Core Strengthening Archives - MelioGuide

Core Strength Guide

Margaret Martin — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 21:52:08 +0000

July 12, 2023

Welcome to The Guide to Core Strength. This guide will help you safely and progressively build the core strength you deserve.

In this guide, you will learn the following:

The benefits of a strong core.
Core muscle anatomy.
Spine anatomy.
Core exercises and osteoporosis.
Core strength and osteoporosis.
Core strength as it relates to spine stability.
Core strength and athletic performance.
Where to access core strength resources on this site.

Five Benefits of Core Strength

Here are five benefits of a strong core.

Optimal posture: Strong core muscles help you maintain posture and alignment for the task at hand.
Better balance and stability: Your core muscles help stabilize your spine and your balance. As we age, balance and stability can deteriorate and increase fall risk. A strong core reduces this risk. (2)
Reduced risk of injury: Back muscle endurance and core strength help protect the spine and other joints. These reduce injury risk during physical activity and everyday movements.
Better functional fitness: Core strength enables you to perform everyday tasks. Lifting, pushing, and pulling are easier and more efficient.
Increased athletic performance: A strong core enables good athletic form and technique. It improves sports and activities including running, brisk walking, racquet sports, and weightlifting, and allows strength transfer between your upper and lower bodies.

Core Anatomy Tutorial

If you bring your gaze towards your belly button, most of us think we are looking at the core muscles of our body. But our core muscles go far beyond the muscles in front of our body or those around our belly button.

Physical Therapists separate the core muscles into the inner and outer core muscles.

Inner Core Muscles

Our inner core muscles include the muscles of the pelvic floor, the diaphragm, and our three deeper abdominal muscles.

The inner core muscles allow the transfer of force from one set of outer core muscles to another set of outer core muscles. (7) For example, when a baseball batter swings his bat to hit the incoming ball, he transfers force from his legs (outer core), through his inner core, to his arms (outer core).

The abdominal muscles are named:

Transverse abdominis.
Internal oblique abdominis (right and left).
External oblique abdominis (right and left).

These are illustrated in the image below:

Transverse Abdominus

The transverse abdominus muscles wrap around your middle to join the middle layer of your thoracolumbar fascia. For this reason, the transverse abdominis with its attachments is called “Nature’s Back Belt”. Many also find it helpful to visualize it like a corset.

Internal and External Obliques

The internal and external oblique abdominal muscles connect our rib cage to our pelvic bones. As their names imply, they are layered, and the directions of the muscle fibers are oblique, with their fibers making an X pattern over the transverse abdominal muscle. This X pattern provides stabilization and movement in multiple directions.

The Diaphragm

Your breathing is primarily controlled by the action of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a beautiful dome shaped muscle that is attached inside the ribs. When you breathe, the ribs open up and the diaphragm descends, it pushes gently on the liver and stomach. You feel your stomach expand slightly because those organs push gently on your intestines. When you exhale, everything goes back into place.

The Pelvic Floor

The pelvic floor diaphragm is the next very important muscle of the inner core. It is made up of numerous smaller muscles that are critical in controlling bladder and bowel functions.

If you have good control, posteriorly, in the pelvic floor, you can control the release of gas, urine, and your bowel. As a result, the action between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor is really critical.

Deep Paraspinal Muscles

Another very important inner core muscle, when it comes to osteoporosis, is our deep paraspinal muscles. These muscles run up and down our spine, and they have been shown in numerous studies to be the most protective thing we could provide to prevent vertebral compression fractures, osteoarthritis of the spine, and other degenerative changes that happen with aging.

The Outer Core Muscles

Our outer core muscles include our upper and lower back, shoulders, front and back of the pelvis, and inner thigh.

For those who appreciate anatomy, the anatomical names of the muscles are as follows:

Rectus abdominus.
Muscles of the buttock (gluteus maximus and gluteus medius).
Inner thigh (adductors).
Front thigh (rectus femoris).
Front hip and spine (iliopsoas).
Upper back (trapezius).
Lower back (latissimus dorsi and Quadratus Lumborum).
Shoulder (deltoid)
Chest (pectoralis major). (1, 4)

Core Anatomy Conclusion

The inner and outer core muscles form the foundation from which all the other muscles can obtain stability. Strong core muscles are essential for health, fitness, and spine stability.

In the following sections, we review the anatomy of the vertebral column. This will allow you to understand the recommended exercises for strengthening your core.

The Vertebrae

The vertebrae are the building blocks of the spine. The body of the vertebrae can be compared to small stacked barrels with a thin layer of cortical bone for walls and a softer cartilage plate for the top and bottom, and it is only 0.6mm (.002 inches) thick. (1) The inside of the barrel is made of trabecular, or soft, bone.

Between each vertebral body is a disc. The discs are part of the shock absorption mechanism of the spine. The disc has three major components, as you can see in the image.

The three components of the disc are:

The nucleus, the soft inner material.
The rings of cartilage, with its rings around the nucleus.
The end plates, or tops and bottoms of the discs.

The nucleus has the consistency of toothpaste. Like toothpaste, the pressure exerted against the disc can cause the nucleus to move.

Core Strength Exercises and Osteoporosis

The traditional way to strengthen our core with sit-ups, roll-ups, Pilates 100’s, and opposite knee-to-shoulder crunches, to mention a few, is not only unwise but can cause harm for individuals who are diagnosed with osteoporosis, osteopenia, low bone density, or a posterior or postero-lateral disc herniation.

All these exercises and many others bring the body into a flexed motion. Flexion of the spine increases the compression on one side of the vertebral body, which can, over repeated movements, cause a wedge fracture or biconcave fracture.

Lumbar Disc Presure

In a study in the first edition of the prestigious journal Spine orthopedic surgeon Dr. Alf Nachemson recorded the pressure created in the disc of the low back from everyday movements and common exercises. (8)

As you can see from the chart below, leg drops cause disc pressure to increase by 50% above standing pressure, while sit-ups cause disc pressure to increase by a whopping 120% compared to standing. (8)

Researchers in a lab at the University of Waterloo showed that traditional slow-speed sit-ups impose approximately 3300 N (730 lbs) of compression on the spine. (9, page 95)

When you have more porous bones, the increased pressure from the disc can push through your vertebra’s thin end plate. (9)

A study at the Mayo Clinic involving women with osteoporosis showed that those who did sit-ups as part of their core strengthening had a significantly higher incidence or worsening of their compression fractures. (2)

Dr. Stuart McGill and Low Back Pain

Dr. Stuart McGill has spent most of his career studying the mechanics of the low back. Among other things, he studied how disc pressure affects the vertebra. He describes that, “Under compressive loading, our work has shown the endplate to be the first tissue to injure. It fractures or cracks. When compressing spines in the lab, we hear an audible “pop” at the instant of the end-plate fracture—exactly what patients and athletes report when they describe the details of the event that resulted in their pain. Surprisingly, this may or may not be painful.” (9, page 67)

Core Strength and Osteoporosis

Very few studies have specifically looked at the relationship between core strength and osteoporosis, so I was interested in finding this small study out of China that compared the health status of the inner core abdominal muscles of healthy younger women to older women diagnosed with osteoporosis. (10)

The study found a correlation between osteoporosis and degeneration of the core muscle mass. “A biomechanical analysis showed that the core muscle mass of patients with osteoporosis was atrophied” (10) and that fat could be seen around and within the muscle. The poor quality of the abdominal muscles leads to less force during muscle contraction. The weaker the contraction, the weaker the stimulus to the bones.

