Easy Core Strengthening Exercises

EASY CORE STRENGTHENING EXERCISES

Happy Thanksgiving!  Are you running a turkey trot this morning (giving yourself a chance to lose a few calories before piling them on later today)?  As promised, I’m sharing some easy, non-machine exercises to strengthen your core. Because it’s a holiday, I’m making this week’s blog short and sweet.

The Functional Aging Institute, sponsor of a certification course I’m taking, especially suggests core exercises recommended by Dr. Stuart McGill. McGill is a professor of spine biomechanics in the department of kinesiology at Waterloo University in Ontario, Canada. (https://uwaterloo.ca/applied-health-sciences/hes-got-our-backs). With more than 30 years of clinical research with everyone from elite athletes to disabled workers, Dr. McGill established himself as the premier voice for core development. In 2002, McGill released his landmark text Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation and it changed the way coaches, bodybuilders, athletes, and non-athletes approach core training.

Here are three simple, but very effective, core tightening exercises recommended by Dr. McGill. Seniors in reasonably good shape should be able to perform these. You may be already familiar with them from yoga classes. During each of these exercises, remember to engage your core as I wrote about in a past blog (Engage Your Core)

Cat & Camel (or Cat & Cow) from a webmd.com article (Read Article)

1. Get down on your hands and knees on the floor.
2. Relax your head, and allow it to droop.
3. Round your back up toward the ceiling until you feel a nice stretch in your upper, middle, and lower back.
4. Hold this stretch for as long as it feels comfortable, or about 15 to 30 seconds.
5. Return to the starting position with a flat back while you are on all fours.
6. Let your back sway by pressing your stomach toward the floor. Lift your buttocks toward the ceiling.
7. Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds.
8. Repeat 4 or more times.

 

Bird Dog from a popsugar.com article (Read Article)

1. Begin on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
2. Pull your abs in to your spine. Keeping your back and pelvis still and stable, reach your right arm forward and left leg back. Don’t allow the pelvis to rock side to side as you move your leg behind you. Focus on not letting the rib cage sag toward the floor. Reach through your left heel to engage the muscles in the back of the leg and your butt.
3. Return to the starting position, placing your hand and knee on the floor. Repeat on the other side to complete one rep.
4. Do five to 10 reps.

 

Bridge from a verywell.com article (Read Article)

1. Lay on your back with your hands by your sides, your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Make sure your feet are under your knees.
3. Tighten your abdominal and buttock muscles.
4. Raise your hips up to create a straight line from your knees to shoulders.
5. Squeeze your core and try to pull your belly button back toward your spine.
6. If your hips sag or drop, lower yourself back on the floor.
7. The goal is to maintain a straight line from your shoulders to your knees and hold for 20 to 30 seconds.
8. You may need to begin by holding the bridge position for a few seconds as you build your strength. It’s better to hold the correct position for a shorter time than to go longer in the incorrect position.
9. Aim for 10 repetitions and two sets.

 

Core Moves Seniors Should Avoid

Dr. McGill tells us to steer clear of these stretches because they add compressive loads on the spine:

Full sit-ups (straight leg or bent knee)

Crunches

Leg Raises

Superman

Stretching the lower back in the morning—wait 1-2 hours

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!