How To Effectively Train Your "Core" - Foundry Personal Training Gyms

When most people talk about training their core, they typically mean doing a lot of ab work. While the abdominals play a role, core strength encompasses far more than just crunches and sit-ups.

We take a broader view. We see the core as everything between your shoulders and your hips. This includes the abdominals, lower back, obliques, glutes, and even the muscles around your spine and upper back. Together, these muscles create a strong, stable trunk that supports movement, improves posture and protects you from injury.

Rethink The Core

Rather than thinking of the core as just your six-pack muscles, think of it as a bridge between the upper and lower body. It transfers force, maintains posture and allows you to move efficiently.

A well-trained core helps you perform compound lifts, such as squats and deadlifts, safely. It keeps your spine supported when you lift, twist or bend. It also plays a key role in balance, coordination, and injury prevention, especially as we age.

Move Beyond Crunches

There is a belief that more crunches equal a stronger core. In reality, excessive spinal flexion, especially under fatigue or poor form, can lead to problems. Leading spinal health researchers, such as Dr Stuart McGill, have shown that the spine can only tolerate a certain number of flexion cycles before the risk of injury increases.

That does not mean all crunches are harmful. Movements like the reverse crunch can be beneficial, particularly for targeting the lower abdominal muscles. However, these should form a small part of your overall programme, not its foundation.

Start With Stability

Before adding load or doing complex movements, you need to build control. This means training your core to resist unwanted movement, rather than just producing it. At Foundry, we focus on what we call anti-movement training.

This includes:

Anti-rotation (resisting twisting)
Anti-extension (resisting back bending)
Anti-lateral flexion (resisting side bending)

Exercises like Pallof holds, planks, dead bugs and bird dogs teach you to brace and stabilise your spine. These build the base of control needed for more advanced training.

Build Posterior Strength

The muscles at the back of your body are often overlooked in core training. This includes your glutes, spinal erectors and hamstrings. These muscles are essential for posture, lifting and spinal support.

One benchmark we use at Foundry is the horizontal back extension hold. We recommend that clients hold this for 60 seconds before progressing to heavier lifts. It strengthens the lower back and teaches proper isometric control.

Progress With Intention

Once you can brace, hold, and control your spine through basic patterns, it’s time to progress. This might include more dynamic or loaded exercises, such as cable chops, rotational lunges, or loaded carries.

We also view squats, deadlifts and overhead presses as core exercises. When performed correctly, these lifts demand full-body bracing and control. Your core must stabilise your trunk under load, and that level of demand builds strength from the inside out.

Keep It Functional

At Foundry, core training is integrated into everything we do. It’s not about adding a few exercises at the end of a session. It is part of the warm-up, part of the main lift and part of how we coach every movement.

We want people to be able to move well, lift safely and carry strength into everyday life. Whether that is picking up a child, carrying shopping, or swinging a golf club, the core supports it all.

Mistakes to Avoid

A few things to watch out for:

Doing endless crunches without addressing other areas
Ignoring the back of the body
Rushing into advanced movements before mastering control
Thinking more is always better

Good core training is consistent, structured and purposeful. It is not about chasing fatigue. It is about building control, strength and resilience over time.

Core Workout

Advanced Core Circuit

Core Finisher Workout

Core Exercise for Lower Back Pain – Part 1

Core Exercise for Lower Back Pain – Part 2

Train The Foundry Way

Coaching makes a difference. Our Foundry Gyms teams guide you through each stage of core development, from basic activation to integrated strength work. Whether in personal training or small group sessions, you get support, structure and expert feedback.

A strong core is not built overnight, but it is built to last. With the right plan, it supports everything you do—inside and outside the gym.

How To Effectively Train Your “Core”