Core training

What works

Train the core directly; compound lifts alone are not enough. Jeff Cavaliere argues compound movements lack the rotational and anti-rotational demands the core needs, so direct work is necessary to maximize core strength (Jeff Cavaliere, direct work). Dr. Pat Davidson finds improving abdominal function and thorax movement enhances force production and stamina with no real downside (Dr. Pat Davidson), and Dr. Mike Israetel shows direct anterior-chain work even raises kicking power in athletes (Dr. Mike Israetel). Mike Boyle includes isometric and anti-rotation work as standing components of a complete program (Mike Boyle).

Cover every core function, not just crunching. Davidson's simple taxonomy is spinal flexion, side bending, and rotation, sampled with decline sit-ups, loaded side bends, and barbell or landmine rotations (Dr. Pat Davidson). Cavaliere adds the anti-extension and anti-rotation family (Jeff Cavaliere) and splits rectus work into top-down and bottom-up pelvic actions, two scaled exercises covering complete development (Jeff Cavaliere, both functions). Judd Lienhard wants the spine taxed in every plane, flexing, rotating, and coiling under load, with landmines prized for their natural coiling demand (Judd Lienhard).

Load the abs and progress them like any other muscle. Effective hypertrophy work lives in the 5 to 30 rep range with resistance; thousands of unloaded sit-ups build endurance, not size or strength (Dr. Mike Israetel). Cavaliere progresses weighted work from 5 lb plates for beginners to 25 lb for advanced (Jeff Cavaliere) and uses hanging leg raises with pelvic curl for real overload (Jeff Cavaliere); Boyle's six-phase straight-leg sit-up ladder adds load, counter-rotation, then single-leg demand (Mike Boyle).

Quality of contraction beats rep counting. Stop counting and make every rep count with slow, deliberate movement and hard contractions (Jeff Cavaliere, technique); crunches should peel one vertebra at a time rather than lifting the shoulder blades as a block, and the RKC plank (pulling elbows and toes toward each other in posterior pelvic tilt) turns a passive hold into a maximal contraction (Jeff Cavaliere).

Visible abs are made by fat loss and nutrition, not endless ab work. Most physique athletes need small direct ab training for a six-pack; visibility depends on leanness, and fear of a blocky waist from ab or oblique training is misplaced (Dr. Pat Davidson). Oblique training sharpens the taper (Jeff Cavaliere), and spot reduction of love handles is not possible (Jeff Cavaliere).

Bracing is 360 degrees. A full-circumference brace raises trunk stiffness and holds spinal position under load (Michelle MacDonald); Lienhard's slam-ball brace drill teaches ribs-drawn-in bracing without lat lock, closer to how bracing works in real movement (Judd Lienhard).

Carries are core training. Gray Cook uses the farmer's carry at 75 percent bodyweight for about 60 seconds in a figure-eight as a test of spinal stability and postural integrity (Gray Cook), Dr. Jordan Shallow calls anterior-loaded carries with sandbags or med balls underutilized spine training that also builds scapulothoracic stability and glute activation (Dr. Jordan Shallow), and Gunnar Peterson programs loaded farmer's walks in core circuits (Gunnar Peterson).