Core Stability and Injury Prevention

Whether you are a serious athlete or a recreational one, lower body injuries are the most common type that occur. A systematic review looking at the association between impaired core stability and the development of lower extremity injuries was conducted in 2018.

Although the review only involved studies on healthy athletes, they did conclude that deficits in aspects of core stability such as core strength, core endurance, core proprioception, and neuromuscular control of the core were identified as potential risk factors for lower extremity injuries. (12)

Core Strength and Spine Stabilization

Stuart McGill writes in his book, Low Back Disorders, that his studies, which involved recording the muscular activity of the core muscles, demonstrated that virtually all muscles of the torso play a role in stabilizing the spine. (1)

A 2021 review of the literature concluded that core strength training improved functional mobility and balance among older individuals. (11)

My clinical experience working with individuals who have back pain due to either disc herniations or vertebral compression fractures is that an individual’s ability to recruit their inner core muscles can go a long way to reducing pain and improving function in simple tasks such as rolling in bed or getting up from a chair.

Core Strength and Balance

Is there a relationship between core strength and balance? Yes.

One study involving 100 women between the ages of 42 and 73 with osteoporosis showed that core stability is associated with dynamic balance.

In this study, not surprisingly, they found that dynamic balance was worse among the older participants.

The researchers concluded that improving core muscle endurance in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis might improve dynamic balance. (3)

Strong Core and Pelvic Floor

Many of my clients are concerned with their pelvic health and ask if there is a relationship between a strong core and pelvic floor.

The pelvic floor muscles are the “floor” of the inner core, and the respiratory diaphragm is the roof. Together, they provide stability for the spine.

Incorporating the pelvic floor into your breath is important for everyone to learn, especially individuals who regularly do strength training. Below is a video dedicated to synchronizing the movement of the pelvic floor. Give it a try!

Core Exercises for Osteoporosis

Looking for a safe and effective core exercises for osteoporosis? Do you want to build a stronger core? Great. I have several resources designed for people like you.

The first is my book and the second is my online video course. You will benefit from either product and they can be used together.

Strengthen Your Core

The first resource is my book, Strengthen Your Core. It is available on Amazon in print and Kindle format. It is a great place to learn how to improve your core strength. Strengthen Your Core is full of information on core health and provides clear exercises at different levels to increase core strength.

Building a Stronger Core

The second resource is an online course, Building a Stronger Core, on improving core strength. You will see me work with clients and learn how to increase your core strength.

3 Essential Core Exercises

In this video, I demonstrate three essential core exercises for seniors with osteoporosis, osteopenia, osteoarthritis, and disc herniation

Core Strength and Athletic Performance

A common denominator most successful athletes share is a strong core. A recent paper titled The Effects of Core Training on Sport-Specific Performance of Athletes: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials concluded that “core training had a good effect on general athletic performance, such as the core muscle endurance and balance of athletes.” (5)

An earlier study involving younger athletes also showed a correlation between trunk stability, better buttock strength, and better jumping performance. (6)

Does Running Strengthen Your Core?

Running does not strengthen your core. However, a stronger core may improve your running performance. (14)

Does Walking Strengthen Your Core?

Walking does not strengthen your core. The exception is walking with Nordic walking poles. When you walk with Nordic Walking Poles in the same fashion that cross-country skiers plant their poles, it activates core muscles.

Does Swimming Strengthen Your Core?

Many core muscles, such as the latissimus dorsi and oblique abdominals, are used during swimming strokes. But just like other cardiovascular exercises that involve hundreds of repeated movements/strokes, the emphasis on swimming is on the muscle’s endurance rather than its strength.

There are dozens of studies looking at the effectiveness of core strengthening in swimming. But I was unable to find even one that looked at the effectiveness of swimming on core strength.

Do Planks Strengthen Your Core?

Yes, planks strengthen your core, but side planks do an even better job if you are concerned about your spine. On the side plank, also referred to as a side bridge, you’re less likely to place undue stress on your spine.

Dr. McGill considers the side plank optimal to strengthen the quadratus lumborum, transverse abdominis, and abdominal obliques as spine stabilizers. “It is almost impossible for the spine to become unstable while performing a side bridge with a neutral spine.” (1)

Do Sit Ups Strengthen Your Core?

Sit-ups are a traditional core exercise that strengthens the core muscles but has many potentially harmful side effects. As mentioned above, researchers in a lab at the University of Waterloo showed that traditional slow-speed sit-ups impose approximately 3300 N (730 lbs) compression on the spine. (9 pg 95)

Over time, forward flexion of the spine can lead to herniated discs and compression fractures of the spine. They should no longer be part of any exercise program. There are many intelligent alternatives to sit-ups, which you can find in this guide.

Does Rowing Strengthen Your Core?

Core stability is a consideration for rowing on open water. Not so much for rowing machines.

The pullback in the rowing motion on a machine does not provide much strength training, but rather endurance training. However, the body’s position, whether on machines or in open water, involves thousands of repeated forward bends of the spine. As discussed above, individuals with low bone density, osteoporosis, osteopenia, and disc issues should avoid these motions.

On open water, the weather conditions can significantly affect the boat’s stability, requiring more stability and effort to row in the intended direction. There are recommended strength and conditioning exercises for rowers to improve performance. (13)

Does Yoga Strengthen Your Core?

Several Yoga poses help strengthen your core. These mainly involve balance poses, such as Warrior III and Airplane, and planks and side planks.

During Yoga classes, a few variations of the Plank and SidePlank exercises are introduced.

By only offering a few options for the plank or side plank pose, many Yoga practitioners put themselves at risk of straining their backs if poses are too challenging or not getting benefits if poses are too easy.

I take care of this problem with my book, Strengthen Your Core. In that book, I walk people through a gradual progression from Beginner to Elite level poses.

Core Strength Exercise Videos

You can find a library of core exercise videos on our YouTube channel.

Conclusion

Core strength is more than six-pack abs. It is about the control and stability of the musculature around your torso, lumbar spine, and hips.

This guide has several excellent examples of safe and intelligent core strengthening.

However, I encourage you to consider my book, Strengthen Your Core, for a complete overview of the progressions.

