CrossFit has always taken pride in providing the unvarnished truth about what’s required to forge elite fitness. Where others shy away from Olympic lifts, we use them regularly because we know the benefits far outweigh any investment of time spent learning them.
We incorporate higher-level gymnastics skills because even if you never get a muscle-up or a handstand push-up, the work you do trying to get one will raise your fitness level tremendously.
We’ve never wavered on range-of-motion requirements or the benefits of a diet consisting of whole, unprocessed foods eaten in weighed and measured amounts to support optimal health and fitness.
So it should come as no surprise that when we talk about “core work,” you’ll never see us post a “5-minute ab program” on Instagram or try to bedazzle you with hundreds of reps of trunk flexion ab exercises. No, we keep it real here, too.
The Core Defined
We define the “core” musculature as the abdominals (abs), erector spinae (spinal erectors), and hip flexors (comprised of the psoas and rectus femoris). This is by no means a comprehensive list of the musculature that stabilizes the spine, but we label these muscle groups the core because they have direct purchase on the spine (for hip flexors by way of the psoas).
Core Strength Defined
In CrossFit, core strength is synonymous with midline stabilization, the ability to resist flexion and undue hyperextension of the trunk by keeping the spine and pelvis wedded together, and maintaining a neutral spine while moving through a full range of motion. This position is the safest posture for the back and also provides a solid base for transmitting forces. To create midline stabilization, the athlete must tighten or brace the abdominals to engage the spinal erectors, creating a belt of musculature around the spine.
Developing Core Strength
While other fitness programs develop core strength by focusing on movements that train the abdominals to produce trunk flexion (such as sit-ups and crunches), our position is that the strongest and most useful trunk contractions are isometric. Our top core exercises are our nine foundational movements and Olympic lifts, which deliver a tremendous dose of spine stabilization.
Single-limb movements, such as lunges, single-leg squats, step-ups, single-arm presses, and carries of all kinds (both two-arm and single-arm), also build core strength. In the presence of unbalanced positions and loads, the core musculature is forced to stabilize the spine through the full range of motion to prevent trunk flexion, hyperextension, and rotation toward the load or the strong side.
Because core strength in the form of midline stabilization is so important for performance and injury prevention, we augment our core training with a few very effective core-specific movements:
- The L-Sit: Our selection for the most functional ab exercise, the L-sit places enormous torque about the hip that the abdominals must counteract to keep the legs up and the spine from hyperextending. Victories in the L-sit are celebrated in seconds.
- The GHD Sit-Up: In the GHD sit-up, the abs play a substantial role in stabilizing the torso to prevent undue hyperextension of the spine. The value of this exercise is that it trains the abdominals to stabilize the spine under high force and high velocity through a large range of motion.
- Hollow Rocks: Lower ab recruitment is the most challenging part of ab training, and many athletes neglect it. Fortunately, hollow rocks can teach how to innervate the lower abs.
- GHD Hip Extension, Back Extension, Hip and Back Extension: These three movements allow us to isolate and work the spinal erectors, abdominals, glutes, and hamstrings together and separately to develop strength, capacity, and coordination throughout the core.
Like everything else we do, our core training is not easy, but it is supremely effective. We use a good dose of heavy squats, deadlifts, presses, and single-limb movements combined with L-sits, hollow rocks, and GHD work to develop the core strength needed to withstand anything sport, combat, and life demand.
About the Author
Stephane Rochet is a Senior Content Writer for CrossFit. He has worked as a Flowmaster on the CrossFit Seminar Staff and has over 15 years of experience as a collegiate/tactical strength and conditioning coach. He is a Certified CrossFit Trainer (CF-L3) and enjoys training athletes in his garage gym.
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