This is a picture of me from the other day.. lol When you think about the core you should think of the center, a foundation from which you can move upon. Everything builds off of the core and how it functions. You need a stable trunk to transmit force and power generated from the hips and shoulders. Think of your core as a house. Your pelvic floor is the basement and keeps everything up and in. Your diaphragm is your primary breathing muscle, the roof of the house. The other core muscles consist of the transverse abdominus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominus, multifidus, erector spinae, gluteals, and hip girdle, which make up the "wall" of the core.
You have to have good pressure management to have a strong core. Many people that have difficulty with their core strength have difficulty breathing while under tension... they don't know how to breathe normally while activating their core. Now if you're doing some heavy lifting there are different things that work for different people. One way of bracing if the belly whack test. Imagine someone is going to give you a whack in your stomach and you immediately feel those muscles tighten up. For all my parents out there, imagine you're laying on the ground and you see your toddler about to jump open you and you immediately tighten up your stomach muscles to protect yourself. Just another way to feel the core brace.
Another thing to note is that there is some normalcy in movement variability, meaning we are all going to move a little differently and that is okay.
I want to go over some "fun" core exercises with you that will challenge your core in different ways!
The Side Plank
One of my favorite exercises. I love an exercise that addresses more than one thing at a time. More bang for your buck. Anyways, great for your core, shoulder stabilization, and gluteal strengthening for the hips. I love side planks for my runners and often use it with my people who have gluteal tendinopathy or bursitis as a way to strengthen their gluteus medius and minimus muscles!
Dead Bug
It honestly sounds horrible.... because it is. No, I'm kidding. Once you see the exercise you'll understand the name. This works the abdominals and motor control with reciprocal arm and leg movement.
Bird Dog
Everyone has probably seen this exercise before and that's for good reason. It is a great exercise for building core strength. Mix it up by doing it over a physioball or increasing the hold time.
Farmer's Carry
Any time you're loading your body asymmetrical, you're core has to work hard to keep everything neutral. Try holding a heavy kettlebell down at your side and walking. Can you breath normally? Can you keep your trunk neutral? Do you lean to the side when you're standing on one leg? If you do reduce the weight until you can control the motion. You want a weight that is challenging, but achievable.
Overhead Kettlebell Carry
Any time you are holding something over your head, your body has to work even more. Small changes in the position of the weight overhead requires a lot of effort from your core.
Front Rack Kettlebell Hold
This is great for building strength in an isometric position, which is a good starting point for anyone wanting to improve their core strength. Your arms should be in a good position rested up against your trunk. Your elbows should not be flaring out, this is a common fault with the front rack hold.
Give these exercises a try!
There are tons of modifications you can do to make this challenging, but achievable for you! If you're not sure how to start then reach out to me.
If you want to learn more various topics related to health, wellness, injury rehabilitation, performance and recovery then check out my other blogs here.
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