ENGAGE YOUR CORE!
You’ve heard it before. “Engage your core!” “Tighten your core!” while you’re performing such exercises as a plank or squat. But strengthening your core muscles has real-world benefits in addition to perfecting your workouts
What is Your “Core?”
The core is composed of the lumbar spine and a group of muscles that can co-contract to stiffen the torso. These core muscles include the rectus abdominus (your “abs”) the transversus abdominus, internal and external obliques, plus major muscles in the pelvic floor.
The core is supremely important because it joins your lower and upper body helping them work together to perform quality movement. A strong core stabilizes your spine. It helps you stand taller, move smoothly and lift weight safely. As a senior, knowing how to contract your core is crucial because it enhances balance and stability, thus helping prevent falls and injuries. A strong, flexible core underpins almost everything we do.
How do you Engage Your Core?
The various cues for core tightening depend on the specific movement you’re doing. Jessica Smith of Jessica Smith TV (read article) suggests these ways to turn on the core muscles while standing:
1) “Engage your abs from the inside out by drawing your belly button in to your spine (without holding your breath or ‘sucking in’ your stomach) and focus on holding the contraction of the abdominal muscles.
2) Press your shoulder blades down and away from your ears (this helps to ‘cap’ the contraction of the abs and engages the core muscles in your back).
3) Think of ‘lifting up’ through the pelvic floor to engage the muscles in the pelvis and deepen the contraction of your abdominal muscles.
4) Test it out – standing with feet hip width and knees slightly bent, imagine standing on a unstable surface (like a rocky ship or subway train) and shift your weight quickly from one foot to the other, maintaining all of the contractions listed above (you can even place your hands on the sides of your waist to feel these muscles contracting).”
Here’s another way to properly contract your core from Kelly Gonzalez, M.S from a WorkoutAholic article (read article):
“Lie on the floor and place your fingertips one inch above your hip bones and one inch in towards your navel. Continue to breathe normally as you draw your navel in towards your spine and up towards your ribcage and then slightly bear down; imagine lowering the navel towards the floor. You should feel your abdomen tighten; you may feel like you’re on the verge of laughing or coughing. Keep the abs contracted about 30% throughout.
Another way to think of engaging your core is to imagine you’re bracing yourself for a punch in the stomach. Hopefully no one in your Pilates or spinning class will throw any jabs, but bracing during exercise can be important for reducing nagging lower back pain that can feel worse than a single punch.”
Weightlifting is a good example of when it’s important to tighten your core. Performing a heavy squat or lifting a lot of weight off the ground in a deadlift can wreak havoc on your back if your abs are not contracted. Also while running or biking or during an aerobics class, keep your core slightly contracted to promote better posture and reduce the risk of injury. Just pretend your bracing for that punch.
Real-World Benefits of Core Strengthening
Here are some of the everyday benefits of strengthening your core from Harvard Medical School (read article):
- Routine acts. Bending to put on shoes or scoop up a package, turning to look behind you, sitting in a chair, or simply standing still — these are just a few of the many mundane actions that rely on your core and that you might not notice until they become difficult or painful.
- On-the-job tasks. Jobs that involve lifting, twisting, and standing all rely on core muscles. But less obvious tasks — like sitting at your desk for hours — engage your core as well.
- A healthy back. Low back pain — a debilitating, sometimes excruciating problem— may be prevented by training that promotes well-balanced, resilient core muscles. When back pain strikes, a regimen of core exercises is often prescribed to relieve it.
- Sports and other pleasurable activities. Golfing, tennis or other racquet sports, swimming, baseball, volleyball, kayaking, rowing and many other athletic activities are powered by a strong core. Less often mentioned are sexual activities, which call for core power and flexibility, too.
- Housework, fix-it work, and gardening. Bending, lifting, twisting, carrying, hammering, reaching overhead — even vacuuming, mopping, and dusting are acts that spring from, or pass through, the core.
- Balance and stability. Your core stabilizes your body, allowing you to move in any direction, even on the bumpiest terrain, or stand in one spot without losing your balance.
- Good posture. Weak core muscles contribute to slouching. Good posture trims your silhouette and projects confidence. More importantly, it lessens wear and tear on the spine and allows you to breathe deeply. Good posture helps you gain full benefits from the effort you put into exercising, too.
As a senior, developing a strong, flexible core is especially crucial because it enhances mobility and helps in preventing falls and injuries and maintaining independence.
Aim for a mix of training that works your core in a multitude of ways, including exercises that involve challenging the core muscles to do what they are designed for—stabilizing your spine. In a future blog, I’ll share a few exercises that zero in on developing core strength. In the meantime, you can Google YouTube videos specifically designed to help you practice core engagement.