Visions Wellness Center NYC

Proper Core Training will maintain strength and flexibility for pain-free movement, healthy function and optimal power!

CORE STABILITY

In Martial Arts it is known as the center of energy. The place where “Ki” (inner strength) is derived from. In Yoga it is where the breathe is controlled from. In Traditional, isolated exercise it is where the “Six-Pak Abs” are developed. The Core, the center of gravity in the human body, is where all movements stem from. In order for us to be able to function, without any spinal pain, the core musculature must be activated prior to any movements.

It is estimated that 85% of all people will have debilitating back pain at least once in their lifetime. This equates to millions of dollars spent on healthcare specifically for back pain. In our quest for healthier bodies we spend a lot of time performing exercises that will help get those six-pak abs. However, the exercises most commonly illustrated in health magazines, exercise books and even on the internet do very little to improve the strength of the muscles supporting the spine. What good is it to have nice developed muscles that are actually weak and do not support the spine? In order to properly answer this question we need to understand how the core muscles actually function. When we are lying on the floor and bend the upper body into a crunch like position the abdominal muscles are being shortened to move the body. This is good to help maintain proper length of the spinal muscles but, it does not help strengthen the stability of the spine. Muscles display their greatest strength when they are flexible enough to fully elongate while having strength at the most stretched position. This is the main reason so many people end up with back pain.

Firstly, the abdominals are extremely important for proper seated and standing postures. When we collapse into a hunched position while we sit the stress comes off the core and is displaced at a much higher intensity to the back muscles and the spinal joints. This will cause pain to the sacroiliac joints, the spinal vertebrae from the low back up to the neck and the scapula and shoulder. We were only meant to be in this C-shaped spinal position when we were babies. As we developed spinal muscles we were meant to use them. When we use the spinal muscles properly there should be a natural curvature in the low, mid and upper back including the neck. This position helps absorb gravitational stress properly and helps maintain spinal strength.

Secondly, the abs are extremely important for breathing. As we inhale the abdomen is expanded and distends forward and sideways. This movement forces the spine into extension. Well, if we sit in a collapsed position then obviously we are not going to breathe very effectively. It is no wonder we have a hard time dealing with stress. Muscles need oxygen to function and to relax. When they do not receive an adequate amount of oxygen they tighten up and become functionally weak. Then we exercise by continuously shortening those muscles never allowing them to fully elongate and breathe. This is known to the Group Fitness Instructors as “pulsing”. Can you feel the burn? I love to make the muscles burn! When muscles begin to burn they are not breathing anymore. The “lactic acid” is building up inside and the muscles are losing their ability to function. It is no wonder so many people have back pain. This type of exercise is destroying the functional properties of our muscles!

The abdominal muscles help to prevent the spine from going into too much extension and too much rotation. That’s right they prevent too much bending backwards and too much turning of the torso. This is exactly how we need to train them to be functionally strong and we will never have back pain again.

Brian K Maloney

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plank
side plank
alternate arm - leg lower
2 leg lower