You can talk about your “core” in several different ways.  You can point to muscle sets like lats, obliques, and the “pelvic floor”...or you can skip the jargon and think of your core as the ‘internal’ muscles that don’t get the same attention as others. 

You can think of the ‘core’ muscles as defined by what they are not: the biceps, triceps, leg and limb muscles you work on various fixed weight machines are a different set than your core muscles, which are worked differently and in more subtle ways.  There are rarely specific machines for specific core muscles, because they work in concert to help your body complete various exercises.

One set of muscles that are considered core are the muscles that support the spine.  This ‘community’ of muscles is responsible for mitigating the pressure of weight on your back, as other limb muscles act on the weight.  Thinking about the spinal support muscles gives us a good idea of what core training is: this kind of training focuses on holistic strength, so that when you go to do high-intensity weight training (or even moderate intensity), you won’t end up hurting your back or torso.  Think of it this way: if you’re trying too hard to work limb muscles, but your core is actually the ‘weakest link’, all of that pressure will grind on your back or torso, and have an adverse effect.

Core training takes many forms: though many point out that the best core training is done with weight resistance, others argue that using ‘mobility tools’ like a balance board, roller board or exercise ball does engage the core, while providing better balance and agility.  The idea is this: these balance challengers make it necessary for your core muscles to work in small, incremental ways over a period of time.  This may not bulk up your core to a much higher resistance to weight, but it will tone and work the core, and for beginners, this is a great jumping off point. 

The opponents of the balance board theory also have a point, in that if you are looking to get set to handle high weights, your core training is usually best off consisting of weight resistance while you’re on an even surface.  In other words, you can do weight or balance training, but usually not both at once.

Either way, the core is getting a lot of attention at gyms and fitness centers, and a lot of tools have been developed to do both weight and balance core training, like balance tools and free weight tools for muscle building.  All kinds of tools, from the Coreglide or wobble board to the medicine ball (weighted for good core resistance training) work to define and add ability to the body’s core.  And this is in itself a worthy goal: a “starting point” for anyone wanting to get overall body strength.  Check out the variety of core training products available to start building your own personalized routine!