Core Training for Powerlifters

Core training for powerlifters should be just like anything else you do in training: specific to the athlete’s goal. In this case, the goal of powerlifting is to lift as much weight as possible for 1 rep in the squat, bench press and deadlift. So should a powerlifter’s core training regimen be similar to that of a bodybuilder, a team-sport athlete or a weekend warrior who wants to lose his beer gut?

The answer is an obvious “no,” yet the majority of powerlifters train their abs just like everyone else. But here’s a newsflash: if you want to be insanely strong, you can’t train like everyone else. And that includes your core training.

Let’s break down the following:

• Abdominal muscle anatomy (so you can understand what the abs actually do)
• What the abs do during the squat, bench and deadlift
• What exercises actually have carryover to the competition lifts

Abdominal Anatomy

If you don’t care about nerdy stuff like how many abdominal muscles you have and what they do, skip this part. But if you like knowing the “how” and the “why” behind your training, read on.

The abdominals consist of four main muscles:

• Rectus abdominis (RA): the “six pack” muscles on the front of the abdomen. The RA flexes the spine (i.e., bends forward like during a crunch or sit-up).
• Transverse abdominus (TVA): a deep, sheath-like muscle that spans the front and sides of the abdomen. The TVA stabilizes the spine and pelvis by creating intra-abdominal pressure, and also assists with forced expiration (breathing out).
• External Obliques (EO): the “side abs” that sit laterally to the RA. The EO assist the RA with flexion along with twisting and side-bending.
• Internal Obliques (IO): the deeper, smaller sibling to the EO. The IO helps with similar movements, but is unique in its attachment to the pelvis and therefore its ability to posteriorly tilt the pelvis (this matters a LOT for core bracing, so more on this later).

So now that we know what muscles we’re talking about and what movements they’re responsible for, let’s discuss their role in the squat, bench and deadlift.

Traditional Core Training Classification

Core training is most often classified into several categories based on movements of the spine. First you have abdominal exercises that CREATE movement:

• Flexion: movements that bend the spine forward (crunches, sit-ups, hanging leg raises)
• Extension: movements that arch the back (back raises, reverse hypers)
• Lateral flexion: movements that bend side-to-side (dumbbell side bends, side-lying crunches)
• Rotation: movements that twist the spine (Russian twists, med ball throws)

Extension-based movements aren’t really abdominal exercises because they train the lower back muscles (erector spinae, paraspinals, etc.). They’re included here because they’re a spinal movement, and it helps to understand how the abs and lower back work opposite each other, but for the purpose of this article, spinal extension isn’t considered “core” training.

Then you have exercises that RESIST movement at the spine:

• Anti-extension: exercises that resist arching the back (front planks, ab wheel rollouts, body saws)
• Anti-flexion: exercises that resist rounding the back (squats and deadlifts of all kinds, again not really “core” exercises but worth mentioning)
• Anti-lateral flexion: exercises that resist side-bending (1-arm farmer’s walks, side planks)
• Anti-rotation: exercises that resist twisting (Pallof presses, 1-leg front planks, bird dogs)

If we think about the nature of powerlifting, all the movements occur in the sagittal plane (front to back). There’s no meaningful lateral flexion or rotation occurring. If that’s the case, should we worry about training the core in this fashion? Is there a place for creating and resisting movement side-to-side and rotationally? Let’s explore that next.

Specificity is King

Core training for powerlifters should be specific to the sport. And what’s more specific than practicing the squat, bench and deadlift? You’ll hear many coaches say that all you need for a stronger core is to perform the big barbell lifts. So you shouldn’t need any additional core training, right?

Not so fast. Of course the core muscles are involved in the big lifts – otherwise this article wouldn’t need to exist. However, there are two problems:

• Many people squat and deadlift in such a way that the core muscles do very little (i.e., their technique sucks).
• The core muscles act isometrically during the big lifts (i.e., they don’t move), and if you don’t perform movements that take your abs through a full range of motion, you’re leaving lots of strength and size gains on the table. You wouldn’t just do wall sits if you wanted bigger quads, would you?

So even if you squat, bench and deadlift with pristine form and are very good at engaging your core, it’s still worth training your abs directly so that you can strengthen them further AND add muscle mass to your core. It’s like saying that pull-ups train your biceps so what’s the point of doing curls? That’s fine if you want tiny arms, but you can find the rest of us parked in front of the mirror getting a nice pump… hope to see you there! 

