I see the article on The Times newspaper by Peta Bee (The Core Stability Myth 10/08/2010) has stirred up this old debate again. The article called into question the thinking behind core workouts quoting a number of top specialists including Stuart McGill saying that too much emphasis is placed on this group of muscles. Not surprisingly the fitness world and Pilates instructors have reacted in numbers claiming the article has misinterpreted the findings etc.

Personally, I think it's coming down to semantics. I believe the whole issue is a red-herring and is more a matter of coordination and not just about a specific group of muscles. See my articles on Are Golfers Wasting Their Time With Golf Strength Programs? and Does a golfer need strong core muscles to play good golf?

You'll know the importance of being relaxed to play your shot. If there's any undue tension in your body your coordination will suffer and you'll lose power for your drive, control over the club and reduce sensitivity in your hands and muscles. Yet, you still see many golfers who tighten their lower back and hamstrings when getting into their stance. So before they've even started to play they have kissed goodbye to the poise required for a good shot. This happens because they've pulled themselves down into their stance - well surely to get down you have to pull down!

Well actually no.

Okay, so how do you get into a stance without pulling down? (I hear you ask) If you watch a young child squat to pick up a toy from the floor you'll see them appear to go up to go down. This doesn't involve tightening the lower back or hamstrings, they do it by removing the weight of their body off the legs and the legs just 'let go'.

For instructions on how you can do this see my golf stance tip.