Core training for athletes should build anti-rotation and anti-extension bracing under load, not crunch volume. The core's job in sport is to transfer force between the lower body and upper body without leaking energy, so the best training tools are loaded carries, anti-rotation presses, and bracing drills under real tension.
Ask most athletes what core training looks like and they'll describe a set of crunches, maybe some Russian twists, tacked onto the end of a workout because someone told them abs matter. It's not wrong that abs matter. It's wrong about what training them for sport actually requires.
The core isn't a body part you isolate. It's the connection point that decides whether the force your legs produce actually reaches your arms, your bat, your throw, your cut — or leaks out along the way.
What Is the Core Actually For?
In sport, the core's job is transfer and stability, not movement for its own sake. When you sprint, jump, throw, or change direction, force starts in the ground and travels up through the hips and torso before it shows up as bat speed, throwing velocity, or a hard cut. A weak or untrained core is where that force gets lost — it shows up as a slower throw, a mistimed swing, or a knee that takes the load your trunk should have controlled.
The core's real job isn't to move you. It's to stop you from moving where you shouldn't — so force can go where you need it to.
Why Doesn't Crunch Volume Get You There?
Crunches train spinal flexion — bending forward against resistance. That's rarely what happens in sport. What happens in sport is your trunk getting hit with rotational force, side-bending force, and extension force while you're trying to stay rigid and control it. Training flexion in isolation doesn't prepare you for any of that, and high-rep ab circuits mostly build local endurance, not the kind of bracing strength that holds up under a tackle or a max-effort sprint.
What Should Core Training Actually Look Like?
Effective core training for athletes is almost always anti-movement: resisting rotation, resisting extension, resisting side-bend, while under real load. That's a different training stimulus than most people expect, and it looks less like a mat workout and more like a strength session.
- Anti-rotation presses (Pallof press variations) — resisting a rotational pull while pressing
- Loaded carries (farmer's, suitcase, offset carries) — bracing the trunk while the load tries to pull you off center
- Anti-extension work (planks under load, ab wheel rollouts, dead bugs) — controlling the lower back under tension
- Heavy compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, overhead presses) — the core braces on every rep whether you isolate it or not
You don't need more ab exercises. You need your core doing its actual job — under load, not on a mat.
How Much Direct Core Work Do You Actually Need?
Less than you think. Squats, deadlifts, and single-leg work already demand serious bracing, so most of an athlete's "core training" is happening inside their strength program already. A couple of targeted anti-rotation or anti-extension movements per week, done with intent, covers the rest. What matters more than volume is whether the athlete actually knows how to brace under load — and that's something we test, not guess at, in an assessment.
The Bottom Line
Core training isn't about how many crunches you can do. It's about whether your trunk can hold its position while force moves through it — in a sprint, a swing, a collision. Train the core to resist, not just to flex, and it will do its job everywhere else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do athletes need to do crunches?
Not really. Crunches train spinal flexion, which rarely occurs in sport. Athletes get more transfer from anti-rotation and anti-extension work — bracing the trunk under load — than from high-rep flexion exercises.
How often should athletes train their core directly?
Two to three focused sessions a week is usually plenty, since squats, deadlifts, and single-leg lifts already demand heavy bracing. Direct core work should add anti-rotation or anti-extension movements the main lifts don't cover, not stack extra volume on top.
What's the best core exercise for athletes?
There isn't one best exercise, but anti-rotation presses and loaded carries are among the most transferable because they train the trunk to resist force the way it has to in sport, rather than moving through a fixed range like a crunch does.
Can a weak core cause injuries?
Yes. If the trunk can't brace properly, force that should be controlled at the core often gets absorbed by the knees, lower back, or shoulders instead, which raises injury risk over time.
Find Out If Your Core Is Actually Doing Its Job.
An FPC assessment tests how you brace and transfer force under load — not just how many crunches you can do. Start with an assessment.
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