References

Stuart McGill, Low Back Disorders – Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation, Human Kinetics 2002 page 244
M Sinaki, B A Mikkelsen. Postmenopausal spinal osteoporosis: flexion versus extension exercises. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1984 Oct;65(10):593-6.
Özmen T, Gafuroğlu Ü, Aliyeva A, Elverici E. Relationship between core stability and dynamic balance in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2017 Oct 6;64(3):239-245.
Akuthota V, Ferreiro A, Moore T, Fredericson M. Core stability exercise principles. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2008;7:39–44.
Dong K, Yu T, Chun B. Effects of Core Training on Sport-Specific Performance of Athletes: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Feb 9;13(2):148.
Hoshikawa Y., Iida T., Muramatsu M., Ii N., Nakajima Y., Chumank K., Kanehisa H. Effects of stabilization training on trunk muscularity and physical performances in youth soccer players. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2013;27:3142–3149.
Huxel Bliven KC, Anderson BE. Core stability training for injury prevention. Sports Health. 2013 Nov;5(6):514-22.
Alf Nachemson. The Lumbar Spine an Orthopaedic Challenge. Spine
Stuart McGill. Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance, 3rd edition. BackfitPro Inc. 2006
Yuqun Luo, Wensheng Yue, Zukun Li, Lijun Chen, Ping Wang, Kun Sun. An initial study of core muscles using ultrasound in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Annals of Palliative Medicine Vol 11, No 4 (April 27, 2022)
Manjusha K, Nithya NarayananKutty, Shilpa Chandra. The Effectiveness of Core Strength Training to Improve Functional Mobility and Balance in Geriatric Population: A Literature Review. OPROJ, Sept. 28, 2021
Cedric De Blaiser, Philip Roosen, Tine Willems, Lieven Danneels, Luc Vanden Bossche, Roel De Ridder. Is core stability a risk factor for lower extremity injuries in an athletic population? A systematic review Physical Therapy in Sport. Vol. 30, March 2018 pages 48-56
Frank Nugent et al. Strength and Conditioning for Competitive Rowers. Strength and Conditioning, June 2020, Journal 42(3):1
Hung KC, Chung HW, Yu CC, Lai HC, Sun FH. Effects of 8-week core training on core endurance and running economy. PLoS One. 2019 Mar 8;14(3):e0213158.

Margaret Martin

Margaret Martin is a Physical Therapist with 40 years of clinical experience. Her expertise is in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis through exercise, safe movement and fall prevention. For the last 20 years, she has concentrated on bone health and has treated thousands of patients for their osteoporosis, osteopenia and low bone density.

The post Core Strength Guide appeared first on MelioGuide.

Core Strength and Osteoporosis

Margaret Martin — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 18:29:07 +0000

Welcome to lesson seven of your email course, Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. This lesson is the final lecture in the course.

This lesson covers a topic often overlooked in osteoporosis exercises: core strength. You will learn the benefits of a stronger core and how to obtain one.

Today’s exercises are samples from my book, Strengthen Your Core.

Core Strength and Osteoporosis

Although this is the last lecture in this email course, consider it the start of our journey together. Today, I’m going to cover core strength and osteoporosis. Ironically, I’ve left it for the last lesson because, with most clients, core strength is one of the first things I look at.

The inner core initiates with our breath and ends at our pelvic floor. It is essential in keeping your spine stable. When most people consider a strong body, they think, “I want a strong core. I want to have nice tight abs and a good solid center.” That is what I want for you.

Benefits of a Stronger Core

However, a stronger core delivers more than that. It provides the following four benefits:

Improved balance and reduced your risk of falling.
Better posture. Good posture is essential if you have osteoporosis.
It boosts your self-confidence, both inside and out!
Improved performance. A strong core allows forces to transfer between your lower and upper body. You can pull harder and lift heavier when you have a stronger core.

To help my clients build a stronger core safely, I wrote my third book, Strengthen Your Core. Allow me to introduce this book to you.

Strengthen Your Core

I wrote Strengthen Your Core for people just like you.

The book offers four levels of progressive planks and side planks guaranteed to improve your core strength.

There are over 75 varieties of each exercise. You will find your perfect place to start and be able to build from there.

I invite you to find out more about Strengthen Your Core.

You are also welcome to explore our Core Strengthening Guide.

Strengthen Your Core is available in both print and Kindle formats.

Today's Exercises

Today I present two core strengthening exercises I would like you to consider. One is at the Beginner and the other is more advanced, at the Active level.

Beginner Side Plank Roll

This is the beginner level side plank. I incorporate a roll for you to try as well.

Active Side Plank at 45 and 90 Degrees

This is the active level side plank.

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing my seven-day email course on Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. We covered a lot of ground. I hope that you learned a lot about osteoporosis and exercise.

Let’s quickly summarize what we covered:

The role of exercise in reversing osteoporosis.
Resources to help you stop the stoop.
Osteoporosis exercise guidelines.
The five components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
The Exercise for Better Bones program and Stronger Bones, Stronger Body workout program.
Yoga practice for bone health.
The importance of a stronger core.

These topics are the basics of what you should look for in an osteoporosis exercise program.

Thank you for taking the time to take care of you. This course is the first step to being strong, fit, and fracture-free!

The post Core Strength and Osteoporosis appeared first on MelioGuide.

Four Abdominal Exercises for Osteoporosis

Margaret Martin — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 19:03:11 +0000

In this blog post, I demonstrate four different abdominal exercises for osteoporosis. The four exercises presented in this post progress from beginner level to advanced abdominal exercises (for athletic and elite level individuals). All of the abdominal exercises strengthen the muscles in the core and bones in the spine, and are ideal for people with osteoporosis, osteopenia and low bone density.

At the end of the post, I recommend a different set of core strengthening exercises that not only strengthen the abdominal area but also build bone and muscle strength in the arms, forearms and hands. You can graduate to these exercises once you get a command of the ones presented in this blog post.

Abdominal Exercise Benefits

The right abdominal exercises done with good form increases abdominal strength. Abdominal strength is important for all individuals — this is true for people of all ages. Most studies have been done with individuals who are young and athletic. Few have been done on older, non-athletic individuals with co-morbidities such as arthritis and osteoporosis.

The benefits from the abdominal exercises in this post are:

Reduce the incidence of lower back pain.
Improved balance with a resulting reduction in the risk of a fall and fracture.
Better use of the pelvic floor during exercise, movement and activity.
A more stable spine.

Abdominal Exercise Reduces Back Pain

In a recent study, Japanese researchers showed that elderly women with a history of back pain and of falling had significantly lower abdominal strength when compared to elderly women without back pain and without a history of falls.

Their paper stated that “previous studies have indicated that trunk muscle strength decreases with chronic low back pain, and is associated with poor balance, poor functional performance, and falls in older adults. Strengthening exercises for chronic low back pain are considered the most effective intervention to improve functional outcomes.” (1)

The “functional outcomes” and “functional performance” that the authors mention refers to your ability to perform day-to-day activities and exercise. In other words, day to day movements become easier and can be carried out with less effort.

