How do you brace your core?
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Posted on April 15, 2014 by Jenny Cromack
I’m sure we all have pet hates? Mine include those people who can’t pick their feet up when they walk, the drivers who don’t mirror signal manoeuvre, and ordering something vegan to have it delivered to your table smoothered in butter. But above all I can’t help but clench my fists, take a few deep breaths and close my eyes in desperation when someone says in a class “brace your core”. SERIOUSLY?? How do you brace your core?
Surely it’s impossible! Your core muscles aren’t just your abdominals; they are ALL of your torso muscles – front and back and sides – from your glutes and pelvis to your upper back (some even consider up to the shoulder girdle). These muscles stabilise your torso and provide a solid base of support for your body and movement. You may be able to brace or engage your abdominals, but how do you brace your back?!
Don’t get me wrong, as a personal trainer and a class instructor I need to stress how important it is to maintain a strong core, as it links to posture, balance and back pain. But a large part of our jobs and passion is about client education, and we need to be clear with our instructions. If we mean engage or brace your abdominals that’s what we need to say; otherwise our clients and participants will remain none the wiser about what our core really is.
It’s about flexion and rotation, lying and standing, balance and functional exercises – not thousands of crunches!
Real Core Exercises:
- Press Ups – This is a whole body exercise. It works the chest, triceps, forearms, shoulders, stomach, leg and back muscles. You need to have trunk stability to complete press ups as you are lifting and lowering your whole body. You need spinal alignment and your abdominals will provide the support required not to hyper-extend your back.
- Deadlifts – legs, hips, back, abdominals (supporting your back), lats, arms and grip – it’s a multi-joint mutli-muscle move
- Plank – and all of it’s variations! Another awesome full body exercise which requires contraction of your frontal stabilising muscles, with support from your back
- Squats – never understimate the King of exercises! There are soooo many more muscles than just your legs working in a squat. Yes of course your glutes, hamstrings and quads are working but so are all those muscles supporting your spine in the back and front of your torso.
- Pilates & Yoga – lengthening and stretching, balance and muscular and postural strength; these classes focus on core.
It is possible to strengthen your core, tone your core and engage your abs….but actually bracing your core – unless you fasten yourself into a corset or girdle, it isn’t going to happen!
KH
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-rippetoe/deadlift-exercise_b_4516432.html