The fitness landscape is full of people who feel the need to over-complicate things which don’t need to be over-complicated.

Case in point; core training.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of strengthening your core – heck, if you look in the workouts section of this website you’ll find several which are designed for this purpose.

So what’s the beef?

My issue is when people start convincing trainees to remove proven fundamental strength building exercises (e.g. barbell squats, deadlifts, rows, etc) from their workout program in favour of pointlessly complex movements which offer nowhere near the same level of benefits.

Why are they doing this?

I can only presume they have fallen victim to misinformation being spread by some jockstrap in a gym instructor’s uniform, or an unqualified influencer with whiter teeth than 1999 Ross Geller… but either way, it fucking sucks!

So the next time you feel your eyes rolling as someone waxes lyrical to you about the benefits of deleting one of your favourite heavy compound lifts from your workout program, please redirect them to this 2013 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

In this study, a group of Norwegian researchers set out to test whether switching a traditional barbell squat to a variety of unstable surfaces would increase the amount of core activation required to control the lift.

The exercises used were:

• Traditional barbell squat
• Power board squat
• Bosu ball squat
• Balance cone squat

The traditional barbell squat absolutely walked it, finishing significantly ahead of all three other variations. Not only was maximum strength achieved with feet planted firmly on the floor, but also muscle activity within the core. (1)

And then also take a look at this interesting 2013 study from researchers at the University of Salford, Manchester, which compared the muscle activity of the rectus abdominis during:

• Superman on a Swiss ball
• Barbell front squat

These are two of my favourite exercises (in fact, I’ve used both for over a decade), but this study actually discovered something which I would never have expected… barbell front squats increase muscle activity within the core 5% more than a Superman on a Swiss ball!

Holy flaps!

If you’ve felt the absolute core-crushing burn of a Superman on a Swiss ball you’ll know how impressive that is. And this is with an empty barbell, too, so as we begin adding weight the gap widens further. (2)

So there you have it, folks.

So while I’m all for strengthening your core, and I consider it a vital part of building a great body, I recommend avoiding “pop-up PTs” who advise you to ditch traditional heavy lifts in favour of something which looks more complex “just because”.

The basics still work the best, now go train!

References:

1. Saeterbakken A. H., et al. Muscle force output and electromyographic activity in squats with various unstable surfaces. J Strength Cond Res (2013).
2. Comfort C., et al. An electromyographical comparison of trunk muscle activity during isometric trunk and dynamic strengthening exercises. J Strength Cond Res (2011).