Happy September all! This month we’re diving into different aspects of fitness and women’s health.
Almost all of our clients are asking for help strengthening their core. They aren’t sure how to do it correctly and safely. A number of issues are confusing and we’re going to get into a bunch of them.
- How to breathe correctly when activating core muscles
- Do they have any diastasis (tearing or spreading of ab muscles) and how bad is it?
- Where is their TA (transverse abdominus – deepest layer of abs) and how do they engage it
- What exercises are safest?
- What exercises are most effective?
Pilates is an amazing way to workout and emphasizes core and posture. I took a class yesterday for the first time in a very long time and learned a lot and really appreciated the cues given to engage the core. Check out the video for more on class and her cues or scroll down as we get into more of the Dos and Donts.
Some great cues that fall into the DO category:
- Engage your muscles – this is important for the core and pelvic floor. We want things “on” and coordinated.
- Learn to relax the front and the back of the body
- “Zip up” can often work well for people – or this teacher even used example of buttons for key points along your body to keep aligned
- Work the front and the back of the body
Now for some DONT items:
- Clench or maximally squeeze your muscles
- Focus only on the abs (Working only the front of your body)
- Strengthen without also working on flexibility
Red Flags – these can indicate some underlying issues or dysfunction that will cause some symptoms even when you’re doing everything correctly. We all have some degree of asymmetry and our bodies are amazing at compensating and adapting but sometimes, it runs out of ability to do that and we get symptoms so it’s critical to listen to your body!
- Hip pain, back pain, tailbone or pelvic floor pain
- Onset or increase in painful sex
- Start of or increase in any urinary leaking
- Increased or start of bowel dysfunction
The pros of exercise FAR outweigh the cons or risks but we want you to feel as confident as possible. We have enough mental barriers to working out consistently – no need to add fear or uncertainty to that list! Please reach out – we’d love to help!
Happy Fall – send us pics of your decorations!
Blessings,
Amy and the Moment of Truth Team
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