Most of life’s activities take place in three-dimensional space. It’s just the way our world works. Humans are capable of creating movement in these three directions: forward and backward, side to side, and rotational.
However, there seems to be one place on Earth that is immune to this basic tenet of physics: gyms.
For some strange reason, the world of strength training has almost completely evolved into a one-dimensional environment. Almost all popular exercises occur in what is known as the sagittal plane, where movement occurs back and forth.
All strength training, regardless of the muscles you’re working out, should match real-life stress patterns. If you live in a 3D world, quality training will train you the same way. When it comes to how you develop your core, breaking this rule is not only a poor approach, but also potentially dangerous.
Your core’s main job is to resist forces placed on it while maintaining a stable position. These forces are constantly created through exercise, athletic skills, or the regular activities you do at work and at home. And they almost always take place in three dimensions, not just in a simple forward movement.
Those who wish to improve their midsection function cannot leave themselves vulnerable to injury during rotational (transverse plane) and side-to-side (frontal plane) movements. A strong and healthy core needs to be worked on in all three directions on a regular basis.
The frontal and transverse planes often show up as the weakest when we take people for basic tests. This has meant that core training for our athletes places too much emphasis on adding stress in these two directions.
I highly recommend that if you’re on a steady diet of sit-ups and sit-ups, you eliminate them in favor of exercises that apply forces in other planes of motion. You need to get past the narrow mindset of only training for 6-pack abs and open yourself up to a much more worthwhile approach to training.
A side plank, or side bridge, is a great introductory exercise to work your core in the frontal plane. It requires no equipment and is easy to make more challenging over time. You can increase the amount of time you hold plank or place weight on your upper hips to increase the stabilizing forces needed to stay in the correct position.
A simple way to add rotational force is to get into a basic plank or bridge position. With your midsection pinned, or squeezed, all the way around, raise one arm off the ground and try to keep your hips from rotating. If you can keep your hips level with one arm off the ground, you have successfully resisted a rotational force through your core.
There are many ways to create lateral and rotational stresses in the midsection. Often times, this involves replicating common sports and real-life movements.
Focusing on core 3D training still includes appearance-related benefits, but can provide much more than is traditionally practiced in gyms. You’ll decrease the chance of injury and notice improvements in strength, speed and power. It is worth the effort to change your program.