You’ve heard it before: work on your core muscles so you can have everything from better balance to better cardio performance. But what if there was no benefit to having strong abs besides a celeb-worthy midsection? Three studies reported in The New York Times show that you may or may not be getting what you want out of your ab exercises. One study looked at a group of college rowers and found that

those who did eight weeks of core prep before a rowing test didn’t do any better than those who didn’t. Another study looked at healthy volunteers and found there was no correlation between a sturdy core and their ability to perform in a bunch of tests that included sprinting, jumping, and balance tests. Read on for more after the break.

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Speak Up: Why Do You Exercise Your Core Muscles?