Core strengthening may not help much

TERRE HAUTE, Ind., July 3 (UPI) -- There is a correlation between muscle strength and athletic performance, but the link is moderate to poor, and inconsistent, says a U.S. study.

"The results are not showing that greater core strength is going to help you -- across the board -- with your sport," study leader Thomas Nesser, of Indiana State University, said in a statement.

"Only certain areas of the core showed a correlation with specific performance-based activities, and even then, the correlation was slight."

For the study, Nesser studied 29 members of the university's NCAA Division I football team and found a correlation between trunk flexion, or abdominal strength, and sprinting. However, increased abdominal strength only accounted for 24 percent of their better performance -- a very small percentage, according to Nesser.

New equipment and videos are being released at a dizzying pace about strengthening the core, but the evidence that all this core strength will help you in your sport performance is not there, Nesser said.