The research showed that just as with younger adults, strong core and strong abdominal muscles reduce the incidence of two things in older adults:

Lower back pain.
Falls from loss of balance and functional performance.

Stronger Abdominals Lead to Improved Balance and Reduced Fall Risk

There are many factors that can increase a person’s risk for falling. A few include the pharmaceuticals they take, poor vision, neuropathy, and poor foot wear.

Weak abdominals make it harder for an individual to maintain a stable centre of gravity. With a weak inner core, an individuals’s sway increases as they attempt to regain balance. Increased strength in the transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles provides the stability you need to maintain your balance during movement. Better balance leads to a reduced risk of a fall.

Read my post on 25 ways to reduce your risk of a fall.

Transverse Abdominis Exercise and Lumbar Spine Support

A number of people come to see me for Physical Therapy because they experience low back pain when getting out of bed, doing yard work or during exercise. The four abdominal exercises can address this problem.

Strong transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles provides stability to the lumbar and lower thoracic spine. The support reduces pain and shearing of the spine. This increased stability on the spine, in turn, in turn, may reduce lower back pain and the likelihood of developing back pain.

Increased strength in the transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles also provides the stability you need to maintain your balance during movement. Better balance leads to a reduced risk of a fall.

Abdominal Exercises and Pelvic Health

I would add another benefit that the research team did not point out: abdominal strength contributes to better pelvic health. This is why in each of the exercises in this blog post, I encourage you to activate your pelvic floor muscles.

For each exercise I ask you to activate of your pelvic floor muscles before you activate your deep transverse abdominal and oblique muscles. This is critical for keeping your pelvic floor safe from the strong intra-abdominal pressure that is generated during abdominal exercises. This is especially critical if you currently leak urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh or exercise.

Improved Bone Heath

Each of the abdominal exercises in this post is meant to improve muscular strength of the transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles. Stability of the deep core is critical when lifting weight. Without stability around the spine the more superficial muscles of the trunk and pelvis create shearing forces to the spine. This increased load, over time, improves bone density and health.

Later in the post, I will introduce exercises that build on the four presented here that increase strength not only in transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles but also build strength in the next two layers of abdominals:

External oblique muscles.
Internal oblique muscles.

Why I Recommend These Over Traditional Abdominal Exercises

Community exercise classes keep you motivated to move, stay active and meet friends. However, some of the movements and exercises in these group exercise classes are not recommended if you have osteoporosis, osteopenia or low bone density. This is particularly true for the abdominal exercises frequently found in exercise classes.

Personal trainers and fitness instructors, while well-meaning, are often not informed on issues related to bone health and exercise. Many a client has shared with me that their fitness instructor still includes sit ups and double leg drops as part of their exercise class. These exercises need to be removed from your routine and replaced with exercises that are safer and more effective, The four exercises I present in this blog post fit the bill on all fronts.

Traditional ab activation exercises, such as sit ups and crunches, not only reinforce poor posture, they also do not teach us to maintain the alignment of our head, torso, spine, and pelvis. Maintaining a neutral body position requires the activation of deep core muscles that are attached to our spine. The “carry over” of this perfect posture is critical for all kinds of day-to-day tasks.

You can learn more about this topic by reading my post on exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.

Abdominal Exercises for Osteoporosis

The four abdominal exercises for osteoporosis are:

Beginner Level Abdominal Exercise
Active Level Abdominal Exercise with Leg Drop
Athletic Level Abdominal Exercise with 90/90 Leg Drop
Elite Level Advanced Abdominal Exercise with Leg Drop

Let’s start with the Beginner Level Abdominal Exercise for Osteoporosis.

Beginner Level Abdominal Exercise

The Beginner Level Abdominal Exercise targets the transverse abdominal muscles and the spine. It is the first of four abdominal exercises for osteoporosis from the Exercise for Better Bones program.

Directions for Transverse Abdominis Exercise for Beginners

Follow these step-by-step directions to do the first of these transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles exercises.

Setup

Have a small towel handy for the small of your back. Alternatively, you can place your hand in the small of your back.
Come down safely onto your side and then roll onto your back.
Place either the towel or your hand in the small of the back. I prefer a towel because it gets you out of this forward roundedness position and then you can just focus in on your deep abdominals.
Use the heel of your hand at the base where your thumb is and place that across your two hip bones. One on either side.
Allow your thumbs to point down towards your groin.
Have your knees and feet hip-width apart.

Tighten the Pelvic Floor

Take a nice breath in and then slowly, gently exhaling, start tightening your pelvic floor ever so gently.

Engaging Your Deep Abdominals

Then, you want to then move up and feel as though you’re pulling your two hip bones together.
You should feel the muscles underneath your thumbs start to tighten up.
This is what we refer to as recruiting your deep abdominals, or engaging your deep abdominals.
That’s something that you should have taken with you with all the exercises.
Start building the endurance of those muscles. Target holding them for 5, 10, 15 seconds.

Repeat

Let’s do that again and this time we’re going to hold it through several breaths.
Start by tightening your pelvic floor through exhalation, and then tighten your deep abdominals by pulling your hip bones together.
For some people, pulling them apart is another cue that seems to work. You’re drawing your belly button towards your spine. You want to keep that firm, even as you’re breathing, even as you’re talking.
You want to hold that firm throughout so that you’re building the endurance of those muscles.
Good, and then relax.

Doing that on your back is a nice way to start. Ultimately, you want to be able to do that whether you’re standing or sitting, or in any position. As we progress through the exercises, you’re able to use your deep abdominals through all the exercises for stability.

Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis

Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.

But what exercises should you do and which ones should you avoid? What exercises build bone and which ones reduce your chance of a fracture? Is Yoga good for your bones? Who should you trust when it comes to exercises for osteoporosis?

A great resource on exercise and osteoporosis is my free, seven day email course called Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. After you provide your email address, you will receive seven consecutive online educational videos on bone health — one lesson each day. You can look at the videos at anytime and as often as you like.

I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:

Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
Key principles of bone building.
Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?

Enter your email address and I will start you on this free course. I do not SPAM or share your email address (or any information) with third parties. You can unsubscribe from my mail list at any time.

Active Level Abdominal Exercise with Leg Drop

The Active Level Abdominal Exercise with Leg Drop for Active level targets the transverse abdominal muscles and the spine. It is the second of four abdominal exercises for osteoporosis from the Exercise for Better Bones program.

Directions

Follow these step-by-step directions to do the second of these exercises.

Setup

Have a small rolled towel about the size of your hand.
Place in the small of your back.
Go down to the side.
Get on your back.
Ensure that the towel support is right in the hollow of your back.

Activate Pelvic Floor and Tighten Deep Abdominals

Either use your hands to feel your deep abdominal muscles just inside your pelvis or allow your arms to rest down by your side.
Bring one knee up towards your chest, a little bit past 90 degrees.
Join it with the other knee up towards your chest.
Now, in this position, your pelvis will be tilted slightly. This will help your abdominals initially.
Take a nice big breath.
Slowly, gently, tighten your deep abdominals.
Start by tightening your pelvic floor and you feel as though you’re pulling your hip bones together.

