The Core, the abs, the beloved midsection and sides of your body. What a beautiful structure that gets overlooked and underperformed by every girl with yoga pants on.
For years I struggled with finding my abs and creating the tension needed to make all movements challenging. A fun fact about movement and exercise is that the Core plays a role in everything you do. When you squat it keeps you upright, when you push and pull it keeps you from folding forward or extending back. Even when you run it helps you maintain balance.
I think the best movers in the world, like the guys in Cirque De Soleil focus a ton on this huge area to make all other things easier, and I am here to tell you that you can have a core just like there’s.
How?!
Two ways.
Sound Crazy. Well let me explain and demonstrate to you what I mean.
PROPER POSITION/HIPS
Ok, so lets start with proper position and hips . Here at CP we talk about a Tall and Tight Position. All that means is that when you are standing your shoulders, ribs, and hips are all stacked in one straight line. A straight line is the fastest route between two points and it’s also the strongest position for the human body. Think about boxes stacked on top of one another. You would most likely stack them in a straight line, so they don’t fall, right?! Those joints are the same.
Now why do the hips get the focus here. Well, because your hips have a direct attachment to your core and your butt. When you squeeze your butt, you will notice that your abs kick on. Go ahead, stand up and try it.
When the booty is tight and the shoulders, ribs, and hips are all stacked, the core is able to work at its full potential.
BREATH
Alright, now let’s talk breath. Another, vastly underrated mechanism for core is the use of breath. Your diaphragm is huge. It extends all the way through your rib cage and even extends into the pelvis area when performed right. When you inhale and exhale deep, your ribs pull down and tighten up the abs. This locks your spine into place and allows the exercise or movement of choice to be done to its full potential.
So how do we make sure we find those abs and use them to our advantage when exercising?
In the next series of videos I will talk about how to create tension using breath and the hips and how to apply it to the squat.
Let’s start with Breath:
Fighting Deadbug
Plank
Squat
So there you have it. Dial those two pieces in to make the most out of your workouts and movement. You can apply these two things to every single exercise you do to keep the body moving well, feeling good, and to truly become strong.
If you have any questions about this or want to train like this, contact us at Core Principles Strentgh and Conditioning on facebook or email us at Info@coreprincples-sc.com
Have a great one,
Coach Jim
