Core Speed
Run Faster, Jump Higher, Hit harder, Throw longer!

Core Speed & Strength (Core Training) is an essential determinant of success for all sports people, be they cyclists, runners or swimmers, football or rugby players, golfers or rowers. That's because the body's core muscles are the foundation for all other movement. The muscles of the torso stabilize the spine and provide a solid foundation for movement and speed in the extremities. These core muscles lie deep within the torso. They generally attach to the spine, pelvis and muscles that support the scapula. When these muscles contract, we stabilize the spine, pelvis and shoulders and create a solid base of support. We are then able to generate powerful movements of the extremities.

Core Training has long been an integral component of training programs designed to improve movement speed. It is an obvious approach since the greater the amount of force a muscle can produce, the faster the arm/leg will accelerate, thereby producing high top speeds. The end result should be faster pitches, longer drives, and harder serves.

The biggest benefit of Core Training is to develop functional fitness - that is, fitness that is essential to both daily living and sport activities. However, training the muscles of the core also corrects postural imbalances that can lead to injuries. Indeed, core training is now seen as an essential attribute for any player who seeks to keep their chances of sports injury to the absolute minimum.

Facts:

MUSCLE ACCELERATION

In any fast movement, there are two essential parts of the action, 1) accelerating the limb to top speed, and 2) stopping it. Traditionally, strength training for speed has focused on improving the strength of the muscles responsible for accelerating the movement. In other words, the emphasis is on training the agonist muscles. These muscles are targeted with the assumption that if they are stronger, they can do things like accelerate the arm faster, which will result in a faster pitch. The antagonist muscles, the ones responsible for stopping the limb at the end of the movement, are not trained as much. This lack of attention to the antagonists could explain why athletes who should be able to go faster do not.

Studies of fast movements and strength training at the elbow have found that when the antagonist muscle (the triceps) was trained, movement was faster. Yet, when the agonist (the biceps) was trained, no significant change occurred in the movement speed. The reasoning is simple. At the elbow, the biceps is stronger than the triceps in most athletes. When the agonist is stronger than the antagonist, the neuromuscular system limits movement to speeds that the triceps can safely brake - even if the biceps could make the arm move faster.

It is the same safety precaution you would take if driving a car. Imagine that you had a car that could travel at 150 mph but brakes that could stop you only at 100 mph or slower. Would you drive 150 mph? No, and for the same reasons, the body will not allow the arm to move faster than it can be stopped. So, the traditional approach to strengthening a pitcher's throwing motion may not be enough to ensure that he will throw faster. Interestingly, faster pitches may be more dependent on getting stronger brakes than accelerators.

One additional finding of the research is important to note. When the stronger muscle was the braking muscle (biceps), strengthening the triceps did indeed result in faster movements. This just emphasizes the point that the speed athletes will move is based on the strength of the weakest muscle, which is often the antagonist.