"CORE" THAT'S GOOD!

WHAT MAKES UP OUR 'CORE'?

Our core is a group of deep muscles that acts like a cylinder inside us offering stability to our skeleton. It consists of our pelvic floor - the base of the cylinder, transversus abdominus - a muscle that wraps around us and our diaphragm - the top of the cylinder.

GOOD POSTURE HELPS ACTIVATE OUR 'CORE'

There are a multitude of cues that can be used to help achieve a 'good posture', in my experience, one that most people seem to respond well to is to ‘think of a piece of string pulling you up from the crown of your head’. Please note though that sticking your chest out isn’t required with this one! Also those for whom muscle tightness is a real problem may need to do some stretching first! The aim of this exercise is to get our spinal curves and pelvis into a position that maximises the work of the core muscle, also known as a 'neutral spine' - not too curvey and not too straight!

HOW TO ACTIVATE THE MUSCLES

Once you've got your 'neutral spine' you may find your core muscles are starting to work already, if not try lifting and tightening your pelvic floor. This isn’t about activating your ‘6-pack’ and holding your breath is a definite no no, so make sure you keep breathing with this one!

KEEPING IT STRONG

Practicing this exercise and maintaining your 'neutral spine' as much as possible in your day-to-day is the first step to getting a strong 'core' which in time should become automatic.

Enjoy!!