Abstract

Core strength has received much attention over the last decade. This may be the result of strength and conditioning professionals buying into the notion that athletic power comes from the middle of the body – its core. Many new modalities and methods have been proposed for enhancing the function of the body’s core. Stability and strength training using medicine balls, stability balls, bands, and pulleys have been some of the new, popular approaches to core training. Exercises using these modalities, especially various rotational movements, are now standard core exercises in many conditioning programs. The effectiveness of rotational movements in core training may be attributed to the consistency between the movement and the body’s functional design. One look at the body’s core musculature quickly uncovers the body’s crisscross design. This diagonal orientation resembles a serape, a colorful scarflike blanket worn by natives of Mexico and other South American countries. A serape is worn around the back of the neck, crossed in the front of the body, and tucked into the belt line. The serape’s crisscross design provides an excellent mechanism of force production between the shoulder and the opposite hip. By rotating the shoulders and hips in opposite directions, the trunk’s ventral musculature is prestretched in a diagonal pattern. This diagonal prestretch has been referred to as the “serape effect”. The function of the serape effect is to provide the muscles of the core an optimal length-tension environment for maximum force production. The serape effect is the result of the interaction of four pairs of muscles: the rhomboids, the serratus anterior, the external obliques, and the internal obliques. Textauszug