Why moving your arms and legs while core training makes your abs work harder
Integration Core Exercises Elicit Greater Muscle Activation Than Isolation Exercises
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Doing core exercises that also move your arms and legs (like mountain climbers) makes your stomach and back muscles work much harder than just doing crunches or planks.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 542 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Doing core exercises that also move your arms and legs (like mountain climbers) makes your stomach and back muscles work much harder than just doing crunches or planks.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 542 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Gottschall JS, Mills J, Hastings B
Related Content
Claims (5)
Performing core exercises that include balance challenges, like the mountain climber plank, leads to greater activation of the external oblique and gluteus maximus muscles compared to holding a static plank position in healthy young adults.
Performing core exercises that involve moving opposite limbs at the same time leads to greater activation of the lower back muscles compared to exercises that move only one limb at a time, in healthy young adults.
Exercises that engage the core while moving the arms activate the front shoulder muscles more than 200% more than exercises that only target the abdomen, such as crunches, in healthy young adults.
Core exercises that involve moving multiple body parts at once, such as the shoulders and hips, result in higher electrical activity in the abdominal and lower back muscles than exercises that focus only on the core, in young adults aged 22–25.
Core exercises that involve multiple muscle groups and movements activate the side abdominal muscles 25% to 300% more than exercises that target only one muscle group, such as side bends or side planks, in healthy young adults.