Trunk Training

He's ready for beach season!

            “My training program consists of blah blah blah, core work, and cardio. I don’t like to lift heavy because I know it’s bad for the body. I focus more on my core because I want a six pack; I have a little layer that I am trying to get rid of…” or "I want to do more core because it's beach season... I need a six-pack bod!"

            The quotes above are both mine... … … Kidding. They are generic quotes of many people who go to the gym prior to the two shirtless seasons: spring break and summer. While there are more things wrong with the quotes above, but let’s just focus on that pesky word "core" for now. “Core” is the most over-used, useless word in the fitness world. Everyone wants to “hit the core hard” but what does that even mean? I know, it’s the middle of our body, our center and thus, our ‘core’; but as far as a fitness term goes, it is useless. I’m going to borrow a term that I heard a powerlifter say once about the “core,” and that is: it is the trunk. So, from now on, it is our trunk.

           Our trunk is what transfers energy from our lower body to/through our upper body in the real world and in sport; it is where that sexy six-pack lies; and it is also where a host of other muscles are that stabilize all movement that we do. Yes, movement. If our “core’s” weren’t working as some people say when “diagnosing” a back injury, then how do we move? How can we lift anything up? How can we function in daily life? The answer is: we couldn’t and wouldn’t. While it is much easier these days to survive with a weak trunk than it was in generations past, we still must have a functioning one to, well, function.

          As Andy said, the gym is littered with people that do thousands of crunches, v-ups, planks, and other garbage like that but to no avail. If you want a six-pack, listen up: 1)your body doesn’t burn fat in specific areas just because you are working them, 2) if you want to burn fat, crunches are an awful way to do so, and 3) six-packs are due to great genetics or great nutrition. If you want a six-pack, get born with great genetics or clean up your eating. There you go, I know that's what you wanted to hear.

           Now, as far as training the trunk goes, there are ways to do that. I am not anti-trunk-training, I just don’t like wasting valuable gym time doing silly things. If you are going to do something, you should be able to progress it somehow with weight –if you are going to do a crunch, if you feel it is 100% necessary, do a partial weighted one so you don’t put the pressure on your lumbar vertebrae from bending them the wrong direction. Other than that, you can train your trunk with heavy lifting. Yes, heavy lifting. It doesn’t necessarily have to be maximal, but the heavier you lift, the more your trunk will be worked. Lifts like the front squat, the overhead press, back squat, and my personal favorite, the deadlift, are all incredibly hard exercises for the trunk. If your trunk was not working or not functional, you would literally break during your warm ups sets for these exercises. Other exercises like unsupported rows, dumbbell or barbell, weighted push-ups, and even pull ups are great ways to hit the trunk.

This is Lu Xiaojun, he weighs 77kg

This is Lu Xiaojun with 205kg over his head... he must work his core...

                                            

             Those are all great ways to tax the trunk and make it stronger, but another way that is perhaps more ‘functional’ if you will, is to throw a little strongman training into your workout program. Now, as a disclaimer, please have someone who is familiar with the training assist you before trying nearly all of the things you see in strongman. Whew, ok, now that we have that covered… Strongman is a great way to work your trunk in a manner that you could possibly encounter in your everyday life, just heavier. Things like the yoke walk, the farmers carry, the atlas stones, the wheelbarrow load and race, and power stairs are all things that originated in everyday life. People used to use yolks to carry heavy things for long distances when doing a farmers carry would not suffice. Both are great ways to fire up the trunk and make it work extra hard. Think about it, do you ever have to pick up a slightly heavy laundry basket and put it on a washer? Most people will say yes to that and that’s where atlas stones come into play; they are very similar to doing that, just much, much heavier. The atlas stones are also a great way to work that six-pack to make it strong because that is exactly what those muscles are there for: to resists your upper body going too far backwards. In the atlas stones, that muscles play a huge role in moving that stone towards the platform once it is lifted. The wheelbarrow load and race is a great way to work your trunk in a way that you would while you are working in your yard picking up debris and other stuff, putting it into the wheelbarrow, then moving on to the next object to pick up. The power stairs are much work the rear side of the trunk, but are still working the trunk nonetheless. They are heavier way to mimic taking something too heavy to flat our carry, up the stairs.

Strongman training is can be a really fun way to increase trunk strength and make things in everyday life a bit easier and less exhausting; however, it is not necessary for a strong trunk.

This is strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski... He carries heavy things for his trunk work

               As I said earlier, please be safe if you are going to do strongman. I love it, but I am not niave to its dangers either. If you don’t want to do that, lifting heavy will do just fine. Benedikt Magnusson holds the world record deadlift at 1015lbs. I watched a documentary on him once and saw him lifting small statues that take two people to carry usually, putting them under one arm, and then walking to the next item to look at it… he and his new bride were looking at things for their house. His trunk is strong from powerlifting and deadlifting, that he was able to maintain his posture while walking and make the statues look much lighter than they were. One thing is for sure though: he isn’t wasting time in the gym doing crunches or any of those other silly, waste-of-time movements (they don’t deserve the term exercise). So go out, stop wasting time, and kill two birds with one stone: get stronger while building a stronger trunk!

Benedikt Magnusson smiling with 1015lbs in his hands...fun.