Building A Solid CoreCore Muscles The trend to building a solid core began in the 1990s as fitness experts began to talk about the abdominal and lower back muscles in the torso as being the most important for physical development. The abs and lower back are referred to as core musculature. The core muscles are involved in almost every movement in golf. The emphasis on building a solid core has a caused a shift to exercising ab and torso muscles regularly and systematically. Core components and sample exercises include:
Rectus Abdominis - the RA is the large, flat muscle in the lower chest down to the pubic bone (sometimes, ahem, obscured by fat). These muscles flex your torso by pulling your rib cage toward your hips. Crunches work these muscles in our workouts. There are two sections to the RA; above and below the navel. Above the navel are six rectangular shaped muscles often referred to as the six pack or upper abs. Below the navel is longer and flatter--often referrred to as the lower abs. The two sections need to be treated differently so that exercises work the whole muscle group.
Obliqus Abdominis - there are two of these, one on each side of your midsection, running diagonally from the bottom of the ribcage to the pubic area. Also referred to as the external obliques. Core exercises for this area include sideways crunches to flex the OA and rotational exercises to help with twisting in the golf swing. Transversus Abdominis - the deepest of the ab muscles, it lies in a strip hoizontally across the abdomen. It keeps internal organs in place, helps with breathing and stabilizes the spine.Exercises that get at this deeper area include bridging (straight and side) plus the jackknife with a fitness ball. These will be described in detail later. Pectoralis Major - The pecs are big, fan-shaped and thick muscles on either side of your breastbone at the top of the chest. The pecs' job is to move your arm inward and across your body. Key exercises for this area are: pushups and bench presses. Deltoid - these muscles are on the tops of your shoulders and down the upper arm. There are three components to the deltoid: anterior/front which raises the arm in front of you; middle which raises the arm to your side, and; posterior/back that draws your arm backward. Though not strictly part of the core, the deltoids are definitely important in the golf swing, so they are mentioned here. For the location of the Abdominal, Chest and Shoulder muscle groups, see Figure 1. Erector Spinae - runs along both sides of your lower spine. It helps straighten the back and torso out of a bent position. It also helps the obliques as you twist at the waist. Exercises for this region are very important in all lower-back and midsection work. Latissimus Dorsi - the largest back muscle that attaches to the lower back and slants upward to the shoulders. It gives you the v-shape in the upper torso. This muscle pulls your upper arm toward your body as in chinups, lat pulls, rowing and throwing motions. Trapezius - runs from the mid-spine to the shoulders and up the back and sides of your neck. The Traps help move your shoulder blades during pulldown or pullup exercises. For the location of the Back muscle groups, see Figure 2. For details on a workout to build a solid core, see the section on Core Exercises.
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