Pull in your belly button? The coach may be instructing you to activate the muscles of your center or “engage your core.” You may be asked to clench your abdominal area, tuck in your belly button, and tighten your middle. Tighten your abs? Hold in your gut?
Essentially, engaging your core involves tensing the muscles in your center, not just those in your abdomen. Building up muscle strength in the abdomen and back area demands repetition and dedication if it is something you have never attempted previously.
This article explains the steps for engaging your abdominal muscles during physical activity.
What Does It Mean to Engage Your Core?
Your core muscles are some of the most intricate in the body; they include the rectus abdominis (the six pack muscle), the transverse abdominis (deep, like a corset), the obliques (on the side of your abdomen), the pelvic floor, and the multifidi (deep back muscles).
FITNESS. When you're engaging your core, you are actively stimulating all the muscles that surround your torso and provide support to your spine and pelvis, according to Jen Fraboni, PT, DPT, physical therapist and founder of Jen. FITNESS. Health, exercise, and mobility program.
It is not a straightforward task to activate the muscles of your core while exercising. Core bracing makes use of breathing techniques which raise the pressure inside the abdominal cavity. This aids in creating a secure foundation for the spine and activates the pelvic floor, providing stability in the pelvis.
How to Engage Your Core
Fraboni states that the amount of core tension you utilize while engaging in physical activity is contingent on the request of the activity or the weight of the weight being lifted.
For instance, weight lifting exercises such as back squats require more core engagement than activities such as yoga where minimal core bracing is needed.
She emphasizes that to increase mobility in the spine, very little support is necessary with yoga.
Saying that, whether you are doing deadlifts or performing a plank, making your core taut involves transforming your breathing to direct you with stretching or tensing your muscles.
To become used to abdominal contraction, Fraboni advises beginning by doing them while laying on your back. As you breathe in, you want to extend the width of your ribs along the front and back of your torso. When you breathe out, imagine your pelvic floor rising as if you were in a lift. You should feel a mild-to-moderate contraction in your core.
Rather than constricting, you are lifting and drawing inward. You're not focusing on achieving maximum contraction. You're thinking about a mild hold. You need to be able to recognize a difference between being not tense and somewhat tight while doing a lift, squat, or push-up, and being able to keep up that level of strength throughout the exercise,” she said.
On the heels of your initial tension, try to keep your breath even, applying a mild-to-moderate force on inhalation and a firmer pressure on the exhale. Your intake of breath should be less pronounced, but it should still be noticeable in your stomach area, according to Fraboni.
When inhaling, concentrate on widening the circumference of your ribcage rather than your stomach. Fraboni recommends that your inhalation reach the base of your ribcage; your diaphragm should reside beneath your ribs as you take a breath.
How to Engage Your Core
Activating one's abdominal, lower back and hip muscles can have a variety of objectives, depending on the desired outcome. For example, when doing situps, the body parts being used and the succession in which they are used will differ from being able to remain steady while standing on one foot.
The sensation of your muscles when you are using them can vary depending on several elements. It can depend on if you are trying to move the spine or secure it, if you are pushing or hauling something, as well as if you’re standing, sitting, or laying.
It is essential to understand that while activating your core muscles, they work together in unison during activity. They don’t work in isolation.
To ensure a solid and dependable core, it is necessary to be able to utilize your core under any circumstances and from every perspective, offering variable steadiness and vertebral backup for your body in motion. This piece will explore four different ways to work your core muscles.
Concentric contraction of the abs or back
If you are engaging in a conventional ab exercise such as a crunch or a back workout, for example a superman, then you are employing the core muscles as your principle activator.
When crunching, the rectus abdominis and obliques contract by drawing the ribs in towards the hips, which causes the shoulders and head to lift.
Circular contractions are utilized to generate motion or quicken the body.
The majority of people recognize these sorts of muscle tensions.
Eccentric contraction of the abs or back
Odd-shaped contractions are utilized to slow down the power or motion of the body. Contractions are being extended and they always occur simultaneously with a muscle contraction on the opposite side of the joint.
For example, if you notice that you are bent over your work area, two types of muscular movement will occur when you sit up and extend your spine: concentric contractions in the back muscles and eccentric contractions in the abdominal muscles.
Both are important for core functions.
Abdominal bracing
An isometric contraction of the muscles in your abdomen is known as abdominal bracing. This type of contraction does not cause movement or alteration to the spine, ribs, or pelvis.
It serves as a safeguard for the spine when moving large objects, like when lifting weights.
Studies have proven that stomach tensing is the most efficient way to engage the muscles of the abdomen.
Abdominal draw-in or hollowing
The abdominal draw-in maneuver, commonly known as abdominal hollowing, involves concentrating on bringing your belly button towards your back. This kind of tension is used to keep a steady form, like providing support, and is most beneficial if perceived as an active part of your breath out.
Studies have indicated that drawing in the abdominal muscles or contracting them is a better way to activate the deep back section and transverse abdominis muscles than simply bracing the abdominal muscles.
