Five Moves to Increase Core Strength

We’ve all been in a yoga, Pilates, circuit training, or boxing class when the instructor says (over and over), “engage your core muscles.” We immediately clench our tummies (er, hold our breath) and try our best to engage. But are we doing it right? What is this engaging doing exactly? And if I clench hard enough will I get those 6-pack abs?  We’re here to fill you in on the benefits of core training and the top five moves to increase core strength.  What is the core, really?  The core, also known as the “powerhouse” in Pilates, is the foundation for all movement and provides the upper and lower limbs with the power to  execute movement efficiently.  This group of muscles (front, side, and back of your abdomen) is incorporated in almost every movement of the body. When we think of the core, we may just think of the superficial layer which involves the rectus abdominals and external obliques, however there are deeper layers to the core which include the transverse abdominals, internal obliques, multifidus, pelvic floor, and diaphragm.   These muscles play a key role in maintaining strength, mobility of the spine, stabilization of the pelvis, providing internal pressure for biological functions and adding an axis of power for the kinetic chain. We should aim to train the core in all three planes of motion.   Benefits of Core Training  Core training has many benefits. It can improve your posture, balance, and help you gain greater coordination when training regularly. It will also help you execute exercises confidently and ultimately improve your athletic ability.  Sadly, many of us have become highly sedentary, so certain core muscles may have become inactive. If our core muscles become too inactive, they’re unresponsive when we need them (like bending down to pick up a box or picking up your kids) leading to muscular imbalances. To avoid this from developing, make sure your training plan involves core training.   Add these exercises below to your training to help build your core strength and stamina. You’ll improve your core stability and coordination, as well as build a foundation of technique and body awareness. No equipment needed!  TOP 5 MOVES Repeat this sequence 2 to 3 times through and either modify or introduce the progression. Bird Dog  30-60 seconds on each side  Come down onto your hands and knees in an all fours position on your mat. Make sure your hips are  stacked over your knees and your hands are directly underneath your shoulders. Engage your core  and maintain a strong flat back.  Extend your right leg back, keeping your hips parallel to the mat and pointing the toe. At the same  time lift the left arm (opposite arm to the extended leg) forward.  From this position, pull the right knee in towards your chest, whilst pulling the left arm in to meet the  right knee.  Modification: Keep the hands placed down and complete the leg extension. Progression: You could place a stability pad or Pilates ball under the base of the hand which stays on  the floor, for an additional core challenge.  Plank on elbows with oblique knee pull  30-60 seconds on each side  Come down onto your hands and knees in an all fours position on your mat. Drop down onto both of  your elbows, making sure your elbows are directly underneath your shoulders.  Step each foot back to come into plank position and think of creating a straight line from your head to  your heels.  Pull your right knee up towards your right elbow and then move the foot back into a plank position. Modification: You can take out the knee pull and hold plank position.  Progression: You can increase the reps on each leg for an additional core challenge.  Side Plank hold on elbow with rotation  30-60 seconds on each side  Lay on your right side, using your right elbow with your hips stacked and knees together. Lift your hips off the mat so you come into a side plank and lift the left arm up towards the ceiling.  Bring your left arm through and thread in-between your waist and the mat and then open up to the  ceiling again.  Modification: You can do the same movement but come down onto your knees so you are in a half side  plank.  Progression: To progress you can either increase the reps or add a hand weight to the extended arm. I recommend using a light hand weight so you can nail the technique and still keep the focus on your core. Double leg lower & lift with crunch  60 seconds  Lay on your back with your legs extended up towards the ceiling. Place your hands on the back of  your head and think of opening the chest and keeping the elbows pulled back. Slowly lower your legs down towards the mat but try to avoid arching your back and only take your  legs as low as you can manage without arching. Slowly lift the legs back up towards the ceiling and  lift your shoulder blades off the mat to come into a crunch.  Modification: To modify you can keep one foot firmly placed on the ground and lower and lift the right leg  and then switch onto the left leg.  Progression: To progress you can either increase the amount of repetitions or add a challenge to the  exercise by using a dumbbell. Hold the dumbbell above your chest by holding each end of the weight  and complete the exercise as is. This will incorporate your upper body into the movement and will  help to build strength in your arms.  Cross Body Mountain Climbers  60 seconds  Come down onto your hands and knees in an all fours position on your mat. Step both your feet back  into a high plank position on your hands.  Pull your right knee across your body towards your left elbow and then move your foot back into the  starting position and then switch to the left leg.  Modification: To modify you

Xen Strength Yoga: 10 Minutes for a Strong Core

How to work your abs with sun salutations instead of sit-ups.

