A Six Pack Won’t Make You a Better Runner,But These Deep Core Exercises Might

By Claire Maldarelli

Most new runners assume that the best way to improve is simply to run greater and greater distances. While it’s true that going farther and faster will improve your running skills, most coaches and trainers will advise some level of strength training as well. Focusing on your core is a common suggestion. A recent study seems to back this up1back up證實，支持。. In the Journal of Biomechanics,researchers investigated a symptom that has long mystified runners from novice to elite: A good chunk of runners, 14 percent to be exact, experience chronic lower back pain. The results of the new study seem to suggest that weak deep core muscles might be to blame. When these muscles aren’t strong enough, the study found, muscles on other areas of the torso kick in2kick in被激活，開始發揮作用。to keep the runner upright, eventually leading to back pain.

大部分跑步初習者都會認為，最好的提高方式就是不斷增加跑步的里程。誠然，跑得更快、更遠確實可以提高跑步技能，但大部分教練和培訓師也會建議做一定的力量訓練。通常的建議是專注核心力量訓練。最近的一項研究似乎為這一觀點提供了支持，《生物力學期刊》刊載了該研究報告。報告稱，研究人員探究了長期以來一直困惑從新手到高手在內所有跑步者的一個癥狀：很多跑步者——確切來說，14%的跑步者——都會經歷慢性下背痛。這項新研究的結果似乎表明，深層核心肌肉力量弱可能是導致這一癥狀的元兇。研究發現，當深層核心肌肉力量不夠時，為了保證跑步者身體挺直，人體軀干其他部位的肌肉就會被激活，而這最終會導致背痛。

[2] To understand the role that these muscles play, the researchers had eight volunteers with minimal running experience run along an indoor track. Highspeed cameras and 3D motion detectors analyzed which muscles moved, and how much. Once they created a working computer model for each runner, the scientists simulated what would happen if certain deep muscles were weaker, or shut off completely. As it turns out, when a person can’t use their deep core muscles very well, their bodies still want (and need) to maintain a good running form,and uses superficial muscles to do so.

[3] What’s wrong with that? A muscle is a muscle, right? Not exactly. While the superficial muscles are often targeted in workouts—they give you a six-pack,after all—they are pretty useless when it comes to supporting your spine3spine脊柱，脊椎。. The deeper core muscles, which essentially lie beneath and can’t be seen from the outside, do all the heavy spinal lifting.

[2]為了解這些肌肉的作用，研究人員安排8位幾乎沒有跑步經驗的志愿者沿一條室內跑道跑步，并使用高速攝像頭和三維運動檢測器來分析哪些肌肉產生了運動，以及它們的運動幅度。據此為每一位志愿者建成有效的計算機模型后，科學家就對設想情況進行模擬：如果某些深層肌肉力量較弱，甚或完全失去力量，會發生什么。結果表明：當運動者不能充分利用深層核心肌肉時，其身體仍會想要（也需要）維持良好的跑步姿態，這時身體就會使用表層肌肉滿足這一需求。

[3]這有什么問題呢？無論深層還是表層，肌肉就是肌肉，不是嗎？確切來說，還真不是這樣。雖然表層肌肉常被作為訓練目標——畢竟，這能讓你練出6塊腹肌——但在為脊柱提供支持這一點上，表層肌肉幾乎毫無用處。是那些深藏下方、肉眼看不到的深層核心肌肉，承擔著支撐脊柱的全部重任。

[4] When you are pounding4pound腳步沉重地跑。the pavement for miles at a time, you put a lot of pressure on your spine. If you’ve got strong deep core muscles, that’s no problem. If not, your running could eventually lead to chronic back pain. In fact,the researchers found that when they dialed down deep core muscle strength as low as it could go in their simulation, the load on each vertebrae5vertebrae椎骨。increased—often by as much as 19 percent. It’s easy to see how that kind of pressure could add up to big problems over time.

[5] The authors note that while many of the most popular ab6=abdominal腹部的。workouts, like sit-ups7sit-up仰臥起坐。or other exercises that involve a large range of motion, are pretty useless for your deep core, fixed exercises like planks8plank平板支撐。or side bridges9side bridge側橋，側向平板支撐。go a long way10go a long way大有幫助，大有效果。.

[6] It’s important to note that even when you’ve made these muscles super strong, you won’t likely notice visible results. They’ll never give you washboard11washboard搓衣板，常用以喻指腹肌明顯的腹部。abs. But they will probably help you run better, and definitely help prevent potentially debilitating12debilitate削弱，使衰弱。chronic back pain. So take a few crunches out of your rotation and throw a nice long plank in—or just do both.

[4]當你沿著人行道奮力奔跑數英里不停歇的時候，你給脊柱施加了很大壓力。如果你的深層核心肌肉有力量，這些壓力就不會造成損傷；如果沒有，那么跑步最終會使你患上慢性背痛。事實上，研究人員發現，在模擬實驗中把核心肌肉力量盡可能調到最低時，每塊椎骨的負重都增加了——增加幅度常常高達19%。不難看出，隨著時間的推移，這樣的壓力會導致嚴重問題。

[5]研究者特別指出，雖然很多最受歡迎的腹部訓練——如仰臥起坐或其他含有大幅度動作的訓練——對鍛煉深層核心肌肉毫無用處，但平板支撐、側橋等固定訓練方式卻大有效果。

[6]需要注意的是，即使把深層核心肌肉訓練得非常強壯，也不太可能看到明顯的塑形效果。這些肌肉不會讓你擁有搓衣板一樣的優美腹部線條，但它們可能幫助你跑得更好，也一定有助于預防對身體造成潛在損害的慢性背痛。所以，下次鍛煉時，可以從訓練動作組中去掉幾個仰臥起坐，增加一個有效、持久的平板支撐——或者兩者都做。