Is Your Core Activated?

May 6, 2018 – 

Ok, I want everybody to do this; stand up and look in a mirror.  On purpose, I’d like you to relax.  Now, push out your belly out as far as you can for 5 seconds.  Ok, relax.  Now, suck in your belly as far as you can for 5 seconds.  OK, you just showed yourself a before and after.  Was your push out move a lot bigger than your pull in move? Ok, well at least you used your abdominal muscles today.  All that movement, little or not, was your abdominal wall or CORE working!

Do you know what happens when you tell your core to deactivate?  When you just ‘check-out’ and turn off all abdominal stabilization … gravity shows up. For most of us gravity creates a distension of the abdominal wall.   Yes, your belly pops out.  So having a belly does not mean your weak or lazy, but there are some forces at hand that aid in the pressure on that tummy.

Deep inside the ribcage we have some very important organs, the Heart and Lungs, keeping these vital organs safe is the job of this rack of ribs.  Also underneath that armor our lower organs are protected with those rock hard abs!! The front of the middle of your body has this amazing sheath of muscle called the rectus abdominus for spinal flexion, the sides protected by the obliques which are used for internal and external spinal rotation, and the erector spinea or low back to make spinal extension.   Between your organs and the movement muscles of your core is the transverse abdominus to stabilize your core for every move and is asystematic (without your consent) and automatic.   Cool huh! When these muscles are inactive by demand, the upper and larger organs and ribcage weight also aid in the distension or bulging of the tummy.  The BEFORE pose…

Right now I hope all of you are actively doing the AFTER pose to engage your abs.  Is that uncomfortable, it shouldn’t be… hint hint.  If you noticed that when you DID do your after pose that you got taller in your chair it is because the CORE is the baseline of your posture. Thus, if your posture is poor your CORE is not activated. Look, you know the truth and so does everybody else.  If your core’s weak, let’s fix it!

In good health,

Bob

                         “Siri, take me to the kitchen where I can make my Abs.” – unknown