Lower Your Leg

The objective is to lower one leg towards the floor, but do not let the small of your back lift off of the towel.
Keep that same amount of pressure on the towel the entire time.
Breathe in.
Gently tighten your pelvic floor and your deep abdominals as you come down, and back up.
Think about your lower tummy.
Breathe in, engage or tighten your pelvic floor and your lower tummy.
Drop one leg towards the floor, and then back up again.
Repeat.

If you find alternative movements challenging, start by doing the right side only for five repetitions and then the left side only for five repetitions.

At any point if you feel that you can’t hold that position anymore, take a break and then start over again.

Athletic Level Abdominal Exercise with 90/90 Leg Drop

The Athletic Level Abdominal Exercise with 90/90 Leg Drop targets the transverse abdominal muscles and the spine. It is the third of four abdominal exercises for osteoporosis from the Exercise for Better Bones program.

Directions for Athletic Level Advanced Abdominal Exercise

Follow these step-by-step directions to do the third of these exercises.

Setup

If you don’t want to use your hand, use a small towel.
The size of that towel should be pretty well the size of your hand, both in with and depth.
Down your side on to your back.
The towel should be adjusted to the small of your back.

Engage Pelvic Floor. Keep Abdominals Tight. Raise Leg.

Raise one leg to 90 degrees, the other leg to 90 degrees.
Shoulders down the back.
Keep your abdominals nice and tight, don’t let your low back drop.
Keep your tummy firm the whole time and engage your pelvic floor as well.

How to Increase the Intensity of Athletic Advanced Ab Exercise

The angle of your thigh is going to change the intensity of this exercise. If you do the exercise and you find that you’re not quite able to maintain that neutral position, you can make things easier by altering the angle of your legs.

The closer your knees are to your chest, the lesser the load.
The farther your knees are from your chest, the greater the load.

You can also increase intensity by adding arm movement. Keep your legs still (as illustrated in the photo above) and alternate arm reaches.

A further progression would be to alternate arm and leg movement concurrently. (2)

That’s a nice way to be able to adjust the intensity of this exercise to fit you.

Elite Level Advanced Abdominal Exercise with Leg Drop

The Elite Level Advanced Abdominal Exercise Leg Drops targets the transverse abdominal muscles and the spine. It is the last of four abdominal exercises for osteoporosis from the Exercise for Better Bones program.

Directions for Elite Level Advanced Abdominal Exercise

Follow these step-by-step directions to do the third of these exercises:

Place either your hand or a towel (that’s the size of your hand) in the small of your back for this exercise.
Start by raising one leg then the other leg.
As in the athletic level (above), you can fine-tune this exercise by how much hip flexion you allow yourself in the resting leg.
Increase the intensity by increasing the load of the weight. You do this by straightening the leg like this during the motion.
We either repeat on the same side … or we can alternate side to side.

How to Adjust the Elite Advanced Ab Exercise

Another way of adjusting this exercise is how low you allow this leg to come. If you’re finding you’re just straightening your leg and your low back is starting to pull up, that’s the level that you have to start pulling back at.

Work within your limit. When you feel your back being lifted off from your lumbar support pad, it is a signal that your deep hip muscles are overpowering your abdominal muscles. This can lead to back pain or strain.

As you get stronger, you will be able to hold lower and lower until you’re able to hover just above the ground and back up. But if you allow yourself to cheat, you’re never going to allow your muscles to get stronger.

Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis

Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.

I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:

Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
Key principles of bone building.
Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?

Core Exercises for Osteoporosis

Many abdominal exercises, including the ones listed above, involve movements that are only done while lying on your back. The transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles exercises listed above are a great place to start. You can lie on the floor and practice and learn the proper movements associated with the abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor. Eventually, you can take this learned ability to activate the core and introduce instability into your exercises.

Why introduce instability with another set of exercises?

While these ab activation exercises are important foundational movements, they lack component that is important for keeping our the bones in our arms strong. Namely, they do not include loading or weight bearing.

I encourage my clients to build bone strength in the upper body while strengthening their abdominals. Planks and side-planks are ideal exercises to achieve that goal.

Bones respond well to gradual, progressive loading. You can start with plank and side plank exercises that load through your forearms. This allows you to strengthen your core without causing undue stress on your shoulder. The benefit of strong arms? Strong arms allow you to catch yourself in case of a fall.

You can progress to weight bearing through your hands. Strong hand muscles and bones are essential for any one wanting to reduce their risk of a wrist fracture.

If you want to continue on your journey and want more abdominal exercises for osteoporosis, check my page dedicated to core exercises.

Conclusion

We covered a lot of ground in this blog post on abdominal exercises for osteoporosis. Before describing the four exercises in detail, we covered the key benefits of these exercises, we discussed why you should do these exercises instead of the traditional sit ups and crunches seen in many exercise classes, and finally, we saw how you can graduate from these exercises to planks and side planks. The benefits of the planks and side planks as core exercises for osteoporosis is that they introduce instability and weight bearing into your exercise program.

References

Kato S, et al. Abdominal trunk muscle weakness and its association with chronic low back pain and risk of falling in older women. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:273. Published: 3 June 2019.
Selkow NM, et al. Transversus Abdominis Activation and Timing Improves Following Core Stability Training: A Randomized Trial. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2017 Dec; 12(7): 1048–1056.

Osteoporosis Exercise Plan

Visit my Osteoporosis Exercise Plan page for more information on this topic.

The post Four Abdominal Exercises for Osteoporosis appeared first on MelioGuide.

Core Breathing Techniques

Margaret Martin — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 23:24:24 +0000

Core breathing really affects the way you exercise and your day-to-day life. Today I am going to talk about core breathing, breathing exercises for core strength, core breathing techniques and core breathing exercises.

Core Breathing — The Core Foundation of Exercise

Hi, I’m Margaret Martin at MelioGuide, and today I’m going to talk about a really important core foundation to exercise.

That core foundation is our core and how we breathe and how we use the muscles around the diaphragm to best support us in our day-to-day function as well as when we’re lifting weights or exercising in anyway.

Core Breathing and Your Core

Let’s first talk about the breath and how that breath is integrated with the rest of the core.

Core Breathing From Your Diaphragm

Everybody here knows how they should breathe with their diaphragm, whether it’s through Pilates, Yoga, or relaxation training.

You should do your core breathing with your diaphragm.

If you have my book Exercise for Better Bones, you will see my description on core breathing with your diaphragm.

If you’re not 100% sure, you place your hands on your lower ribs, even place your hand on your tummy.

I like the ribs to be a really essential part of it, so it’s important that you feel the diaphragm expand.

