Which Exercise System Works the Best?
There is little doubt that most exercises engage the core muscles in various degrees, but if we were to choose the ones to invest our time and effort in, which ones would they be? Well, a systematic review published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2013 may yield some clues.
A team of researchers from the University of South Florida reviewed 17 qualified studies that examined a total of 252 pain-free participants. The studies used electromyographic (EMG) activity to gauge the degree of muscle activity (quadratus lumborum (QL), lumbar multifidi (LM), transverse abdominal (TVA)) while participants performed 97 different exercises that were classified in five categories:7
Exercise n # of studies
1. Traditional core exercises 13 11
2. Core stability exercises 13 10
3. Ball/device exercises 45 12
4. Free weight exercises 20 6
5. Noncore free weight exercises 6 2
What they found is that free weight exercises, like squats and lunges, elicit a higher core muscle activity in the LM than traditional core exercises and ball/device exercises. One potential reason is that “[LM] EMG activity during free weight exercises include the use of external loading and full-body movements with free weight exercises compared with isolated exercises exclusively targeting the core.”7
For the TVA, no exercise is better than another, and there is no evidence regarding QL activation. However, the authors mentioned that the number of studies overall is quite low, and the quality of the evidence range from low to moderate, meaning that some of research have problems with blinding the assessors, small sample sizes, and inconsistent ways to measure the muscle activity that may change the results in each study. Also, they could not find any studies that compare TVA EMG activity during core stability exercises with free weight ones. And so, we should not make claims that one form of exercise is better than another. What we should do is pick exercises that are based on the clients’ preference, ability, and available equipment, as well as considering the cost-effectiveness of an exercise tool.
Their conclusion: “The findings of this systematic review also indicate that adding a ball/device to floor-based core-specific exercises does not increase lumbar multifidus or transverse abdominis muscle activity relative to performing that exercise without a ball/device. Therefore, given the simplicity of performing floor exercises, adding balls/devices appears to be unnecessary and is not recommended.”
“There will never be a magic bullet answer for the best or perfect exercise approach that can be universally used,” Jason Martuscello told Massage & Fitness Magazine in an online interview, who is one of the researchers of the 2013 study. “However, based on my understanding [about] healthy and pain-free individuals, dynamic multi-joint exercises offer the
biggest ‘bang for your buck’ or
return on time invested when it
comes to benefits.
“Most people do what we perceive
to be most effective. One big
confusion that abounds the
industry is ‘feeling’ activation
versus ‘actual’ activation. I call it
the ‘abdominal illusion.’ Our
minds have been conditioned
through years of social
reinforcement that in order to train the core, we need to be on the floor doing ab exercises. Little do people know that the abdominal muscles that we so badly want to train can also be trained while doing squats or an overhead press.
“If you enjoy wasting time, then stick to the floor and isolate. Consider a squat or OH press that provide more return on investment.”
Rather than investing in an exercise device that targets your abs or core, you could get better performance and skill improvement with other forms exercise that works out your whole body, like jumping roping, deadlifting, running, dancing, and various types of free-weight exercises mentioned previously. However, what it boils down to in individual preferences and abilities. Not everyone client is able to do compound exercises or able to perform bursts of movements.
Martuscello, who currently runs a practice in behavior changes for fat loss in New York City, thinks there are several valuable takeaways that clinicians and personal trainers can benefit if they read this and related research.
1. Best Bang for Your Buck. “If I am looking to optimize efficiency and effectiveness compound multi-joint exercises are most effective for activating the core. They confer not only core activation benefits but also will help burn more calories, build strong bones and joints, and improve metabolic and the movement patterns are transferable to real world applications like sports and daily activities.”
2. We are training the core when we least expect it. “Doing “non-core free weight” movements which are by my definition exercises that involve compound multi-joint movements with loads that move above our head (think overhead barbell shoulder press, or landmine press) are excellent core training tools. Exercises with movements that bring resistances over our head are strong core activators but the movements are also highly transferable to our sports and daily activities.”
3. Overcome the ‘abdominal illusion.’ “The perceptual feeling of doing isolated core exercises creates a training illusion, a ‘feeling’ of activation because our minds are focused on the muscle. Whereas in squats or deadlifts our focus is never on our our core muscles (usually on movement) so we ‘think’ we are not training the abdominals/core. To overcome this abdominal illusion,
Photo: Jason Martuscello
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