So powerlifting-specific core training isn’t just doing the big 3. It’s choosing exercises that do the following:

• Improve technique in the competition lifts by creating positional awareness (i.e., help you “feel” right vs. wrong technique)
• Directly strengthen the muscles that help perform the big lifts
• Increase muscle size of the abdominals to increase the base of support under the bar
• Contribute to longevity and injury resistance by increasing mobility and muscular balance

In other words, core training for powerlifting should improve your technique, strengthen the muscles that help you lift, and keep you healthy. You’ll need more than just the squat, bench and deadlift to accomplish this.

That said, is there a place for side-to-side and rotational movements in a powerlifter’s program? Perhaps, if only as a way to resist these unwanted movements during the big lifts, add some movement variably to ward off overuse injuries, and directly add muscle mass to these areas that are only trained isometrically during the big 3. More on this later.

Let’s go lift by lift to understand how core training can improve your performance.

Squat

Core strength is by far the most important during the squat compared to the other lifts. Because the bar is on your back and your legs are doing most of the work, your abdominals must stabilize the torso so you don’t get stapled to the floor. In fact, a lack of core bracing is THE number one mistake I see during the squat.

What We Want the Core to Do During the Squat:

• RA and IO to slightly pull the ribs down and pelvis up to create a solid “canister” position
• IO to maintain this position of the pelvis so our hips can express the mobility needed (hip flexion and internal rotation) to squat below parallel
• TVA to help us inhale deeply to create intra-abdominal pressure
• EO and IO to resist rotating and side-bending

Most people (myself included) learn to squat in such a way that the abs aren’t braced correctly and therefore can’t contribute much to the lift. The cues “chest up” and “arch your back” are well-intentioned because you don’t want to fall forward during the lift, but if you over-arch your lower back, you put the abs in a stretched position where they can’t stabilize the spine and pelvis. You also can’t inhale as well in this position, so if you’re trying to get “big air” during a squat to help brace your core, you’ll struggle to do so if your back is arched excessively. Watch this video for more on this topic:

Besides stabilizing the torso, the core muscles help hold the pelvis in a position so that hips can move freely. If you overarch your lower back, you roll your pelvis into anterior tilt, which closes down the space between your acetabulum (hip socket) and the head of your femur (upper leg bone), making it harder to hit depth. Lifters who squat with a huge back arch tend to do one of two things:

• Squat high (because there’s bone-on-bone contact between the femur and acetabulum before breaking parallel)
• Lose position in order to hit depth (some combination of chest falling, lower back rounding and knees caving in, which are all compensations to allow the hips to sit lower)

Watch this video from our Optimizing the Big 3 online powerlifting course for an in-depth explanation of why we coach the squat like this:

Simply bracing the core properly makes it much easier to hit depth without your squat falling to pieces. What should core bracing feel like during the squat? It should feel a lot like performing a plank, where you keep the ribs and pelvis stacked on top of each other without arching your lower back or caving your chest forward. It should look like the middle picture:

Let’s look at what core exercises have the most carryover to the squat.

Core Exercises for the Squat

Front Squat Lockout Holds

Few exercises teach proper core bracing like the front squat. Lockout holds let you use weights heavier than which you could actually front squat, which overloads the upper back and abs in a way highly specific to the squat. Think of this exercise like a really heavy standing front plank. You can’t round your upper back or you’ll dump the bar, and you can’t arch your lower back or you’ll unlock your knees.

Zercher Squats

Zercher squats earn specificity points because it’s an actual squat. You’ll learn exactly how you should hold your ribcage and pelvis because your abs are working overtime to keep the bar close to the body. You won’t be able to go that heavy since your arms are a limiting factor, but if you’re trying to figure out what bracing feels like while squatting deep, this is it.

1-arm Kettlebell Front Squats

So, are anti-rotation and anti-lateral flexion movements appropriate in core training for powerlifters? Yes, as long as they’re at least somewhat specific to the big lifts. Pallof Presses are a bit of a joke for powerlifters as they’re too regressed and non-specific. 1-arm Kettlebell Front Squats are more appropriate and can help fix a common technique issue: twisting or “helicoptoring” during the squat. You’ll learn how to brace your core in a way that prevents twisting toward the loaded side.

Body Saws

Moving to less specific exercises, the Body Saw in an anti-extension exercise that teaches you to resist arching the lower back. This is hugely important during the squat as we want the ribs and pelvis stacked the whole time. These can easily be loaded with a weight vest, chains or plates as you get stronger.

