Most people, when they think about core training, think about crunches. Maybe a plank. Maybe a SolidCore class where your abs are on fire and you can barely walk the next day. And look, none of that is bad. But it’s also a pretty small slice of what your core actually does, and if that’s all you’re training, you’re leaving a lot on the table.
Your core isn’t just your abs. It’s a whole system of muscles that wraps around your trunk, and its main job isn’t to make you do crunches. Its main job is to *stabilize* your spine so that force can transfer efficiently through your body during literally everything you do. Lifting, carrying groceries, not throwing your back out picking something up off the floor. All of it.
So here’s a quick breakdown of the types of core work that actually cover all of that.
*Anti-extension.* This is probably the most important one and the one most people don’t know by name. Anti-extension means resisting the urge to let your lower back arch and collapse under load. Deadbugs (our fav), ab wheel rollouts, and planks all train this. It’s also basically what bracing is. When someone tells you to brace your core before a lift, they’re asking you to create enough tension that your spine doesn’t extend where it shouldn’t. This is foundational.
*Anti-rotation.* This is your core resisting being twisted or pulled to one side. Pallof presses are the classic example. This matters a lot for everyday life because a huge amount of the forces your body deals with are rotational, and your core is what keeps you from getting yanked around by them.
*Flexion.* Yes, crunches actually belong here and they’re not totally useless. Flexion is just your spine bending forward, and your abs do need to be able to produce that movement. Crunches, leg raises, and cable crunches all fall into this category. The problem isn’t that people do flexion, it’s that they do only flexion and call it a core workout.
*Rotation.* You need to be able to rotate to go through life too, and your core should be able to produce that movement too, not just resist it. Cable woodchops, medicine ball throws, rotating rows, that kind of thing.
*Extension.* This is the lower back side of things. Back extensions and good mornings train the posterior chain of your core, meaning the muscles on the back of your trunk. These get neglected constantly and then people wonder why their low back is cranky. Your low back has muscles just like everything else and they need to be strong, just like everything else.
*Carries.* Farmer carries, suitcase carries, overhead carries. These are sneaky good core exercises because they look like you’re just walking around holding something heavy, and you kind of are, but your core is working overtime the entire time to keep you upright, stable, and from tipping sideways. Suitcase carries in particular (holding a weight on one side only) are incredible for anti-lateral flexion, which is just a fancy way of saying your core is fighting to keep you from bending sideways like a wilting plant.
Variety matters here because your core needs to be able to do all of these things, not just one of them. A core that can only crunch is not a core that’s going to support you as you lift weights and go through life.
