Core: A Science-Backed Approach to Exercising and Understanding Our Central Anatomy

If you’re interested in Fitness and efficient movement you know the term ‘Core” but what is it - and does it even exist?I’m a cellist who discovered Pilates in the 1980s and I had a clear idea of what I thought my core was.Exercise is essential to my way of life and this excellently written exciting new pocket-sized book encourages me to look for principles of movement and to experiment with variations on accepted forms of gym exercises.This century we have learnt that pictures of muscles and descriptions of their functions aren’t necessarily truthful. Owen knows everything there is to know in 2024 about human makeup in all its fascial complexity and takes his own active fitness seriously. In his clinic he listens to clients’ problems and has helped countless numbers to lose their pain - and change their ideas about moving!Whether in sport or music physical achievement at a high level demands hard and persistent work. It is necessary to ‘dig deep’ and in Socrates words “Know thyself’. In this scholarly work Owen takes us back as far as the Greeks (who were vital to both sport and music) and from there progresses through such disparate areas as exercise description found in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, Muscular Christianity, the danger of the corset, and military posture. Thomas Merton and Buddha make appearances as we are shown that philosophy is a vital part of our body mind whole.The muscles of the torso (the ‘core muscles’) are clearly described individually, there’s a superbly understandable picture of the diaphragm and lots of photos to inspire you to move in new ways. This is a book I’ll read again and again and Owen makes you want to exercise.

Having been a Pilates teacher and Judo practitioner for many years I have always struggled in my mind to define the “core”. There’s been a conflict between the “powerhouse” of Pilates and the flexible, abstract, dynamic, whole body strength that is essential for Judo training. Owen Lewis doesn’t seek to define the core but encourages us to see it as undefinable, a kind of controlled chaos, because that’s how real life is. This book is a beautiful blend of philosophy, anatomy, exercise science and creativity, bringing a refreshingly new perspective to the subject and is one which I’ll be re-reading many times.

Even before I was a Soft Tissue Therapist, but a keen martial artist with an interest in movement, I was often confused with the concept of the ‘core’ or particularly a ‘weak core.’ How can it be weak if you are able to stand and walk?In his book, Owen doesn’t look to define the core as an isolated set of muscles, however he does explore the muscles that are involved in load transfer through the area in different planes, highlighted with an analogy to the Union Flag. But, more importantly, he pulls them all back together to discuss a more global system at work before addressing some principles to apply to your exercises to make them more functional to your life or chosen sport.Rather than aiming to achieve a rigid/braced structure, Owen sees a functional core as one of adjustability, adaptability and fluidity. “Stabilisation requires the persistent activity of fluctuations in muscle activity. Stability requires the unstable sway.” A sentiment reflected in martial arts comparisons to the sway of bambooIt is a book I will no doubt dip into a number of times.