It’s attached right under the ribs, and it’s attached to the front of the spine. So as your diaphragm contracts, the ribs are going to expand.

Core Breathing and the Pelvic Floor

Where does all that energy go?

It goes down through the organs, all the way down to the pelvic floor. At that point your pelvic floor releases and relaxes with your breath in. As you exhale, that pelvic floor starts to tighten back up.

I like to think about it as the ocean.

Most of you have, hopefully, have been to the ocean. I want you to think about a really quiet shoreline, where that wave of energy being your diaphragm, that wave of energy comes into shore, washes down across the sand. As that wave goes down onto the sand, that’s your pelvic floor releasing. It peaks and then it flows back up into the ocean.

All day long, day and night, this is going on just like your breath. Having that as your foundation to everything you do is so critical.

Reduce the Tension in Your Diaphragm

So many people hold their tension up through their diaphragm.

If you hold the diaphragm tight, then there’s no give and take. Everything is pushed down. Everything is held here, and you breathe with upper chest and not down here.

Core Breathing and Your Core Foundation

Why is that so critical?

This is your foundation, and if you don’t utilize your foundation, other muscles are going to try to help out for that reason.

I’ve had four women, all young women, in the last two weeks that all have an impairment in this breathing pattern.

They’ve tried really, really hard, through Pilates or through fitness. They push really hard and in that desire to improve their core, they’re just trying to stabilize with whatever they have.

They just haven’t gone back to the foundation of safe breathing. Effective, efficient breathing. What’s happening is all other muscles around their pelvis, around their lower back are trying to hang on for that stability They are reaching for the stability that the core would provide.

They all had another characteristic: they all had foot problems.

Often their issues started with foot problems, and the innervation of the pelvic floor is the same as the innervation in the feet.

If you’re interested in more information about this, the person I took my course with was Julie Wiebe. Julie talks about the pelvic floor as a piston.

I like to visualize it more as waves. Whatever works for you as long as you get it working for you.

That’s all from MelioGuide today on how to breathe from your core. Thanks for tuning in.

Core Exercises

Visit my Core Exercises page to read more articles like this.

The post Core Breathing Techniques appeared first on MelioGuide.

Stability Ball Plank Exercise Variations

Margaret Martin — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 20:20:13 +0000

In this video I cover two different stability ball plank exercise variations. Later in the post I will show how to use the stability ball plank with the wall and a sofa for support.

The exercises in this post can be found in my book Strengthen Your Core and in the Building a Stronger Core online course. Both of these exercises are stability ball plank exercises. I also cover several variations of the plank exercises as demonstrated in the book to give you a flavour of what you can do with the program.

First Variation

This is the first variation of two stability ball plank exercises (the active plank six and seven). The stability ball provides us with an opportunity to explore a lot of variations using a ball.

Position your hands in the direction of the forces.
Your fingers are going to point straight down.
Hands are equal distance apart.
I like to count rungs on the ball, so I have an equal number of rungs apart.
Hands are equidistant apart.
The base of your sternum is pointing straight over the ball.
Step back.
First with the one foot, then with the other foot.
Abdominals stay tight as you lower.
Draw shoulder blades down and back.
If your feet are really close together, that’s a very small base of support, and that smaller base of support makes the stability of the ball more challenging for you.
If you widen your base, then it adds to an increased stability.
Another variation is to move the ball when we are in this position.
When you are in a stable and controlled position, move the ball slightly around.
Two inches to the right, two inches to the left.
When that feels comfortable, then you can start moving the ball up and move the ball back.
Then the side to side.

Second Variation

Another great variation is to move the ball side to side, but with weight on one foot or having transferred weight a little bit more to one foot or the other foot.

All of these little tweaks that you can do are great ways to take one exercise and add numerous variations to them.

If you find the exercise too intense then you can try with a different size ball.

At five foot one, a 55 centimeter ball is the correct size stability ball for me, but I’m going to demonstrate doing the plank on the ball using a 65 centimeter ball and a 75 centimeter ball.

Any of these would make the challenge just a little bit less, but allow me to continually build into coming back down to a 55 centimeter ball.

So, that’s it for the stability ball plank variations six and seven.

Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis

Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.

I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:

Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
Key principles of bone building.
Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?

Stability Ball Plank Exercise Against the Wall

In this variation I perform the stability ball plank exercise with the wall for support.

Stability Ball Plank Exercise With Sofa Support

In this variation I perform the stability ball plank exercise with a sofa for support.

Core Exercises Guide

Want to learn more about core exercises? Visit my Core Exercises Guide.

The post Stability Ball Plank Exercise Variations appeared first on MelioGuide.

Core Exercise for Beginners

Margaret Martin — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:57:33 +0000

In this video I demonstrate the Side Plank Exercise Roll core exercise for beginners from the Strengthen Your Core exercise program.

During the Roll, you transition as a block, with perfect form, between the Plank exercise and Side Plank exercise. This one of a number of core strengthening exercises for beginners in Strengthen Your Core.

Core Exercise for Beginners

First we are going to cover variations and suggestions to assist a beginner through the 45 and 90 degree side planks. Second, we’ll cover the core exercise for beginners roll.

Lets start with the tips for the beginner core exercise.

Core Exercise for Beginner Tips: Shoulder Support

For many individuals, weight bearing through one shoulder is quite a challenge. Here are a few tips to add shoulder support:

In the side plank from the chair, you can add support on the shoulder with the upper arm.
You can also take weight, if that shoulder is your limiting factor, through this bottom arm.

Those are things that can help you start to build strength through the shoulder and not feel defeated because the amount of pressure that you’re experiencing through the shoulder.

Core Exercise for Beginner Tips: Arm Support

With the planks and especially with the side planks, as opposed to just resting on the chair, I want you to press into the chair.

To provide additional support, place a folded yoga mat under the arm so that it feels more cushioned through the forearm.
Draw the shoulder blade down while pressing into the chair.
If I just let the chair support me, this is what’s going to happen. I hang on with my ligament and that’s not going to be comfortable or beneficial.
Press into the chair, drop the shoulder blade down and then align your head with the rest of your body. This is an important component of the beginner’s side plank 90.
When we take the side plank into a 45 we can take a break and reset and then position our body at a 45, position the leg at a 45 and then drop the body and again think of it drawing the shoulder blades down and back.
Your hand can stay at the chair if you want a little additional support through the supporting shoulder or it can come by your side.
It can rest on the shoulder that’s supporting you, but again your whole body should maintain that neutral position.

Side Plank Roll Core Exercise for Beginners

Now lets do the side plank roll core exercise for beginners. To demonstrate this, I will turn away from you and take the roll onto the chair.

Based on my body size, this chair is just a little bit tall for me.
Press to stay drawn down.
My ideal chair height would probably be about 16 inches to do the roll from my knee and this is about 17 inches.
In this position press firmly down and hold each position for five seconds.
Roll and keep everything tight.
Now go into a full plank from your knees.
Roll into the 45 degree side plank.
Draw your shoulder blades down and back and right into complete the beginner.

