Core Strength Secret (THE HIP HINGE!!)

Get a strong core by training your abs like an athlete here
Core strength is a buzz word that gets thrown around a lot in the fitness industry but is often misunderstood. Some think that core strength has everything to do with the abs. While the abs certainly play a large role in the ultimate strength of your core, there are other muscles that play a significant part as well not to mention other joints.
In fact, in this video, I’m going to show you how mobility and not stability in other joints can have a profound effect on the ultimate strength of your core muscles. If you realize that the entire body is set up as one kinetic chain with alternating segments of stability and mobility, you see quickly that the core and low back are meant to be stabile for optimal performance.
That said, the joints immediately above and below the central core or abs and lower back must provide mobility. This includes the hips and the thoracic spine. If either of these joints do not have the adequate amount of mobility then they will look to the joint in between (the lower back) for some additional mobility to pick up the slack. The problem is, this area is not meant to be providing mobility to joints that lack it. The core is supposed to provide a more dynamic stability that we can rely on to protect our spines and lower back from injury.
When hip hinge mobility is limited (by either tight hamstrings or an inability to consciously activate it) then the lower back stability is compromised in an effort to keep the lower body mobility what it needs to be to perform many heavy lifts. For instance, if the hips lack the ability to perform a hinge when performing a bent over row or a deadlift, the lower back will be called in to help out. When the lower back flexes to allow the hips to travel further back (as they would need to in a deadlift) you immediately put the lumbar spine at risk of injury.
This is not what you want. To ensure this doesn’t happen you have to have adequate hip hinging mobility. If you find that your tight hamstrings are causing the limitation, you’ll want to start stretching your hamstrings out of an anterior pelvic tilt. Doing this out of a posterior tilt not only won’t stretch your hamstrings enough, but it will not place them in the same demand as they will be functionally when you go back to perform these heavier lifts under load.
If you lack the understanding of how to perform the hinge, I provide a simple technique for you to identify how and where the hinge should occur. Place your hands on the creases of your hips as you begin to move your hips back. This is where you should focus the movement without allowing the lower back to round. Master this movement and you’ll soon be able to hinge without compromising the strength and stability of your core.
Fore a complete workout program that helps you to build a strong core by training like an athlete, head to and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System. Over 120 ab and core exercises are included as well as daily workouts the put the core at the core of every exercise you do.
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