Have you ever wondered why there are some people that can lift way more weight than they look, how someone under 6 feet tall can slam dunk a basketball, or how 175-pound Tim Linceum of the San Francisco Giants can throw a fastball faster than many 200-plus pound pitchers?

The answer seems to lie in the ability and strength of the bodies core muscles to transfer power to the the limbs. Your primary core muscles are the gluteus maximus and medius, as well as the traverse abdominal muscles. These muscles, along with other muscles such as the illio-psoas, quadratus lumborum and spinalis, help maintain your pelvis in the proper position and transfer power through your bodies kinetic chain, from your feet through to your upper body and vice versa.

With rare exception does someone with low back pain, upper leg pain, or poor balance visit my office and demonstrate good ability in their gluteus and transverse abdominal muscles. You need to target these muscles in your workout routine or you are leaving yourself open to pain and injury in the future, if you do not already have some.

A recent study of 25 division one collegiate football players in the February 2012 Journal of Strength and Conditioning looked at the correlation between core strength and performance measures including 40 yard dash, max weight squat, max bench and vertical leap and found significant correlations between core strength and all the performance measures. The study concluded that core strength had a significant effect on creating and transferring power to the limbs.

Exercises that help with building ability in the glut and transverse abdominal are planks, bridges and balance drills. When performing these exercises it is critical that you know and understand how to properly perform them. Not performing the exercises correctly can cause more harm than good. Always make sure you talk to an expert to make sure it is safe before changing your routine.

If you would like information on some of these exercises you can email me at sean@seanmillerhealth.com or follow this link to learn step-by-step how to regain control of your pelvic stabilizers: http://drseanmiller.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/hipandpelvisexcercise.

Sean Miller is a chiropractor in Edwards whose practice focuses on muscle activation using cold laser, chiropractic, soft tissue techniques, exercise, and nutrition to restore proper function and movement patterns to acute and chronic spine and extremity complaints. He can be reached at sean@seanmillerhealth.com.