Your core is the center of your body’s universe. When it is strong, it stabilizes your trunk allowing free and effortless movement. It is also the foundation for your balance. Although important for everyone, stability is particularly important for adults. The fact is that our balance begins to decline somewhere between 40 and 50 years of age. Luckily, performing balance exercises and strengthening your core can improve your stability and significantly reduce your risk of falls.

How are core strength and balance related?

Even though the body’s process for maintaining balance is very complex, there are 3 main systems that work together to keep you upright and on your feet.

• Visual System: Your eyes send signals to your brain about your body’s position in relation to the environment around you.

• Vestibular System: The vestibular structures inside your ears inform the brain about changes in head positions and body movements.

• Proprioception System: The muscles, tendons, and joints throughout your body, including your core, have special sensors called proprioceptors. These proprioceptors provide your brain with information on the movement and position of your body parts. This is where your core muscles play their greatest role in balance.

These 3 systems work together to continually communicate information to the brain about the body’s position. The brain deciphers this information and signals to your muscles to make the necessary adjustments to your body in order to maintain balance and coordination.

 

3 ways having a strong core will benefit your balance:

• A strong core stabilizes your trunk so you retain an upright posture if you begin to fall

• It helps to encourage good posture and proper center of gravity 

• Allows you to quickly respond to a stumble with an outstretched arm or leg to steady yourself and prevent you from falling

 

The best way to improve your core muscle strength and your balance is to train them together.

 

Standing Stability Exercises

Standing stability exercises effectively train the core muscles to respond appropriately if you lose your balance and start to fall. These exercises are great for any fitness level and can be done with simple items found around the home, or in the gym with equipment like Bosu balls, balance boards, weights, or a medicine ball.

 

 

 

Beginner Level:

Grab an item around the home that weighs 2-5 pounds (hand weight, a large filled bottle, bag of flour, large can of food). Also, grab a pillow that can be placed on the floor or a balance mat.

       

Starting position: Feet side by side, knees slightly bent, core muscles activated, hands holding a weighted item in front of your chest.

Exercise Movement: Keeping your core tight and spine still, slowly extend your arms, reaching the weight out in front of you, and then bring it back towards your chest. Perform 10-20 times. To advance the movement, extend your arms out straight and slowly lift your arms up and down. With your arms out straight, you can also perform circular movements, clockwise and counterclockwise.

Precautions: Perform the exercise standing next to a counter or firm chair so that you have something to grab if you begin to lose your balance and feel like you are going to fall.

 

 

 

Intermediate Level:

        

Starting position: Place your feet into a staggered stance. With your feet in this position, activate your core and hold the weighted object at chest level.

Exercise Movement: Keeping your spine still, perform the arm movements as above. Perform 10-20 times. Switch your stance and place the opposite foot in front. Repeat arm movements.

Precautions: Perform the exercise standing next to a counter or firm chair so that you have something to grab if you begin to lose your balance and feel like you are going to fall.

 

 

 

Advanced Intermediate

     

Starting position: Place your feet into a tandem stance, with one foot directly in front of the other.  With your feet in this position, activate your core and hold the weighted object at chest level.

Exercise Movement: Keeping your spine still, perform the arm movements as above. Perform 10-20 times. Switch your stance and place the opposite foot in front. Repeat arm movements. 

Precautions: Perform the exercise standing next to a counter or firm chair so that you have something to grab if you begin to lose your balance and feel like you are going to fall.

 

Advanced

  .   

Starting Position: Stand on one leg, activate your core and hold the weighted object at chest level.

Exercise Movement: Keeping your spine still, perform the arm movements as above. Perform 10-20 times. Switch feet. Repeat arm movements. 

Precautions: Perform the exercise standing next to a counter or firm chair so that you have something to grab if you begin to lose your balance and feel like you are going to fall.

 

 

 

To further challenge your balance, perform the exercises on an unstable surface, like a pillow, balance pad, balance board, or Bosu ball.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this exercise because it strengthens your core muscles while also challenging your balance.  But don’t wait until you have balance problems to start working on your core! A strong core is central to a strong body.

 

Have questions? Reach out and I can guide you through the best exercise to strengthen your core, protect your spine and improve balance and posture.

 

*If at any time you have pain in your back, hip, knee, ankle, neck, or shoulder. Discontinue the exercise and seek medical attention.

