The Core: Still Have Questions?

I was with a group of women recently and the word "core" came up. I was surprised to hear the conversation centering around crunches and abdominal exercises. Our core muscles stabilize our trunk in almost any movement. Actually, we never "crunch" in daily activities. That said, let's look at ways we can use and strengthen our core. I like teaching standing core exercises as well as lying scoops.

Joseph Pilates described the abdominal muscles as the "Power House." The three main muscles are the Transverse Abdominis, Rectus Abdominis, and the Obliques.

If you put your hand over your navel and cough lightly, you will feel the Transverse Abdominis. "Transverse" means traveling across, or in this case around. This muscle, one of the few horizontal muscles in our body, protects our internal organs and spinal column. It is the deepest of the abdominal muscles, wrapping from front to back and attaching at the ribs and pelvis. Anytime we move, it activates.

The image of someone doing a crunch illustrates the action of the Rectus Abdominis: flexion. When you bring your head to your thighs, or your thighs toward your face, you are doing flexion. I tell my USF students to imagine a good-looking Roman soldier with a "six-pack" marching to remember this muscle.

The Obliques, internal and external, work together for all twisting and rotating of the spine. I highly recommend spinal twists, which improve digestion, assist with lower back issues, and help us detoxify. Twisting should never be painful; inhale to prepare and exhale as you twist.

In my Pilates classes I describe three markers for a curl or scoop action:

The first marker is about 1 to 1.5 inches up your tailbone. The second marker goes farther back, to the top of the pelvis; I usually have students use a mini ball or block between their knees to facilitate this. The third marker is when we are lying down and curl up to the bottom of our shoulder blades, a partial curl-up that is part of many Pilates mat formats.

Anytime we do standing muscular endurance exercises, especially when we shift planes of movement, we are using our abdominal muscles. Here are some examples using hand-held weights (3, 5, or 8 lbs):

• Overhead press with lunge, 4 counts: Stand with your right leg behind you in a lunge, arms at shoulder height, elbows bent. As you lower your body, press your hands overhead. 4 counts down, 4 counts up; repeat 8 times, then switch.
• Overhead press with lunge, 2 counts: Same, but 2 counts down, 2 counts up, 8 times each side.
• Press arms down as you lunge, knee up: Arms at shoulder height in front. As you lunge down, press arms down by your sides; as you rise, lift the back knee up to balance. 8 times each side.
• Press arms up as you lunge, knee up: Arms by your sides, palms up. As you lunge down, press arms up to shoulder height; rise and lift the knee to balance. 8 times each side.
• Rotator cuff with plie: Wide-base plie, elbows close to your sides. As you plie down, the lower arms swing open then up; rising, rotate back to start.
• Bicep curl with twist and lunge: Feet parallel, arms bent at shoulder height. Lunge the right leg back and curl the arms in; hold and twist both arms right and back to center. Reverse-curl as you rise, lifting the back leg. 8 times each side.
• Triceps series: With one weight, jump back into a wide plie, arms overhead. Overhead press as you plie up and down. On the 8th rep, stay down, lift your heels, and pump the triceps press for 8 more.

"Pretty Pose," executed here using elastic tubing, is a partial curl-back employing all three muscles of the Power House.

One of the easiest and most effective abdominal exercises is the plank, on your knees and forearms or in the traditional straight-arm, straight-leg variety. I recommend planks in your hotel room if your workout time is limited on a business trip. Start with a bent-knee forearm plank for 8 seconds, extend the legs for 8 seconds, bend again, straighten again. Then turn to one side into a side plank, hold for 8 seconds, repeat 4 times, and switch sides. This will activate your Power House.

Whispers of the Breath Diva:

In this moment I can breathe from my core. I can take care of my body!