.
Exercises I would recommend
Beware, though: the solution is incredibly simple that most people don’t want to accept it.
All you need to do is progressively increase basic strength training exercises.
If we look at the functions of the deep core muscles again, we need:
- Extension of the spine (Multifidi, Spinal Erectors)
- (Anti-)rotation of the spine
- (Anti-)lateral flexion of the spine
- Bracing
I will present a few strength exercises in each category that you can progressively and objectively measure:
Extension of the spine:
(Anti-)rotation of the spine:
(Anti-)lateral flexion of the spine:
Bracing of the core:
Do you know why people don’t want to accept this? Because it’s not fancy and because it’s SUPER HARD!
Sure, if you currently have severe pain and can’t do basic exercises, then feel free to start with classic core exercises like Bird Dogs, Dead Bugs, Planks etc.
But it shouldn’t stop there if your goal is to optimally strengthen your deep core muscles.
And I’m not saying that basic core exercises shouldn’t be done or that they are unnecessary! Absolutely not. I just question how effective they are at strengthening the deep core muscles.
One more question for you
Why do you want to strengthen your deep core muscles? Because you have back pain?
There are studies like those by Hodges & Danneels (2019) showing that deep core muscle degeneration occurs with back pain. But that doesn’t mean rehab has to be super complicated or that these muscles need to be trained in isolation.
Furthermore, we shouldn’t focus on individual muscles in back pain rehabilitation because that’s a very one-dimensional perspective.
If those exercises reduce your back pain, then please keep on doing them. But I just want you to know, that your back is super strong, resilient and anything but fragile.
You know what also isn’t the reason for your back pain? Your anterior pelvic tilt. If you want to know why, then check out this article now.
Literature
- Danneels, L. A., Vanderstraeten, G. G., Cambier, D. C., Witvrouw, E. E., Bourgois, J., Dankaerts, W., & De Cuyper, H. J. (2001). Effects of three different training modalities on the cross sectional area of the lumbar multifidus muscle in patients with chronic low back pain. British journal of sports medicine, 35(3), 186–191. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.35.3.186
- Ekstrom, R. A., Donatelli, R. A., & Carp, K. C. (2007). Electromyographic analysis of core trunk, hip, and thigh muscles during 9 rehabilitation exercises. The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, 37(12), 754–762. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2007.2471
- Hodges, P. W., & Danneels, L. (2019). Changes in Structure and Function of the Back Muscles in Low Back Pain: Different Time Points, Observations, and Mechanisms. The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, 49(6), 464–476. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2019.8827
- Souza, G. M., Baker, L. L., & Powers, C. M. (2001). Electromyographic activity of selected trunk muscles during dynamic spine stabilization exercises. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 82(11), 1551–1557. https://doi.org/10.1053/apmr.2001.26082
