Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position stand: The use of instability to train the core in athletic and nonathletic conditioning

Abstract

The use of instability devices and exercises to train the core musculature is an essential feature of many training centres and programs. It was the intent of this position stand to provide recommendations regarding the role of instability in resistance training programs designed to train the core musculature. The core is defined as the axial skeleton and all soft tissues with a proximal attachment originating on the axial skeleton, regardless of whether the soft tissue terminates on the axial or appendicular skeleton. Core stability can be achieved with a combination of muscle activation and intra-abdominal pressure. Abdominal bracing has been shown to be more effective than abdominal hollowing in optimizing spinal stability. When similar exercises are performed, core and limb muscle activation are reported to be higher under unstable conditions than under stable conditions. However, core muscle activation that is similar to or higher than that achieved in unstable conditions can also be achieved with ground-based free-weight exercises, such as Olympic lifts, squats, and dead lifts. Since the addition of unstable bases to resistance exercises can decrease force, power, velocity, and range of motion, they are not recommended as the primary training mode for athletic conditioning. However, the high muscle activation with the use of lower loads associated with instability resistance training suggests they can play an important role within a periodized training schedule, in rehabilitation programs, and for nonathletic individuals who prefer not to use ground-based free weights to achieve musculoskeletal health benefits.

Muscle activity of the core during bilateral, unilateral, seated and standing resistance exercise

“…unstable surface compared to stable surface (Anderson and Behm 2004;Kohler et al 2010;Norwood et al 2007). However, with respect to sport activities and daily functional tasks, a more beneficial training procedure may be to employ standing ground-based free-weight exercises on a stable surface (Behm et al 2010;Hamlyn et al 2007;Nuzzo et al 2008). To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effect of performing the same exercise seated, standing, unilateral and bilateral on core muscle activation.…”

Effect of abdominal bracing training on strength and power of trunk and lower limb muscles

“…Thus, it is suggested that a strong and stable trunk, as well as its rapid activation, is beneficial for achieving high sport performances by providing a foundation for greater force production by limbs (Kibler et al 2006;Willardson 2007). On the basis of this idea, exercises aiming to improve trunk stability, i.e., core stabilization exercises, have received remarkable attention in not only rehabilitative, but also athletic fields (Behm et al 2010;Willardson 2007), although a systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that core strength training had large effects on muscle strength but small effects on athletic performance in trained individuals (Prieske et al 2016a).…”

The prevention of musculoskeletal injuries in field hockey: the systematic development of an intervention and its feasibility (Preprint)

“…and mobility, i.e. flexibility [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. In accordance to the needs of field hockey players and coaches, experts agreed that all selected preventive measures (content) should be embedded within the warm-up prior to a field hockey activity (training or match) and made available through a website and an application for smartphone/tablet.…”