My Thoughts on Core

Core seems to be a buzzword in the fitness world today. There are many opinions on what defines the muscles of the core. I find many people think it is synonymous with abdominals. This is but one piece of the muscles that comprise your core. There are many more.

Your core consists of the muscles of the abdomen, back, pelvis and hips. Core strengthening provides the foundation to build upper/lower body strength, whether your primary goal is increasing your running endurance or preventing low back pain. Strengthening these parts of your body will help to provide proper balance and posture and prevent injury down the road and I am ALL ABOUT PREVENTION!

Those that have taken my CORE I class know that I feel as though EVERYONE should take CORE I for general injury prevention as well as for progressive strengthening into any training program. There isn’t a single person that wants to age and be sidelined with injuries. But yet it seems people don’t think about appropriate strengthening UNTIL they are injured. And then they want to be fixed – quickly. Often times the individual seeks rehabilitation and does get ‘fixed’ only to discontinue the exercises they were shown and eventually be sidelined again.

Here’s a secret: If more people performed preventative exercises, the amount of surgeries would decrease, painkillers and drug dispersion from pharmaceutical companies would decrease and the overall health of our population would get better. So why aren’t more people doing it?!

Consider this: Two common seasons for rotator cuff and/low back injuries are autumn and winter. Why? Raking and shoveling. It makes complete sense. If your core is not strong enough to handle the increased workload coming from your arms and/or your legs, you are certainly more at risk for injury. The same can be said for sport-specific training.

Let’s take running as an example. We sit with forward posture. We walk with forward posture. Now add running to that…more forward posture. What are you doing to counterbalance all of that forward posture? Specifically, back strengthening. And if this makes sense…do you really know WHAT to do?

I have had many individuals come in and out of my CORE I class. I still receive strange looks when I tell an individual to swap their 8 lb dumbbells for some 3 lb ones. This usually comes from people that consider him or herself strong or have a history of working out, attending classes, etc. I’m certainly not trying to insult them. I am just very aware that the muscle groups we work are usually NOT STRONG in the majority of people. I will admit I receive a great amount of JOY watching the core strength of consistent class participant’s increase. Nothing makes me happier as I know they have created a foundation of strength that will prevent injuries and allow them to perform a variety of activities they otherwise wouldn’t be able to perform.

I would love to write about all of the exercises I consider to be essential to core strengthening but I would rather you come to a CORE I class and see for yourself!