The Core Strength Myth

Myths, by their very nature, are very hard to dispel once they’ve taken hold. Despite the core stability myth being exposed nearly ten years ago, and journalist Peta Bee writing about it in The Times in 2010, from conversations I have with people I’d say its hold is as strong as ever.

The myth is that by having a stronger “core” (a poorly defined term anyway) you will have better posture, less back pain, and will perform better in your sporting activities. There’s an elephant in the room regarding this too and I’ll come back to it later.

From personal experience I have never met anyone with a core so weak that they can’t achieve good posture and less back pain without having to strengthen it. If you can walk into my Alexander Technique studio, your core is strong enough. And if it is technically a little “weak”, well-coordinated functional movement (the ability to perform normal daily tasks efficiently) will soon give it the tone it needs. Muscle tone, not strength; there’s a world of difference! Balanced poise doesn’t require “strength”, and “stability” invariably translates into rigidity at the expense of mobility.

What isn’t weak are the habits that pull you away from your natural poise and freedom of movement. Millions of years of evolution have given you postural reflexes that work just fine if you don’t interfere with them. You don’t need to “do” good posture, simply stop doing bad posture. Stop thinking of posture as a correct position and instead as a dynamic and fluid balancing act.