Midline stabilization is essential for effective functional movement. Kelly Starrett, of San Francisco CrossFit, explains the essential anatomy and physiology of it in this excerpt from his one day seminar at CrossFit Santa Cruz on November 9, 2008.
The midline is the entire spine, and its stability is dependent not just on the core, but also on all the prime movers of the body, including the hip, glutes, and hamstrings. Excessive tightness in any of the prime movers will affect the core muscles, often resulting in low back pain.
In this part 4, Kelly shows how easy it is to forget about midline stabilization in the squat. He explains why it is essential to train even the air squat with a supported core, and he covers some of the common midline flaws found in a weighted back squat.
This is the fourth of a series from Kelly on the theory and practice of stabilizing the midline in functional movement.