How to Do No-Impact Cardio Like a Ballerina

It’s one simplified way Jillian Dreusike explains her fitness method, Allongee, which she created as an undergraduate student (and dancer!) in Philadelphia. The workout is now popular in Philly, and there are also pop-up classes in New York City (with an eye toward expansion there). “We tend to call it a barre boot camp,” Dreusike explains. “We’re using all of the same muscle groups like in a barre class…but the work is really different. The things we’re doing are higher range of movement. We’re getting your heart rate up so you’re in a cardio zone for at least 25 minutes in every class.” RELATED: 10 Free 10-Minute Youtube Workouts that Deliver Full-Body Fitness Even more creative? Dreusike created a class called “so SOAR!” that moves her method onto rebounders (AKA mini trampolines). On the rebounder, the cardio becomes totally no-impact… and also really, really fun. “The whole thing with the rebounders is ‘how do we put 50 minutes of cardio in one class and do it without putting any impact on our joints and ligaments?” she says. “We want to be able to deliver that cardio without causing any extra body stress.” RELATED: What Is LISS Cardio, and Should You Try It? If that sounds like something you’re ready to jump on, she provided a tutorial on how to start bouncing around at home or at the gym, below, as part of your overall workout routine. Your No-Impact Ballet Cardio Workout Before you bounce: Take a few minutes to just bounce around lightly and get to know the space and feel of the rebounder. Throughout, focus on keeping the weight in your heels and on pressing everything down when you’re doing the down-bounces. The knees should also always be facing the side; you’re using different ballet positions to facilitate external rotators working. Try doing each bounce for 30 seconds to get your heart rate up. 1. First Position Down-Bounces Using ballet first position (heels together, toes out), plie and bounce, utilizing external rotators and glutes. 2. Second Position Down-Bounces Using ballet second position (heels apart, toes out), plie and bounce utilizing external rotators and glutes. 3. Second Position Battu Jump Start in a deep plie in second position. Jump up, straightening legs and crossing one foot in front of the other. Switch which foot is in front on each jump.

3 Insanely Effective Pilates Moves for Core Strength

By Kristin McGee, NLC Whether you’re yearning for visible abs or want to get stronger in your core for deeper reasons, Pilates is the way to go. I’ve been teaching Pilates since the 90s, and I truly love it. The system of exercises—either using equipment or on the mat—is designed to improve your strength, flexibility, posture, and mind-body connection, all while working your core muscles. And not only will developing core strength help you move more gracefully, you’ll feel much more confident in your body. RELATED: 5 Expert Trainer Tips You’ve Never Heard Before To get you started, I’m sharing my favorite moves that are insanely effective for tapping into your powerhouse. Try doing these three moves three to four times a week, anytime, anywhere. I’m using a TheraBand to increase the resistance, but you can also do them without one. RELATED: 10 Free 10-Minute YouTube Workouts for Full-Body Fitness Soon, you’ll feel stronger, more toned, and will carry yourself with better posture. The best thing about Pilates is how much awareness it gives us about our body. You’ll move with more ease and feel great, overall. 3 Effective Pilates Moves for Core Strength The Roll Up This is one of the best core moves according to researchers at Auburn University in Alabama, who say, “The Pilates roll-up is 30 percent more effective than the standard crunch, because it challenges your abs through a fuller range of motion and recruits more muscle fibers.” Start lying on your back (with a band wrapped around your feet if you’re using one). Engage your core and start to lift your torso up off the floor as you roll up one vertebrae at a time. Dive forward over your legs and scoop your belly button to your spine. Slowly roll back down. Repeat 6-8 times. If you’re using the theraband, press your arms back behind you as you dive your head forward. The Swan So often we forget our back is also part of our core, but Pilates works our body 360 degrees, and this move is a great example of that. I love this move for trimming the oblique muscles, upper back, and lower body. Start lying face down with your arms overhead (holding the theraband in each hand). Lift the entire body up as you pull the band apart or just lift up if using no band. Repeat 6-8 times. Use the breath and inhale as you lift, exhale as you lower. Make sure to keep the abdominals engaged, which can be challenging when you’re lying on your belly. The Frog In Pilates, we often work in a turn-out position, or a Pilates V stance, with the heels together and the toes turned out. When we engage our legs this way, we activate the inner thighs, which are directly related to the pelvic floor muscles. Pilates is great for toning the hips, inner thighs, and buttocks—while still challenging that core. I also love this move because it mimics the leg springs on the Cadillac and reformer Pilates machines. Lie down on your back with knees bent. Bring the heels together and turn your toes out. Wrap the theraband around your feet and pull the ends to the floor with your elbows along your sides and shoulders relaxed. Exhale and extend your legs out as you squeeze your inner thighs and glutes. Inhale back to starting position. Repeat 16 times. About Kristin: Kristin McGee is a nationally recognized celebrity yoga and Pilates teacher, speaker, mompreneur, and author of Chair Yoga: Sit, Stretch, and Strengthen Your Way to a Happier, Healthier You. She is also a graduate of The Nutrition School. Her unparalleled knowledge of fitness and health has established Kristin as a sought-after yoga and Pilates trainer with a continuous roster of high profile celebrities including LeAnn Rimes Cibrian, Emilia Clarke, Tina Fey, Bethenny Frankel, Savannah Guthrie, Steve Martin, and Christine Taylor Stiller. Her appeal has always been that she makes fitness fun, cool, and accessible to students of all ages and stages. She has appeared on Access Hollywood, CNN, Fox, Good Morning America, The Early Show, and the Today Show and has been featured in Fitness, Glamour, Health, InStyle, People, Prevention, Shape, Vogue, and Women’s Health. A contributing editor at Health Magazine, a spokesperson for Power Pilates Gym on HSN, and a brand ambassador for multiple companies, Kristin is a proud mom to three boys: a toddler, Timothy and newborn twins, Robert and William. Visit Kristin’s website at kristinmcgee.com and follower her at @kristinmcgee.