For specific situations

• Runners and endurance athletes. The core is an energy conduit; include diaphragm and pelvic floor, favor multi-joint integrated movements over piles of isolated concentric ab work, which can degrade running technique and encourage gripping at short muscle lengths (Dr. Michelle Boland, length caution).
• Athletes generally. Match the contraction type of sport: brief, forceful contractions with long rests rather than prolonged endurance holds (Judd Lienhard); add cross-pattern contralateral loading to mimic sprinting forces, or simply use unilateral upper-body work (Judd Lienhard, shortcut); make med-ball rotations athletic by pivoting through the movement (Gunnar Peterson).
• Session placement. Fold core work into warm-ups or between-set downtime with exercises that complement the day and do not pre-fatigue the spine, rather than saving it for a separate day or the session's end (Dr. Jordan Shallow, warm-up, Gunnar Peterson).
• Shoulder pain. Ribcage-mobility core work in all three planes before pull sessions can reduce shoulder pain, an often-missing program piece (Dr. Jordan Shallow).
• Rotation asymmetries. Chops and lifts should feel similar on both sides; fix left-right differences with slow chops and lifts before progressing to faster weight shifting (Gray Cook).
• Beginners and older adults. Roll-ups teach control (Jeff Cavaliere); incline shoulder taps deliver anti-rotation work with less wrist strain, 8 to 15 reps per side scaled by level (Joan MacDonald); clock taps build balance and hip stability against fall risk (Joan MacDonald); planks can start at 15 seconds and build to a minute (Gunnar Peterson), though plank families may be too demanding as a beginner's first move (Joan MacDonald).
• Rehab and low-mobility contexts. Rolling patterns led by the head integrate neck and spine (Gray Cook); 3D stabilization progresses ground-based to kneeling to standing (Gray Cook); flexion-biased drills like happy-baby rolls and towel-squeeze toe touches restore lumbar flexion after manipulation (Gray Cook).
• Balancing the back. Train the erector spinae as the abdominal wall's antagonist with controlled supermans (Gunnar Peterson); Shallow's fuller "spine training" concept adds heavy sagittal loading (safety bar good mornings) and distraction work (pull-ups) as a distinct category (Dr. Jordan Shallow).

Open questions

• Planks. Cavaliere, Boyle, Peterson, and Hallinan all use plank variants, with Hallinan specifying spinal flexion rather than extension in the hold (Neal Hallinan). Hartman argues planks are not for everyone: poorly executed they build compensations, and a valid plank requires effortless breathing in position (Bill Hartman). Davidson adds that failing a plank does not prove weak abs, and plank proficiency is itself a trained skill (Dr. Pat Davidson). Practical middle ground: planks are useful when breathing stays easy and the pelvis stays tucked.
• How much direct ab volume? Cavaliere alone pushes near-daily short sessions (3 to 10 minutes, three-plus days weekly) for consistency and visibility (Jeff Cavaliere, consistency), while Davidson notes physique athletes often need small direct work (Dr. Pat Davidson). Treat daily ab training as optional preference, not requirement.

Cautions

• Israetel's two-minute sit-up and pull-up test standards describe a specific selection context, not general training targets (Dr. Mike Israetel).

Putting it into practice

• Include direct core work in every complete program: one spinal-flexion movement, one rotation or anti-rotation movement, and one carry or lateral (side-bend or side-plank) movement across the week.
• Load ab work in the 5 to 30 rep range and progress resistance over time; treat unloaded high-rep marathons as endurance work only.
• Cover both rectus functions: a top-down movement (crunch family, cable crunch) and a bottom-up movement (reverse corkscrew, hanging leg raise with pelvic curl), scaled by level.
• Slot core work into warm-ups or between-set downtime with spine-friendly choices; avoid pre-fatiguing the spine before heavy compound lifts.
• For runners and field athletes, bias integrated, brief-forceful, cross-pattern core work (landmine coils, med-ball rotations, carries) over long endurance holds.
• Gate planks on quality: easy breathing, posterior pelvic tilt, no sagging; upgrade with RKC technique rather than longer holds.
• For low back pain, avoid loaded crunches initially and use carries, anti-rotation, and integrated patterns; reintroduce flexion gradually per the Davidson position once asymptomatic.
• Set expectations: ab visibility is driven by nutrition and body fat, and oblique work sharpens rather than thickens the waist.

Experts in this guide: Bill Hartman, Dr. Jordan Shallow, Dr. Michelle Boland, Dr. Mike Israetel, Dr. Pat Davidson, Gray Cook, Gunnar Peterson, Jeff Cavaliere, Joan MacDonald, Judd Lienhard, Michelle MacDonald, Mike Boyle, Neal Hallinan, both functions, consistency, direct work, example, framework, length caution, shortcut, technique, warm-up.

Before you act. Entrain is a free knowledge resource. It brings together what named doctors, scientists and coaches teach publicly, with sources, so you can explore and discuss it with your own clinician. It does not diagnose, treat or prescribe, and it is not a substitute for medical care.