Supporters of both bracing and hollowing in terms of core stabilization exercises are very outspoken, but the most beneficial core muscles are those that are able to utilize both approaches when necessary.
Exercises for Core Stability
Listed here are some fundamental core exercises that you can utilize to help activate your abdominal muscles. These suggestions are not total or complete, yet they will assist in understanding how to involve your abdominal muscles.
The abdominal draw
- Lie on your back with your knees bent. (You can also do this while sitting up straight.) Inhale.
- Exhale to pull your stomach in, imagining bringing your belly button to your spine. You should still be able to breathe but may feel the muscles around your abdomen and sides tighten. Your back shouldn’t move — make sure it isn’t arched or pushed into the floor.
- Hold for 5–10 seconds. Relax. Repeat.
Core Bracing With a Deadlift
Gaining experience with core support can help you to incorporate it into your general strength-training program, for instance, when performing deadlifts.
Inhale when lowering your body and exhale when lifting it which will help in tensing the muscles of your pelvic floor and core. You should keep the degree of contraction during your lift at a moderate level in order to be able to maintain it.
As I inhale, I am stretching my gluteal muscles, widening my pelvis, and broadening my ribcage. I breathe out while raising to a standing position, while contracting my buttocks, the muscles of my pelvic floor, and my abdominal muscles, Fraboni says.
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, palms facing your body.
- Slowly inhale as you hinge at your hips and soften your knees to lower the weights toward the middle of your shins, maintaining a flat back.
- Make sure your spine is long and your shoulders are down and back.
- Drive your feet into the ground and slowly exhale, lifting your pelvic floor up and in, while squeezing your core and glutes to stand up as tall as possible.
The plank
- Start in a pushup position on your hands and toes. If this is too difficult, you can lower your knees.
- Draw your abdomen toward your spine and keep your buttocks in line with your body. You should feel all the muscles in your abdomen working.
- Hold this position for 20–60 seconds.
- It’s important to note that this exercise puts high loads on your spine. If you experience back pain, it’s a good idea to refrain from this exercise or to modify it by doing a wall plank or plank on your knees.
The side plank
- Lie on your side with your elbow on the floor and one foot on top of the other. Your upper body will be propped up. Reach your top arm to the sky or keep your hand on the floor for added balance.
- Lift your hips into the air and straighten your legs so that you’re supporting yourself on your forearm and the side of your foot. If this is too challenging, keep your knees on the floor and make a straight line from knee to head.
- Maintain good alignment of your feet, hips, and elbow. Also, keep your shoulder over your elbow. You should feel the obliques on your bottom side working.
- Hold this position for 20–60 seconds.
The bird dog
- Start on your hands and knees, as if you’re a table. Maintain a neutral spine.
- Reach one arm out in front of you so it’s even with your head and torso.
- Extend the opposite leg behind you, in line with your torso and arm. Make sure to keep your hips facing down toward the floor, rather than turned out toward the side. You should feel the muscles in your abdomen and back working.
- Hold for 5 seconds, then repeat with the opposite arm and leg.
The dead bug
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat.
- Tighten your abdominals and keep your back flat as you lift your knees so your hips and knees are bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Slowly tap one toe on the floor and return.
- To increase the difficulty level, extend your arms straight up over your shoulders. As you lower one foot down to the floor, reach the opposite arm back overhead, keeping your lower back on the floor and your ribs pulled in.
- Extend your leg only as far as you can while keeping your back flat.
- Return and switch sides.
Why You Should Engage Your Core
The effectiveness of core-focused exercises is increased by utilizing bracing, as it requires the use of all the muscles around the trunk. It also helps to stop injury by increasing spinal rigidity and keeping your pelvis stable.
Fraboni emphasizes the importance of learning to develop your core strength in order to keep pressure within the abdomen regulated. This can be key in decreasing strain on the pelvic floor muscles, the connective line along the abdomen, and on the lower back.
Core strengthening is essential for stopping issues related to the pelvic floor, diastasis recti, and chronic back pain.
Core strengthening enables you to tilt your pelvis and your upper body so you can generate more strength during activities, such as running, walking, lifting, and transitioning from a seated to a standing position, according to Fraboni. Maintaining strength and stability in your torso and hips will allow your arms, hips, and lower body to be effective in any movement. Engaging your core muscles is the key to accomplishing this.
Fraboni claims that by engaging the entire muscles that make up our core, from the pelvic area to the abdominals and all around the back, we are helping avoid any unwanted movements from either the spine or the pelvis so that the glutes are used as the major driving force.
According to Fraboni, breathing and bracing can help facilitate movement involving rotation, allowing power to be distributed more evenly between your feet, hips, spine, and shoulders.
We can utilize our abs by combining them with our breath. This combination helps us leverage the complete abdominal support that starts in the pelvic floor and spreads to the core. When you are taking part in a physical activity and mindfully controlling your breathing, you are engaging in core bracing.
Furthermore, having good posture maintenance in daily activities can diminish a person's chances of falling due to the destabilization that can occur. According to Fraboni, this is an important factor.
