Is Core Strength (Training) Important?

I would really appreciate it if a moderator could change the title to:

Core Strength (Training) is not Important - True or False? 

Probably a stupid question to ask, but I'll ask anyway lol

This question pertains to...

You guessed it: 

My favorite skill - The Planche! 

Are there any exercises that will "strength" your core for the planche? (sit up, crunches, and plank are pointless core exercises)

I put the parentheses around training because some degree of core strength is necessary for the planche, but doing specific core exercises to "strengthen" your core is not necessary to be successful for planche because the strength is already there (for almost everybody). 

Is that true?

I'm also asking about the importance of core strength for the basic levers as well - FL/BL/SL.

After reading this Facebook post from Ido Portal and comments from Joshua and HandBalancer found on GB forums, I am thoroughly convinced that core exercises (RLL) are pointless/meaningless for planche training. 

I am going to make a video addressing "core strength training" for planche training - that it's not very important, and I was wondering if you guys would approve of it or not?  

Or do you think what I'm saying is 'blasphemous'? 

"Even then, unless your back is where you get tired it's not going to help.

I'm pretty sure common sense will tell you that your shoulder girdle is where your main limitations will always be."

-Joshua Naterman

I came upon this post by Ido Portal: 

http://www.facebook.com/portal.ido/posts/464622093579776

CORE STRENGTH. Lets talk Core, my favorite word.

Core Strength is a very hot and sexy term and as well the biggest loaf of shit out there.

I get daily remarks at locations I train at around the world: 'man, you have amazing core strength', 'what a demonstration of core control' and other shenanigans. I usually say 'thanks' and roll my eyes walking away. 

Here is your wake up call:

1. Rarely would Core Strength be the limiting factor in performance. It can happen, but its not a common issue. 

2. Often proper muscular coordination is in the heart of the problem, and not lack of strength. For example most people have enough 'core strength' to properly hold a handstand, but lack the proper 'software' to coordinate rebalancing action and use it along with other areas in the proper timing. Its not weakness or decondition that holds them back, so stop wasting their time, 'Handstand Experts'.

3. Core Strength, even when needed, have to be developed specifically to the relevant movement patterns. You can hammer away on the Pilates machines but I will break you apart with some simple gymnastics stuff, a bit of BJJ, strongman carries or even a back squat. I actually do this, on a regular basis in my workshops where I receive a lot of top level Yogis, Pilates folks and other 'core specialists'.

4. Most professional athletes train their core with various drills, thats true. They are successful IN SPITE of this habit and not because of it. I can speak for myself and my students: we are performing one arm handstands, airborn acrobatics, we climb, we fight, we dance, we can perform full front levers, human flags, press handstands from an L position, etc. WE ARE NOT DOING ONE GENERAL CORE EXERCISE. Not even one.

5. The contribution of 'core exercises' to the appearance of your six pack is minimal. Those muscles have poor potential for hypertrophy in most people and usually are covered with a layer of fat. So, first things first, put your efforts into becoming less of a fatbastard before you allow yourself ANY core exercises. 
Now if anything can hypertrophy the abs and shock them into growth its going to be very different from their postural supporting design. The best I've come across are... BACK TUCKS. Yes, you heard me right- back flips. 
I remember a case where one of my students took on a challenge and decided to perform 120 back flips for time - as quickly as possible. We like doing shit like that from time to time. She finished in under 30 min, (yes, SHE) but did not appear at the facility for the next week.. Later we discovered she couldn't walk due to extreme soreness of the abdominal wall that lasted for days. 

So, enjoy your swiss ball, pilates reformer, crunches, sit-ups, garuda, gyrotonics, 6 min abs solution, kb ab circuit, russian twists and other past-times, but please, dont have any delusions of adequacy: this is NOT going to give you GENERAL CORE STRENGTH applicable to any movement demands. 

With love,
Ido.

I think what Ido Portal means is that he or his students don't do any isolation exercises for the abs/lower back, instead they focus on bigger movements to strengthen their abdominals, lower back and CNS to aid with the other movements such as planche/front lever etc.. Example I believe hanging leg raises and headstand leg raises are "core exercises"(I hate this word too!) but the benefits go beyond what would a simple crunch do. You can see various hanging leg raise variations and headstand leg raises in Ido Portal's or his students videos.

With the planche or press to handstand, it is indeed not the "strength" of the abs that is the limiting factor(doing weighted crunches could make your abs stronger but wouldn't help here at all) but the mind understanding and capable of the movement. Hence I would definitely do "core" movements as assistance for the bigger movements because you can cut the bigger exercises to pieces and specifically focus on the specific pieces of the movement(ex. for front lever I am doing scapula pulls + hanging leg raises for assistance).

