How much core training is REALLY necessary?

Postural endurance is foundational at Pair & Marotta.

Many coaches will ask, how much core training do I really need? Often times its completely dependent upon the moaning and groaning of their team. But at that point, you're letting the team run the practice. And that's just your first worry. 

In addition to that, consistency will lack and so will results. But if you have a plan that is scheduled and gradually progresses the exercises, then you can guarantee that your team is all meeting a minimum level of performance. So once the plan is established all you have to do is keep raising the bar!

So how much is really necessary?

Well Dr. Stuart McGill talks about this in his book, "Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance," he states that the core muscles that stabilize the back are type-I, slow twitch muscles that are meant to make small, adjustments to keep the spine steady instead of making large range of motion adjustments. So core stabilizing muscles should be trained for muscular endurance. And as the coaches who attend our "On-Field Core Training" workshop last weekend saw, there are many ways that we can do this. But think about how the abdominals are used during throwing and swinging a bat. They act like any other muscle does, requiring a strong, fast contraction to allow the larger muscles of the hips and shoulders to pull from. Basically they have to act like an anchor. So those muscles need to be trained to react quickly to a stimulus. 

Think about how the core must contract at the moment that the baseball hits a bat? The core must contract and stiffen the spine to prevent any absorbing of force. If this is done correctly, the batter will be able to transfer up to 90% of his power back into the ball to create a hard hit.

So in prescribing exercises for this type of contraction, you can prescribe it just like you would any other plyometric exercise, intensity of the exercises will play a large role. For our capability of using only body weight, a partner or a bat,  2-3 sets of 8-20 repetitions per exercise is optimal. A good method would be to operate in phases. 

Cable lifting is near the top of the core training pyramid.

 For example phase 1 would be 2 sets of 8. Phase 2 would be 2 sets of 12-15. Phase 3 would be 2 sets of 15-20. Phase 4 would be to add another set and decreasing repetitions. So 3 sets of 10-15 would be optimal and then finally phase 5 would be to have 3 sets of 15-20. But as a coach you CANNOT let form and technique deteriorate. Remember, you play how you practice. This goes with core training too!