Why Your Pelvic Floor Needs Strengthening NOW

Do you remember your mom telling you not to make her laugh because she’ll pee her pants?  Chances are she spoke to someone about that, and they told her to do Kegels. Doing Kegel exercises are the cookbook recipe that doctors prescribe when a patient complains of “peeing a little” when she sneezes, coughs, laughs too hard, or jumps rope. While Kegel exercises will strengthen the opening of the urethra, as a Pilates instructor, I want you to do a little bit more to strengthen the entire pelvic floor. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that provide support for the organs that reside in the pelvis, stabilize joints around the pelvis, and control the elimination of waste from the body. These muscles also help the body to have better orgasms. So yes, the pelvic floor is IMPORTANT! Things that weaken the pelvic floor are childbirth, being overweight, and continuous straining from constipation. (Eat your greens!) How to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor To perform a Kegel exercise, you first have to know how to find the most superficial of the pelvic floor muscles. The best way to do this is to stop the flow of urine midstream. That’s a basic Kegel, and once you’ve figured it out, you’ll want to practice doing them with an empty bladder (continuously doing Kegels while urinating can cause an increased risk of bladder infections since the bladder may not be fully empty.) But the problem with the basic Kegel is that you’re only exercising the most superficial layer of the pelvic floor muscles. While you’re taking the time to strengthen them, you might as well work all of the layers. When working with my Pilates clients in the studio, I cue them to begin with a Kegel or to imagine that two elevator doors are closing (the doors being your labia) and then imagine that the elevator is going up towards your belly button, feeling it (the elevator) lift. That lifting of the elevator is exercising the deepest layers of the pelvic floor. It’s important to note that you should do this exercise in a few different positions. The contents of the pelvis – the bladder, the uterus, the intestines and the rectum – put pressure on the pelvic floor while standing, but the pressure is different when you are on your back, stomach or side. In the studio, I’ll cue clients to do the elevator lift while doing Pilates exercises in the varying positions. You can easily do this, too. Do the elevator lift when you are driving, standing in line, doing side-lying leg lifts in barre class, or when you get into bed on your back. Aim for three to five lifts each time you do them and try to do them every day. A healthy and strong pelvic floor may not be as satisfying as looking at six-pack abs, but there’s something to be said for enjoying a great belly laugh without having to worry about peeing on yourself like mom.   About Cassie: Cassie Piasecki, who is  Nutritious Life Certified nutrition coach is also a Pilates Method Alliance, Certified Pilates Teacher, and personal trainer based in Newport Beach, Calif. With over two decades of experience, Cassie has taught fitness to over 10,000 people! She now connects with clients both in the studio and online. You can find her on Twitter or her website, The Wow Life. Her favorite quote comes from Joseph Pilates, “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.”