When I first started lifting weights in my late thirties, my trainers often gave me somewhat confusing direction.
“Contract your core,” they told me when I came out of the squat machine with a barbell on my back.
Did that mean I should suck in my stomach? Hold my breath? Or both?
Not exactly. Core activation means “creating a corset, pulling your belly button in toward your spine, as if you were about to get punched in the stomach,” explained Anatolia Vick, assistant director of fitness and wellness at Rice University.
This creates a stability belt in the spine and pelvis, which protects the joints, ligaments and tendons, and reduces stress on the back when exercising, she added.
It’s not just important when you’re working out; your core stability is tied to all of your movements. Core activation can keep you from injuring your back the next time you lift a suitcase and can also help prevent falls, Vick said.
But for most people, even those who have already developed core strength, controlling the trunk doesn’t come naturally. Whether you work out regularly, play golf at the weekend, or just enjoy gardening, it’s worth practicing a few exercises to learn how to do it properly.
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Why the core is essential for movement
Many people think of the core as the abdominal muscles that form the squares marked on that part of the body. But the core also includes the muscles that run along the spine, back, and sides, as well as those that connect the torso to the pelvis and limbs.
Unlike the muscles in your limbs, which often work independently, your core muscles almost always contract together. Picking up a jar from the kitchen counter with one hand uses just a few arm muscles, but safely lifting something off the floor requires the muscles in your sides, spine, back, and pelvis to work together. And it takes some practice to properly activate all of these muscles at once.
If you don’t engage your core during everyday activities and instead hyperextend or arch your back, you put more stress and pressure on your joints and extremities, which can lead to problems in your back, hips and knees, Vick said.
It’s even more important to activate your core during more strenuous activities, because the force on your body is greater, Sharon L. Hame, a professor of clinical orthopaedic surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, explained in an email.
“The hips and lumbar spine are especially vulnerable to injury if the pelvis is not properly stabilized,” Hame said.
First, practice breathing
To really activate your core, you need to inhale and exhale, said Jill Miller, yoga teacher and author of Body by Breath. A common mistake when trying to activate the core is to hold your breath and then simply release it as you exhale, Miller explained.
To begin, inhale and expand the area below your ribs, which includes your belly, waist, lower back and pelvic floor, and allow all the muscles to relax. Then, as you slowly inhale and exhale, lightly engage your stomach muscles, gently pulling your navel in towards your spine. The goal is not just to breathe, but to maintain a slight tension in your abdomen after you exhale.
“I liken it to a blood pressure cuff,” Miller said of the feeling of properly activating the core, “but from the pelvic floor, down through the waist, all the way to the ribs.”
Next, move and rotate
Once you know how to engage your core while standing still, try doing it while moving. Lie on your back, Vick recommended. Lift your legs off the floor and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle. (If that’s too difficult, you can also plant your feet flat on the floor, with your knees bent.)
Press your back into the floor, as if someone had a hand under your lower back and was trying to crush it. (You can also place a towel under your lower back and press against it.)
Begin to breathe deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Then, keeping your knees at 90 degrees, tap your heels into the ground, one at a time, while keeping your lower back pressed into the ground.
“This will help you get a feel for what it’s like to keep your core stable and active while you’re moving,” Vick said. Then you can try walking, lifting weights or playing tennis.
An uncoordinated, loose core can cause the body to turn too far to one side or the other, or to over-rotate, which can eventually lead to back or hip pain. Strengthening and activating the core helps prevent the body from over-rotating.
To practice resisting this over-rotation, do a side plank, making sure to consciously inhale and exhale while keeping your core muscles tight. Or try doing a Pallof press with a band tied to a doorknob.
Once you know how to activate your core while breathing and moving, practice it with some simple exercises, such as walking around the block or jumping rope. The next time you pick up a heavy bag of groceries or hit a paddle ball, draw your belly button toward your spine as you practiced. In the end, you’ll stabilize your core without thinking about it and be able to move powerfully without injury.
#strengthen #core
