The body should be trained as it is to be used. If the role of a muscle is to create movement, then completing that movement will in turn train the muscle.
The hip extensors should be trained by extending the hip, the elbow flexors by flexing the elbow, the knee extensors by extending the knee. When the primary role is movement, the primary training type should in involve movement.
These muscles fall into the category of ‘prime movers’. Not all muscles however have evolved to create movement – and thus, not all should be trained as such. Colloquially – the sign of a strong core is a six-pack, or the ability to do hundreds of sit-ups. The misconception spawns misguided ‘core training’ – movement based exercises that target and isolate the muscles of the ‘core’.
The role of these muscles is in midline stabilisation. The key term here is ‘stabilisation’. They have not evolved to create movement, but to resist movement. Their function is to keep the spine neutral, the position where the body is most protected from damage.
So how do we best train the midline for resisting movement? Quite simply by resisting movement. By completing large muscle group gross motor skills like squats, deadlifts, presses, cleans etc (a combination of power and Olympic lifting) with perfect form and a neutral spine, we are training the muscles responsible for maintaining this neutral spine. The use of hollow body positions in bodyweight movements will further develop the midline.
