Why I Don’t Call It “Core” Training

Most people approach core training with the wrong goal and the wrong tools, relying on crunches and sit-ups that fail to develop real-world stability or performance. In this episode of the Everyday Strength Podcast, Anthony explains why he prefers the term trunk musculature and why the trunk’s primary role is force transfer, stability, and coordination rather than visible abs. He breaks down the anatomy and physiology that govern trunk function and shows how poor trunk training limits strength, athleticism, and injury resilience. The episode introduces a clear three-tier framework for trunk training and explains how to program it intelligently across a training week. Listeners will walk away with a practical, evidence-backed system for building a trunk that actually carries over to lifting, running, and sport.

Key Topics Covered:

This episode explores why traditional ab-focused training misses the point of trunk development and reframes the trunk as a system responsible for stiffness, force transmission, and movement control. Anthony explains the three tiers of trunk training: intrinsic stability, dynamic stability, and ballistic stability, and how each serves a different purpose. The discussion covers how trunk musculature contributes to performance and injury reduction and how to integrate trunk work into existing training without turning it into random ab circuits. The episode also breaks down Anthony’s most-used trunk exercises and how to progress them over time.