Why More Core Activation Isn't Always a Good Thing

Here is an issue from our bi weekly newsletter specifically for health and fitness professionals. Our owner, Jesse Lewis, shares his experience and ideas as well as stories to help the health and fitness community connect and learn from each other.

From the Clinic

A few years ago, a former competitive CrossFitter came in with back pain.

The conversation went something like: “I’ve tried everything. I’m ready for surgery. I don’t even care what kind. I just want the pain to stop.”

He couldn’t train. He’d seen multiple providers. Nothing helped. He felt stuck and frustrated. Scared.

During the eval, I was surprised that I didn’t find a torn disc or a mobility issue.

I found someone who was over-bracing his core every second of the day. Even standing still, he was rigid.

Locked in like he was bracing for a deadlift, no matter what he was doing.

So I did something that was basically the opposite of what he thought we'd do.

I told him to turn his core off. Don't activate it, don't brace it, don't think about it. We worked on breathing, gave a ton of education on his pain, and educated on when the core needed to be on and when it needed to be off. Didn't put my hands on him once.

Within two weeks, he was 90% better. Within a month, he was back doing CrossFit.

That was a major turning point for me.

What I Used to Believe

For years, I cued everyone to “activate your core.”

It was my default for:

• Back pain

• Movement prep

• Injury prevention

• Pretty much everything

• 
  

But I started to question it.

We don’t tell people to activate their delts during an overhead press. We don’t tell people to activate their pecs in a push-up. We don’t walk someone through bicep activation before curls.

We just program good movement and the muscles get stronger.

And, there's just no research at all, despite a thousand attempts, that shows core activation prevents injury.

So why was I micromanaging the core?

What I Think Now

Core strength still matters. But chronic bracing isn’t the best way to build it and not needed for 90% of the movements I do or my clients do in the gym. 

Now I approach the core like any other muscle group: If I want stronger shoulders, I program overhead work. If I want stronger glutes, I load the hinge. 

And if I want a stronger core, I write a program that makes it work. 

The right dose of: 

• Twisting 

• Extension

• Flexion 

• Anti-rotation and anti-extension

If I programmed their rehab or strength program right, I found that I didn't have to keep telling people to brace their core with every overhead lift, pressing movement or leg movement.

When Bracing Can Backfire

Here’s what I’ve seen over and over (and done myself): 

1. It creates rigidity. We need movement for performance. Try throwing, swinging, or rotating with a locked-down trunk. Doesn’t work. True power needs mobility

 2. It’s imprecise. “Brace your core” means different things to different people. Some posterior tilt. Some suck in. Some Valsalva. It’s messy. 

3. It can block other movement. Too much bracing kills thoracic extension and rotation and especially overhead mobility. I’ve seen so many clients lose shoulder range of motion because their trunk was locked down too hard.

When Bracing Does Matter

To be clear, I still teach it sometimes. 

Super heavy squats, deadlifts still need a ton of stability. 

That’s when I cue bracing, intentionally and specifically. 

But I treat it like a skill to be used occasionally and when necessary, not a default setting at all times. And, I have people think of their core as a volume button that can be turned up or down. Not a max on or off.

Next issue I'll hit on some different ways I teach core bracing and the pros and cons of each.