That’s it for the the side plank beginner roll one of the core strengthening exercises for beginners in Strengthen Your Core.

Core Exercises Guide

Want to learn more about core exercises? Visit my Core Exercises Guide.

The post Core Exercise for Beginners appeared first on MelioGuide.

Core Strengthening Exercises for Seniors

Margaret Martin — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:51:04 +0000

The Plank Exercise Using Sofa for Support is a core training exercise and is one of a number of core strengthening exercises for seniors in the Strengthen Your Core exercise program.

In this version I show how you can exercise at home using your sofa for support. I also show gentler variations of the same plank exercise.

Core Strengthening Exercises for Seniors

The plank exercise using the sofa for support is one of a number of plank core exercises from my book, Strengthen Your Core. I cover several variations of this exercise in this blog post. The exercises are appropriate core strengthening exercises for seniors because they improve their core strength while allowing them to gradually increase the challenge in each variation. Lets cover each variation.

Challenge #1

This basic challenge is a good starting core strengthening exercise for many seniors. Follow these steps:

Take a sofa cushion from your sofa and place it on top of the ottoman. This will reduce how far you have to reach down to the stability ball and make this plank easier to do.
Place another sofa cushion firmly against the wall or into the back of the sofa and use the back to support the ball.
Placing extra cushions in these locations should create a space of about eight inches between you and the wall.
During the gentler variation you allow the ball to rest into the back of the chair or into the back of the sofa.
Push into the ball.
Your fingers always push in the direction of the force.
Your force should be directed in a diagonal direction towards the back of the chair — almost where the chair and the cushion meet.
Engage your shoulder blades.
You should feel the pressure.
Take a half a step back.
You should feel a little more weight through your shoulders.
Control the ball and move it right and left.
You do not have to control all the directions of the ball because it’s resting up against the back of the sofa (or wall).

Challenge #2

You can make any of the core strengthening exercises for seniors more challenging when you pull the ball away from the back of the sofa.

It is the exact same technique, but now you are going to have to control the ball when it is sitting slightly away from the back of the sofa. The back of the sofa is there in case you need backup. Here are the instructions for this variation:

Shift the stability ball forward away from the back of the sofa and rest it unsupported.
Step back.
Now your shoulders have a much greater load because you have to control the ball.
Move it back, forth, and side to side.
This requires a lot more effort both in the abdominal wall and through the shoulders.
You will hold your plank for the duration that is necessary for you.
Step out (or slightly forward) and stand in a relaxed stance.

Challenge #3

Now we’re going to progress the difficulty or challenge of this core strengthening plank exercise for seniors. Here are the instructions:

Remove the sofa pillow on top of the sofa or ottoman. This will lower height by about eight inches.
Put the ball up against the back of the sofa.
Make sure that everything feels good and that you are in control. You should be able to hold this for the duration of your pose.
When you are comfortable you can add to the challenge.
Move the ball two inches away from the back of the sofa.
Fingers are pointing down in the direction of your force.
You do not want your force going back or else that’s where the ball is going to go.
You want the force to be where you want the ball to stay.
Step back and draw your shoulder blades down and back.
Draw your hands firmly into the ball, long through the back of the neck.
If you wanted an additional challenge whether at this height or the other height, you can start gently rocking the ball to the left, to the right, even towards the back but don’t bring it too far this way in case it goes off the sofa.

Challenge #4

Here is another variation of the core strengthening exercises for seniors.

If you are comfortable with the plank and want add a challenge for the hip girdle or for your ankle, you could always transfer the weight to one foot and lift the other foot.

Lift your left foot off the floor.
If you’re not comfortable actually lifting the foot off, just the act of transferring the weight to one foot to one side and then transferring the weight to the other side adds to a great challenge that can be incorporated within this plank.

Core Exercises Guide

Want to learn more about core exercises? Visit my Core Exercises Guide.

The post Core Strengthening Exercises for Seniors appeared first on MelioGuide.

Standing Wall Plank Exercise for Seniors and Beginners

Margaret Martin — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:32:26 +0000

The standing wall plank exercise is one of the core exercises in my Strengthen Your Core program and my online course, Building a Stronger Core.

This standing wall plank exercise variation is specifically designed as a core exercise for beginners and senior. However, advanced users might find it a challenge.

Standing Wall Plank Exercise for Seniors and Beginners

It is important at this point to stay strong through the shoulders and that you don’t round your back. Keep your posture in good form. Rather, use the strength of the shoulder blades and of the rotator cuff muscles to draw the shoulders down and back.

You hold it for the duration, then step out, and back up again.

Your challenge with the ball is to keep it in a stable position and not allow the ball to move at the beginning of the exercise. Your shoulder musculature has to work hard to hold the ball and control the ball.

Standing Wall Plank Exercise Variation with Controlled Movements

A variation of the wall plank exercise would be to make controlled movements of the ball. Control the movement of the ball in various directions:

To the right and back to center.
To the left and back to center.
Up and back to center.
Down and back to center.

You can even move up on diagonals, or make circles with the ball.

At any point, you start to feel stress in the back or any discomfort in the shoulders, that’s your body telling you that you did enough right now.

Come back and do it again in 10 seconds, 15 seconds, or 30 seconds. Those are standing wall plank exercise variations that you can do with the ball up against the wall.

Standing Wall Plank Exercise for Seniors and beginners with Stability Ball

A variation of the standing wall plank is to do the exercise with a stability ball for support. The standing wall plank exercise is one of the gentler variations of the plank against the wall because you place your hands on the ball for support and you are in a standing position. This wall plank exercise is appropriate for all levels including beginners and seniors.

Here are the instructions for the wall plank exercise with stability ball.

Place the ball just below shoulder height.
Point your hands in towards the wall.
Point fingers towards the wall.
Tuck shoulder blades down and back.
When you stand tall, you should feel a little pressure through the shoulders because you have to hold the ball in this position.
At this point the standing wall plank exercise does not involve a lot of core work.
To engage your core, take a step back about six inches back.
As you start to lean into the ball, you will feel your abdominals start to engage.

Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis

Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.

I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:

Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
Key principles of bone building.
Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?

Standing Wall Plank Exercise Variation with Cushions for Support

Another standing wall plank exercise variation in my book, Strengthen Your Core, is to use the ball up onto and against a sofa.

Some of you might find that it too difficult to go from the standing wall plank to one with the sofa as a support. To address this, you can double up the sofa cushions

Wall Plank Exercise • Pay Attention to Your Shoulders and Wrists

If you find that your shoulders and wrists are really uncomfortable in this position, then, by all means, you could certainly do the plank with your forearms up against the ball.

Position as shown in the video.
Forearms are shoulder width apart.
Push into the ball as you step back.
Keep your abdominals tight.

In this version I show how you can exercise at home using your sofa for support. I also show gentler variations of the same plank exercise.

