Core Stabilization Exercises
One of the most important muscle groups that you can work out is your "core" muscles.
Your core muscle group includes the muscles that surround the lower back and hips.
Physiologically, the skeletal system is weakest at the lower back, with the entire upper body being supported by only the lower vertebrae.
To prevent the upper body from simply folding over in half, the muscles that wrap the core provide stability.
Many people think about core exercises when they are trying to tighten their abdominals...
trying to achieve "six-pack abs".
But, aesthetics aside, there are important health reasons to keep these particular joints and their corresponding muscles fit.
A tight midsection may look good, but keeping a solid core can help alleviate lower back pain, and even pain that radiates down into the legs.
To get an idea of what actually makes up the core, picture a belly-dancer.
They rotate their hips in an extreme way.
But if you were to slow down their motion, and observe the range of motion of their hips, you would quickly get a sense of which muscles are involved in the core.
They control the motion both back-to-front as well as side-to-side.
A fantastic exercise to tune the core starts on a "yoga ball", or exercise ball.
(These are the big inflatable balls you sometimes see at the gym.
) Sit on the ball, feet flat on the floor, comfortably apart so that you are stable.
You should not be wobbly on the ball, but rather should be able to sit perfectly still.
Imagine a string tied to the top of your head, and imagine that the string is being pulled straight up to the ceiling.
Keep your torso erect, and lengthen your spine as much as possible, keeping your head directly above your pelvis.
Once stable in that position, start by rotating your hips front-to-back.
Let the ball roll forward with your hips.
Keep your upper torso completely straight...
do not let it sway or rock as you are moving your hips.
You may not be able to move them very far at first.
Rotate them as far forward as you can, hold, then rotate then as far back as you can, and hold.
Repeat for a set of ten.
Once you are done, try moving your left hip over to the left, again, keeping your upper torso completely vertical.
Hold, then rotate it back to center, then to the right, allowing the ball to move with you, but keeping your trunk stable.
Again, repeat for ten sets.
As simple as it is, working on the ball to do hip rotations is a fantastic way to tune your core muscles.
Your core muscle group includes the muscles that surround the lower back and hips.
Physiologically, the skeletal system is weakest at the lower back, with the entire upper body being supported by only the lower vertebrae.
To prevent the upper body from simply folding over in half, the muscles that wrap the core provide stability.
Many people think about core exercises when they are trying to tighten their abdominals...
trying to achieve "six-pack abs".
But, aesthetics aside, there are important health reasons to keep these particular joints and their corresponding muscles fit.
A tight midsection may look good, but keeping a solid core can help alleviate lower back pain, and even pain that radiates down into the legs.
To get an idea of what actually makes up the core, picture a belly-dancer.
They rotate their hips in an extreme way.
But if you were to slow down their motion, and observe the range of motion of their hips, you would quickly get a sense of which muscles are involved in the core.
They control the motion both back-to-front as well as side-to-side.
A fantastic exercise to tune the core starts on a "yoga ball", or exercise ball.
(These are the big inflatable balls you sometimes see at the gym.
) Sit on the ball, feet flat on the floor, comfortably apart so that you are stable.
You should not be wobbly on the ball, but rather should be able to sit perfectly still.
Imagine a string tied to the top of your head, and imagine that the string is being pulled straight up to the ceiling.
Keep your torso erect, and lengthen your spine as much as possible, keeping your head directly above your pelvis.
Once stable in that position, start by rotating your hips front-to-back.
Let the ball roll forward with your hips.
Keep your upper torso completely straight...
do not let it sway or rock as you are moving your hips.
You may not be able to move them very far at first.
Rotate them as far forward as you can, hold, then rotate then as far back as you can, and hold.
Repeat for a set of ten.
Once you are done, try moving your left hip over to the left, again, keeping your upper torso completely vertical.
Hold, then rotate it back to center, then to the right, allowing the ball to move with you, but keeping your trunk stable.
Again, repeat for ten sets.
As simple as it is, working on the ball to do hip rotations is a fantastic way to tune your core muscles.