Why Transverse Abdominis Isn't Always The Most Effective

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

This is actually from a recent community workshop we did.

Our most popular topic is always the same. Everyone loves talking core strength and low back pain.

I always start with a simple test.

I pull a random person from the crowd, have them lie on the ground, and test their hip flexor strength in two ways

• While they brace their core, and they usually draw their belly button in

• While they don't brace at all

  
  

I've done this probably 60-70 times. Every single time, they're stronger without the core brace.

One of these times it's not going to work and it's going to be a big flop of a test!

And it blows their mind because they've been drawing in and tucking their pelvis for years.

The whole point of the test is to show that there are multiple ways to brace the core.

The most common strategy, drawing in abs to the spine, or activating the transverse abdominis (trans abs), might not be the most efficient

From the Actual Clinic

We don't just use this in our workshops.

I used to teach that exact technique: draw your belly in, tuck the pelvis, flatten the spine.

For the first 10+ years of my career, it was part of every core session. 

And yes, it activates the core. But over time, I saw more and more clients test weaker in other muscle groups when they used it. 

I saw that it created a ton of rigidity, totally ignored the lateral and posterior core, and people ended up focusing more on the cue than the movement they were trying to do.

Then a lot of smart people I look up pointed out that the entire strategy came from a single research paper 40 years ago and the original author later said it was misinterpreted and taken way too far.

How We Use This

We don’t treat core activation as a baseline anymore and we don't teach the same activation to everyone.

 We start with testing: 

• Do they actually need more core activation?

• Or do they just need more core strength? 

  
  

Those are two different problems.

If someone needs more core strength, we develop a program that focuses on movement and strength building.

If someone does need to learn how to brace better  we now almost always teach intra-abdominal pressure or IAP.

What This Looks Like

If you’ve ever worn a weight belt during a heavy lift, you’ve felt it. 

If you have a weight belt on and you draw your abs in, the belt gets slack. When you press out against the belt, you create stability. 

That’s what we want, just without the belt. 

So now we teach people to press outward gently through the front of their core, expand laterally through the obliques and breathe into the low back and keep some expansion there too.

Think of it as 360-degree pressure, not just sucking in the front. 

And we coach this into all loaded movements: squats, deadlifts, overhead press. Basically any time we want more core stability without restricting movement. 

Not bearing down like they have to poop. And also making sure they know they don't need to generate max pressure. Just enough expansion to create stability and allow movement.

Takeaways

We don’t tell people that activating their transverse abs is “wrong.”

It’s still core activation. 

But it’s not always necessary and it’s not always the most efficient for everyone.