What Is The Best Exercise For Developing Core Strength?

By Howe Russ


Buzz phrases like core strength and functional training can often be heard in gyms these days, however recent studies yielded a surprise champion exercise recently when they looked at the ultimate move for developing a tighter, leaner core. The best core exercise was found to be something which dates back years into the golden era of bodybuilding.

Many people are fooled into believing that the greatest moves for strengthening your core muscles involve working out in a park and doing push ups while hanging from a tree, such is the industry's obsession with new fads and passing gimmicks.

However, the king of core exercises was recently discovered to be front squats performed with a loaded barbell.

Not only is this gym based barbell work, but it's an exercise which is consistently overlooked by gym users in favor of trendy mat-based exercises which do little to stimulate anything other than the abdominal muscles. You see, developing a strong core does not mean simply blasting your abs with thousands of crunches. The core is made up of muscles which surround the spine from front to back, therefore it would be very foolish to only focusing on the front ones, right?

Researchers from the UK recently looked at the core strength gains possible from front squats and they compared it to a favorite body weight move, the swiss ball superman. The findings were so surprising that the study itself went on to be featured in a July 2011 edition of the Journal Of Strength And Conditioning.

In a shocking twist of events, front squats were found to yield a 5% increase in core strength over the superman.

Furthermore, this finding occurred using an empty bar in a bid to keep things fair against a body weight exercise. As more weight was added to the front squat the gains got greater and greater. While adding resistance to a body weight move can be tricky, with a front squat it is as simple as loading more plates on to your barbell.

While most trainers make the mistake of prescribing hundreds of crunches to build a great midsection, overlooked exercises like the front squat can yield tremendous results.

If you were one of the many to believe that the greatest exercises for your midsection were based on a yoga mat or outside hanging from a suspension trainer, you are not alone. The fitness industry's obsession with finding a new way to do old tricks causes a great deal of confusion and people often over complicate simple things. Overall, though, the old proven principles of bodybuilding, HIIT and aggressive strength training still trump any new developments scientifically.

If you prefer lifting heavy iron in the gym then today's news will come as a welcome break from suspension trainers and shake weights. The latest research hails the front squat as the undisputed king, the best core exercise for developing overall strength and power.




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