Sit-ups use to rule the fitness world. For many years, sit-ups were seen as the golden ticket to stronger abs and a trim waistline. As a fitness-crazed teenager, I often did 500 sit-ups a day! No doubt this likely contributed to my back pain and spinal injuries as an adult. Sit-ups only work the rectus abdominis, one of the many muscles necessary to build a  strong core. Additionally, the strong abdominal flexion movement that occurs when performing a sit-up can damage spinal ligaments, discs, and vertebrates. If you have osteoporosis, doing sit-ups can also lead to spinal compression fractures. 

Thank goodness exercise has evolved to include safer and more effective ways to strengthen your abdominal muscles along with all the core muscles. 

In my previous blog, I talked about the “core”, how it is made up of many different muscles throughout the trunk and how these muscles have to work in harmony to provide stability and a foundation for efficient movement. I also gave you 2 easy ways to learn how to engage your core muscles. Now it is time for exercise!

The Dead Bug. Certainly not something any of us aspire to be but a very effective exercise for strengthening the core muscles. 

 

Here’s how you do the Dead Bug exercise.

 

Beginner

Starting position: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Activate your core by exhaling through pursed lips, like you are blowing out a candle or by bracing in preparation for a punch to the stomach. When your core is activated, your spine should be in a neutral position and should not be rounded towards the floor or arched.

Exercise Movement: Raise one knee up to hip height, keeping your knee bent at 90 degrees, and then back down to the floor. Continue by alternating lifting one knee up and then the other while keeping your core muscles activated and engage. Aim to do 10-20 repetitions. Be sure your spine maintains a neutral position and doesn’t flex or arch during the exercise. Be sure to move slowly and steadily, exhaling as you go.

Precautions: If at any time while you are performing this exercise your back begins to arch or flex, stop, take a break, re-engage your core and continue.

 

 

 Advanced Beginner:

Starting position: Lie on your back with both legs raised up to hip height with knees and hips at 90-degree angles.  Activate your core.

Exercise Movement: Slowly lower one foot to the floor and then back up to the starting position. Next, lower the other foot to the floor. Aim to do 10-20 repetitions. Be sure your spine maintains a neutral position and doesn’t flex or arch during the exercise. Be sure to move slowly and steadily, exhaling as you go.

Precautions: If at any time while you are performing this exercise your back begins to arch or flex, stop, take a break, re-engage your core and continue.

 

 

Intermediate level:

Starting position: Lie on your back with your arms extended straight up towards the ceiling. Lift your feet off the ground so your knees are in line with your hips and your hips and knees are at a 90-degree angle as above. Engage your core.

Exercise Movement: Slowly extend your right arm over your head while at the same time lowering your left foot to the floor, keeping the knee in a flexed position. Return to the starting position and then switch and reach your left arm overhead and place your right foot on the floor. Perform 10-20 repetitions. Be sure to move slowly and steadily, exhaling as you go. Keep your spine in a neutral position so that it doesn’t flex or arch during the exercise.

Precautions: If at any time while you are performing this exercise your back begins to arch or flex, stop, take a break, re-engage your core and continue.

 

 

Advanced level:

Starting position: Lie on your back with your knees and hips bent at 90 degrees and your arms extended straight up towards the ceiling. Lift your feet off the ground so your knees are in line with your hips and your knees and hips are at a 90-degree angle (as above). Engage your core.

Exercise Movement: Slowly reach your right arm overhead while simultaneously extending your left leg out straight so it is hovering a few inches above the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat with left arm reaching overhead and right leg extended out straight. Perform 10-20 repetitions. Keep your spine in a neutral position so that it doesn’t flex or arch during the exercise.

Precautions: If up have difficulty keeping your low back in neutral, reduce the motion of your limbs. Only extend your leg and opposite arm as far as you can without your back beginning to arch. When you feel your low back arching, bring your arm and leg back to the center before repeating to the opposite side.

 

 

Even though the dead bug exercise is a great way to strengthen your core, it is essential to do it safely and correctly. One of the most common mistakes I see when performing the dead bug exercise is trying to do the exercise too fast. Many people confuse this exercise with the bicycle crunch and try to use speed and momentum to execute the exercise. The truth is, the slower and more controlled you perform the exercise, the more effective it will be at strengthening the core muscles.

The dead but exercise is a great first exercise to start strengthening the core with little risk of injury to the spine. It is an especially good exercise for anyone with back or neck pain or osteoporosis. Maintaining a strong core is going to protect your spine but also improve your balance and posture and even your athletic performance.

Have questions? Reach out and I can guide you through the best exercise to strengthen your core, protect your spine and improve balance and posture.