Personally, I have a 4 cm long scar above my belly button from an umbilical hernia that popped up when I returned to sport specific movements that demanded more abdominal strength than I had after a long break. The arms and legs were strong from othe activities, but the middle just couldn't cope.  I suspect that if I had dedicated a little more time to v-ups or planks the month before I would not look like a lipo-victim.

I think there are definitely times that it's reasonable to target a specific area of the body to help it get back into balance.  -Then again there are usefull core strength exercises and there stupid ones. IMHO crunches are stupid.

Hollows and planks are absolutely necessary (and are a part of coach's teachings), as are v-ups, HLL and L sits (all what I would consider "core" exercises).  That being said, most of what's important about them is addressing proper protraction, or proper hollow of the torso, both necessary elements of more advanced movements.  It is also necessary to be able to maintain these elements when the body is under a loaded leverage such as in a planche. As with any movement however, you have to progress it.  You cant just stay with a hollow and expect a front lever.  That's why we move from planks to planche leans, then into tuck planches etc.  Same with moving from hollows into body levers and then eventually into FL.

I guess it depends what you count as a "general core exercise". ido talks about doing front levers, its all good to train FL if you can already go into a tuck FL, but what if you cant?  You need an easier exercise to build the necessary strength.  same with PL.  I hit a wall practicing just the tuck PL because I didn't address my weak serratus anterior.  I used planks to fix this, and a plank is almost the very definition of a core exercise. 

If we're talking about the general population, then there is absolutely a huge deficit in core strength, and specific training in this area is always going to help beginners, and of course it will help the athletes that have specific weaknesses, but how you get there is as important as the strength itself.

Let me explain briefly:

1) Your muscles get stronger every single time you ask them to produce more force than they are used to producing. That's how muscles work. They develop better endurance every time they produce force for a longer time period than they are used to. Again, that's just how it works.

2) Given that 1 is true, which it is (assuming the required nutrition is present), you have two options for developing core strength:

     I) Use isolation work that does not teach you body shapes/skills that are a part of your athletic goals/performance.

     II) Use a series of progressions that build strength while also developing the basic skills that allow you to

         maintain the shapes you need for your chosen performances.

Progressive skill work builds core strength AND the required neural patterns you need to succeed in athletics.

There's a wide variety of what you can do, but I'll tell you this much:

Even after such a long time off of training, I can easily do Pallov presses with 50 lbs, whether isometrically counter-rotational or not (some trainers like to see controlled rotation at the hip... it depends on what you want). That's not too bad for a guy who never trains these.

What was my training background? GB work. Hollow holds, FL windshield wipers, side planks, and some lateral squats during warm ups.

I'm not saying this is a bad exercise, but I think I'll just keep going with my progressive GB conditioning, and play with other stuff for fun. It pays off to stick with the basics and use them to build your skills the right way.

Joshua Naterman said:

If we're talking about the general population, then there is absolutely a huge deficit in core strength, and specific training in this area is always going to help beginners, and of course it will help the athletes that have specific weaknesses, but how you get there is as important as the strength itself.

 

Let me explain briefly:

 

1) Your muscles get stronger every single time you ask them to produce more force than they are used to producing. That's how muscles work. They develop better endurance every time they produce force for a longer time period than they are used to. Again, that's just how it works.

 

2) Given that 1 is true, which it is (assuming the required nutrition is present), you have two options for developing core strength:

     I) Use isolation work that does not teach you body shapes/skills that are a part of your athletic goals/performance.

     II) Use a series of progressions that build strength while also developing the basic skills that allow you to

         maintain the shapes you need for your chosen performances.

 

Progressive skill work builds core strength AND the required neural patterns you need to succeed in athletics.

 

There's a wide variety of what you can do, but I'll tell you this much:

 

Even after such a long time off of training, I can easily do Pallov presses with 50 lbs, whether isometrically counter-rotational or not (some trainers like to see controlled rotation at the hip... it depends on what you want). That's not too bad for a guy who never trains these.

 

What was my training background? GB work. Hollow holds, FL windshield wipers, side planks, and some lateral squats during warm ups.

 

I'm not saying this is a bad exercise, but I think I'll just keep going with my progressive GB conditioning, and play with other stuff for fun. It pays off to stick with the basics and use them to build your skills the right way.

FL windshield wipers? holy smokes. must be an ab/hip/shoulder girdle killer!