One key aspect of achieving success in any sport is building a strong core. Your core muscles, including your abs, obliques, and lower back, are the foundation of your body, providing stability, balance, and power for every movement you make.
In this article, we’ll explore why core strength is essential for young athletes and the risks of a weak core and provide practical tips for building a strong core.
Why Do Youth Athletes Need a Strong Core?
A strong core is crucial for young athletes for several reasons! A strong core enables you to generate more power, speed, and agility, giving you a competitive edge. Core strength also helps reduce the strain on your joints, so there’s less risk of injury.
The core is where most of your movements should come from to make them more powerful and even more efficient. For example, during lifting, your core is the muscle that’s meant to deal with heavy loads, so if you lift with your back instead, the movement will be less efficient and more likely to cause injury.
What Can a Weak Core Result In?
As mentioned above, a weak core can lead to a greater risk of injury. The core supports all your movements, so a weak core leaves your other muscles without support. This can also reduce endurance and athletic performance.
Chronic core weakness can eventually contribute to long-term health issues such as back pain, poor posture, and reduced mobility, although these problems will be a long way off for most youth athletes.
Tips For Building a Strong Core
Incorporate Core-Specific Exercises Into Your Training
In addition to your regular training, add exercises that specifically target your core muscles two to three times a week. Use a variety of exercises to activate different parts of your core. Great examples include the following:
- Planks: Hold a plank position for 30 to 60 seconds, rest for 30 seconds, and repeat for three to five sets.
- Russian twists: Sit with your knees bent and feet flat, and twist your torso to the left and right, touching your hands to the ground on either side of your hips.
- Leg raises: Lie on your back, and, keeping your legs straight, raise them up towards the ceiling before lowering them back down to complete one rep.
- Crunches: Lie on your back, and support your neck with your hands. Keeping your chin pointed toward the ceiling, use your core to raise your shoulders off the floor — do not pull on your head with your hands.
Focus on Functional Movements
In addition to core-specific exercises, incorporate functional training exercises such as rotational movements, medicine ball throws, and agility drills into your training routine. These exercises mimic real-life movements and help develop functional strength and stability. Pay attention to how you use your core while you do this form of training.
Use Plyometric Exercises
Plyometric exercises, such as jumping lunges and box jumps, can increase your explosiveness and power while also engaging your core muscles. These exercises are designed to release power as quickly as possible so you can build your speed and power for movements like throwing and jumping.
Engage Your Core in Everyday Life
Engage your core muscles during everyday activities and ordinary workouts and practices! Just standing up with good posture can help you properly engage your core muscles. You can also focus on your core while lifting heavy objects, carrying groceries, or in any situation requiring balance.
Use your core during ordinary exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts to help you maintain proper form and generate more power and balance. Pay attention to your core while practicing your sport, too!