Reverse Crunches

The reverse crunch is my go-to flexion-based exercise for ab hypertrophy. It’s worth trying to make your abs bigger because 1) bigger muscles have greater force potential and 2) more muscle mass under the bar gives you better leverage. Make these tougher by using a lighter counterweight and using a slow, controlled eccentric.

Copenhagen Side Planks

Side planks are pretty far removed from squats and they’re hard to load heavily, so they’re not the best choice for powerlifters. However, the Copenhagen Side Plank has some serious benefits that go a long way toward maintaining a healthy spine and mobile hips. By squeezing a bench with your legs, you strengthen your adductors, which are actually important hip extensors during the squat. And by getting your obliques and adductors to work together, you can improve your hip internal rotation, which is crucial for squatting deep.

Bench Press

So here’s the thing: core strength doesn’t have much transfer to the bench press. Proper bench technique basically takes everything we talked about in the squat in terms of not arching your back and throws it out the window. However, that doesn’t mean the abs aren’t involved at all.

If you look at the bench press arch, you’ll notice that the abs, specifically the RA, have to go through a significant stretch. One might think you need “flexible” abs to get into this position. But in my experience, the limiting factor is often less about how much the abs can stretch, but rather if the lower back can handle that position.

Remember, the abs and lower back work opposite each other. If the abs are contracted, the lower back can relax and vice versa. Most powerlifters carry a lot of tone in their spinal erectors, meaning those muscles are tense and active even when they’re not being used for movement. This can often limit how big of an arch you can get into.

Using another muscle group as an example, if you did hundreds of pull-ups every day, your lats would get tight and stiff, limiting your ability your ability to lift your arms overhead. You’d need to stretch and loosen your lats to regain that range of motion. So because powerlifters tend to carry their lower back in an arched position all the time, this can make it tough to get MORE of an arch while benching.

To enhance your arch, you may need to relax your lower back muscles first by using core movements that use your abs to round your lower back. Here are two that I like using in a bench press warmup:

Core Exercises for the Bench Press

All Fours Belly Lift

This drill literally reverses the arch you’d use while benching, giving a solid stretch to the upper and lower back muscles. You might ask, is this really a core exercise? Yes, because your abs are responsible for forced expiration. Exhale fully as if you were blowing up a balloon and you’ll feel your abs for sure.

Deep Squat Lat Stretch

This movement uses the abs similarly to the All Fours Belly Lift but adds in a great stretch for the lats. Lifters with limited shoulder range of motion will benefit from stretching the lats at both the upper and lower attachments.

Deadlift

The role of the core in the deadlift is an interesting one. It’s not as immediately obvious as it is during the squat. One might even argue that lower back strength is more important than abdominal strength for deadlift success. The abs do in fact round your lower back, and we want to resist that while deadlifting.

However, your TA plays a huge role in stabilizing your spine by creating intra-abdominal pressure. When you take a big breath, fill your stomach with air and brace into your belt before a big pull, that’s your TA hard at work. So your abs are more responsible for protecting your spine during a deadlift rather than the actual performance of the lift.

While this video centers around the squat, the breathing mechanics should be the same during your deadlift setup:

Deadlift-specific core training should focus on resisting movement at the spine coupled with focused breathing. On top of that, your obliques can help prevent the bar from coming up crooked or helicoptoring away from you, which is common for lifters who use a mixed grip, so one-sided carrying exercises are worth including.

Core Exercises for the Deadlift

Front Planks w/ Full Exhale

Simply understanding how to breathe during core exercises like front planks goes a long way for spinal health. This won’t necessarily add hundreds of pounds to your deadlift, but it can help keep your lower back healthy so you can keep training hard for a long time.

1-Arm Farmer’s Walks

It’s common to see the bar twist or come up crooked during a heavy deadlift. Doing farmer’s walks with one arm at a time can strengthen your obliques to resist unwanted side-bending or twisting, all while training your grip strength, which is highly specific to the deadlift. These can be done with heavy dumbbells or kettlebells if you don’t have farmer’s walk handles.

Note: Front Squat Lockout Holds and any anti-extension core movement (body saws, ab wheel rollouts, etc.) are great for the deadlift too. Refer back to the squat section.

Complete Core Training for Powerlifters

To recap, core training for powerlifters should:

• Be specific to the squat, bench and deadlift
• Include movements that can add muscle mass to the abs
• Include movements that contribute to the overall health and longevity of the lifter

Just doing the big lifts might make your core stronger than the average gym goer, but being above average sucks. Use the principles and exercises outlined in this article to take your maximal strength and durability to the next level.