 

The “core” receives a lot of attention in the fitness and physical therapy world.  However, there is often confusion about what the term “core” really means. People often talk about the core as if it is one big muscle.

Predictably, when I ask my patients to show me where their core muscles are, they point to the large muscle in the front of the abdomen. This outermost muscle called the rectus abdominis is certainly the largest muscle in the abdomen.

However, the core actually consists of many different muscles in the trunk that extend from the base of your neck to your pelvis. 

The five predominate muscles that make up the core are:

• Rectus Abdominis – Informally known as the “ab muscle” runs down the front of your abdomen from your ribs to your pelvis. In people with low body fat, it is often visible beneath the skin forming the “six-pack.”

• Transverse Abdominis – This is a large band-like muscle that wraps around the front and sides of your trunk. It is very important for providing stability to your pelvis and spine.

• The Internal and External Obliques – These muscles run diagonally between the ribs and the pelvis. They help to rotate and bend your trunk as well as provide trunk stability.

• The Erector Spinae – This is a large group of long muscles that lie on each side of the spine and extend from the pelvis all the way up to the base of the skull. It plays a key role in keeping good posture.

• Multifidus – This consists of a group of small, deep back muscles that runs right along the side of the spine and are very important for stabilizing the spine during movement. Research shows that people with low back pain often have significant atrophy and weakness in the multifidus muscles.

Other muscles that play a part in the “core complex” are your pelvic floor muscles, the diaphragm, the quadratus lumborum, and the gluteal muscles.

Although these muscles all have independent actions that like bending, twisting, or extending the spine, or moving a limb, they also work harmoniously to stabilize the spine and provide a base of support for all movement.

Weakness in any of the core muscles can lead to compensation of other muscles for stability and mobility. This in turn can lead to back pain, pain in the hips, knees, ankles, and even pain in the neck and shoulders. Core muscle strength is also essential for balance and posture. If you find that you’re struggling with your balance or maintaining an upright posture, those are 2 clear signs of core muscle weakness.

There are plenty of great exercises that can help strengthen your core muscles. However, to properly train these muscles it is important to understand how to engage these muscles. As I mentioned above, the core muscles need to work in harmony producing a co-contraction of these muscles at one time.

There are 2 ways that I find most effective in teaching my patients how to engage their core muscles. Merely sucking your stomach in is not engaging your core!

First, locate 2 of the predominant core muscles: The transverse abdominis and the multifidus.

 

Transverse Abdominis

To find the transverse abdominis:

• Locate the anterior iliac spine, the bony protrusion in the front of the pelvis bone

• Slide your fingers in about 1 inch

• Now draw a breath in through your nose and then exhale through pursed lips

• You should feel this broad, flat muscle tighten under your fingers

 

Multifidus

To find the multifidus:

• Place your fingers on your spine

• slightly roll your fingers off to one side

• Now with your opposite leg, take a step forward

• You should feel this rope-like muscle pop into your fingers as you take a step

With your fingers on those two muscles, you are going to work on engaging your core muscles.

The first method is to take a deep breath in through your mouth and then forcefully breathe out through pursed lips as if you are blowing out candles. You are looking for a simultaneous contraction of the transverse abdominis and multifidus muscles. 

Another method is to perform what is called abdominal bracing. With your fingers positioned as above, you are going to tighten up your trunk muscles to prepare as if someone is going to punch you in the stomach. Again, you want to feel a simultaneous contraction of both muscles. Additionally, you don’t want any movement to occur in the spine. If your spine rounds to the back, your abdominal muscles are overpowering your back muscles and if your belly pushes out to the front, your back muscles are overpowering your abdominal muscles. A good co-contraction of the core muscles does not result in any spinal movement. 

Once you get the hang of activating your core muscles, start by engaging these muscles while doing everyday activities such as reaching overhead into a cabinet, lifting a laundry basket, pushing a shopping cart.

In the gym, think about engaging your core before you perform an exercise. I call this “setting” the core. For example, before lifting a weight, engage or “set” your core muscles first. This will ensure that your body is in correct alignment, will give you a stable base in which you can perform the exercise correctly, and reduce the risk of muscle compensation and injury. 

Having a strong core will make you less prone to injuries, give you better balance, better posture, and more efficient movement whether performing your daily activities or even playing your sport. If you have osteoporosis, strong core muscles will protect your vertebrae from fractures and decrease your risk of falling and breaking your hip. 

Stay tuned for some of my favorite core exercises…or if you can’t wait…reach out to me to schedule an appointment and I can get you started on some key exercises to strengthen your core today.