Science Says "Integration" Exercises Activate Muscle More Than
Isolation Exercises Chances are that if you have been to any
commercial gym in the United States, then you have seen an
abundance of people vigorously working their abdominals. Typical
exercises include crunches and various abdominal machines. While
abdominal training is highly important and a good means to
improve stability, reduce injury, and maintain mobility, those
isolation exercises you see most gym-goers performing just may
not be the optimal way to improve the core muscles (abdominal
and lumbar muscles). A recent study in the United States was
done to determine whether integration core exercises, which
require activation of the distal trunk muscles (deltoid and
gluteal), resulted in greater core activation than those of the
isolation exercises that utilize only the proximal trunk
muscles.1 The study that was performed took twenty participants,
ten healthy men and women (all were college students). Each
participant was required to meet the