Tricia is a 35 year old mother of two and avid runner started coming to me for Pilates and core retraining about 2 years ago.
She wanted to change her physique from muscular to lean and was bothered by the persistent pooch that didn’t go away no matter how much she ran and monitored her cookie consumption.
First we had to wake up her inner core and pelvic floor. After the first few sessions her pooch gradually went away and today remains POOCH FREE, and I don’t mean she got rid of her dog. 😆
Trisha’s new core awareness has not only flattened her belly, but it has helped her running. She feels light on her feet as her torso seems to be floating above her legs allowing more speed, endurance and freedom. Her core and pelvic floor are working more than ever before and she now understands, there is no core without the floor!
She stopped pulling her navel to spine. She is focused; her movements refined and free to move the rest of her body effortlessly.
“Navel to spine, pull your abs in, use your powerhouse, engage your abs,” What does this really mean? It means when you do that, you have completely sabotaged the correct order of activation from the inner to the outer core. Stabilize then mobilize, this is crucial for optimal function.
A few months ago, I went to a Pilates studio for a session and the instructor told me to ‘engage my core’. Well, me being the curious person I am I asked her specifically what she wanted me to do, I got a smile and a blank stare. She then pointed to her lower abdomen and said “these muscles here, use these”. Seriously? How… is what I wanted to know.
Your trainer may be asking you to ‘tighten your abs, pull your navel in, use your powerhouse, engage your abs. Today these cues literally make me cringe.
Then I pondered…no wonder some people get injured in Pilates and Yoga; they don’t quite understand how to use their core. I didn’t understand myself, for a long time and used to tell my clients the same thing until I journeyed deeper into the core with more years of study and research.
I learned that when people are instructed to use their abs, they do all kinds of things with their body, from clenching their butt, to pulling in their tummy, to pushing down on their back, even holding their breath, all which is counterproductive to true core activation.
I am talking about the inner core which is your true core. The core that no one talks about.
Your inner core developed before your outer core when you were just a baby. You didn’t have any strength in your arms and legs yet, so your inner core fired and fired to scoot you along to reach for that shiny bright toy. As babies, our eyes fixated on something and with an intense desire our inner core fired and we moved.
We all have an inner core, it is just sleeping and needs to participate.
The mistiming of activation, or lack of sufficient inner core and pelvic floor strength and awareness can result in training compensations which lead to exhaustion, injury and other problems.
Symptoms most common with an unresponsive inner core and pelvic floor for women can be back pain, leaking urine while laughing or exercising, prolapse organs, a pooching belly or saggy bum. For men, symptoms could be back pain, groin pulls, hamstring pain, and potential prostate dysfunction.
The inner core IS your true core. The Pelvic floor is the bottom of your core and also referred to as the ‘trigger of movement’.
Inner core must pre-activate before movement can be effective and optimal.
Powerful movement is created if the whole system of muscles, bones and other tissue works together in a coordinated way. This includes the nervous system which is built in such a way that we don’t have to be conscious of every muscle we use to execute a movement.
Those of us who are flexible and open to new body information, like Tricia, will make fast progress. When one can realize that the pelvic floor is the bottom of your core and supports almost every movement we make, this in itself will provide very effective training.
Come with me on this fabulous journey, and discover the missing link which is your inner core and pelvic floor and the answer to complete freedom in every sense of the word!