Core Strengthening Exercises for Seniors

The standing wall plank exercise using the sofa for support is one of a number of plank core exercises from my book, Strengthen Your Core and my online course, Building a Stronger Core.

I cover several variations of this exercise in this blog post. The exercises are appropriate core strengthening exercises for seniors and beginners because they improve their core strength while allowing them to gradually increase the challenge in each variation. Let’s cover each variation.

Challenge #1

This basic challenge is a good starting core strengthening exercise for many seniors. Follow these steps:

Take a sofa cushion from your sofa and place it on top of the ottoman. This will reduce how far you have to reach down to the stability ball and make this plank easier to do.
Place another sofa cushion firmly against the wall or into the back of the sofa and use the back to support the ball.
Placing extra cushions in these locations should create a space of about eight inches between you and the wall.
During the gentler variation you allow the ball to rest into the back of the chair or into the back of the sofa.
Push into the ball.
Your fingers always push in the direction of the force.
Your force should be directed in a diagonal direction towards the back of the chair — almost where the chair and the cushion meet.
Engage your shoulder blades.
You should feel the pressure.
Take a half a step back.
You should feel a little more weight through your shoulders.
Control the ball and move it right and left.
You do not have to control all the directions of the ball because it’s resting up against the back of the sofa (or wall).

Challenge #2

You can make any of the core strengthening exercises for seniors more challenging when you pull the ball away from the back of the sofa.

Shift the stability ball forward away from the back of the sofa and rest it unsupported.
Step back.
Now your shoulders have a much greater load because you have to control the ball.
Move it back, forth, and side to side.
This requires a lot more effort both in the abdominal wall and through the shoulders.
You will hold your plank for the duration that is necessary for you.
Step out (or slightly forward) and stand in a relaxed stance.

Challenge #3

Now we’re going to progress the difficulty or challenge of this core strengthening plank exercise for seniors. Here are the instructions:

Remove the sofa pillow on top of the sofa or ottoman. This will lower height by about eight inches.
Put the ball up against the back of the sofa.
Make sure that everything feels good and that you are in control. You should be able to hold this for the duration of your pose.
When you are comfortable you can add to the challenge.
Move the ball two inches away from the back of the sofa.
Fingers are pointing down in the direction of your force.
You do not want your force going back or else that’s where the ball is going to go.
You want the force to be where you want the ball to stay.
Step back and draw your shoulder blades down and back.
Draw your hands firmly into the ball, long through the back of the neck.
If you wanted an additional challenge whether at this height or the other height, you can start gently rocking the ball to the left, to the right, even towards the back but don’t bring it too far this way in case it goes off the sofa.

Challenge #4

Here is another variation of the core strengthening exercises for seniors and beginners.

If you are comfortable with the plank and want add a challenge for the hip girdle or for your ankle, you could always transfer the weight to one foot and lift the other foot.

Lift your left foot off the floor.
If you’re not comfortable actually lifting the foot off, just the act of transferring the weight to one foot to one side and then transferring the weight to the other side adds to a great challenge that can be incorporated within this plank.

Strengthen Your Core

Strengthen Your Core is an exercise program designed for people at all levels to develop their core strength. There are over seventy poses presented in the program at four different levels: Beginner, Active, Athletic and Elite. The seventy poses have many variations. So the possibilities for you are almost endless!

But Strengthen Your Core is not about quantity of poses. There is one ideal pose for you and a progression of poses that will build your core strength. The goal of Strengthen Your Core is to find that ideal pose for you.

Core Exercises Guide

Want to learn more about core exercises? Visit my Core Exercises Guide.

The post Standing Wall Plank Exercise for Seniors and Beginners appeared first on MelioGuide.

Core Exercises for Posture

Margaret Martin — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 16:50:50 +0000

How do you integrate core exercises for posture into actual improvement? We know that core exercises and good posture go hand in hand. In this video, I illustrate that to achieve good posture you need to take what you have developed through core exercise and integrate it into how you hold yourself.

Core Exercises for Posture

Hi. Welcome back to MelioGuide and Strengthen Your Core.

I’m Margaret Martin and as a Physical Therapist I’d like to think that you’ve chosen to do Strengthen Your Core to improve your performance, reduce your back pain — if you have any — and just feel overall stronger.

I know secretly many of you are doing this program also to improve the way you look and the way you hold yourself.

Simply by strengthening your core onto itself will not automatically transfer over into how you look and how you hold yourself — unless you allow it to do so.

I want to show you an example of something I shared with a client of mine this morning about how I used to stand when I was 17 years old.

I would just relax my knees back and hang on my ligaments.

I never thought then of actually activating my abdominals. Until I went to Physical Therapy school and I was asked to stand up and they analyzed my posture and I realized that I would just sort of hang out like this.

Integrate Your Core Exercises for Posture Improvement

Even though I have a strong core, I often see this with women and men, who work out aggressively, but then they don’t take the strength that they’ve gained through the exercises that they do and integrate them into how they hold themselves throughout the day.

They should take the benefit of stronger postural muscles, stronger core musculature and then a lengthened posture to have a better stance and have the look that they want to have represent them throughout the day.

I hope that this helps you to integrate and achieve the goals that you want to Strengthen Your Core.

Strengthen Your Core — Core Exercises for Posture

I designed my book Strengthen Your Core for people who want a core exercises for posture improvement, enhances performance, and strengthens from head to toe. The program uses plank exercises and stability ball exercises for core strengthening.

Many people will do the program to improve the way they look and develop a perfect posture. While those are worthy health goals, a core exercise program by itself will not automatically yield a good posture. To achieve this, you will need to take what you have developed and integrate it into how you hold your self.

Core Exercises Guide

Want to learn more about core exercises? Visit my Core Exercises Guide.

The post Core Exercises for Posture appeared first on MelioGuide.

Core Strengthening Archives - MelioGuide

Core Strength Guide

Table of Contents

Five Benefits of Core Strength

Core Anatomy Tutorial

Inner Core Muscles

Transverse Abdominus

Internal and External Obliques

The Diaphragm

The Pelvic Floor

Deep Paraspinal Muscles

The Outer Core Muscles

Core Anatomy Conclusion

The Vertebrae

Core Strength Exercises and Osteoporosis

Lumbar Disc Presure

Dr. Stuart McGill and Low Back Pain

Core Strength and Osteoporosis

Core Stability and Injury Prevention

Core Strength and Spine Stabilization

Core Strength and Balance

Strong Core and Pelvic Floor

Core Exercises for Osteoporosis

Strengthen Your Core

Building a Stronger Core

3 Essential Core Exercises

Core Strength and Athletic Performance

Does Running Strengthen Your Core?

Does Walking Strengthen Your Core?

Does Swimming Strengthen Your Core?

Do Planks Strengthen Your Core?

Do Sit Ups Strengthen Your Core?

Does Rowing Strengthen Your Core?

Does Yoga Strengthen Your Core?

Core Strength Exercise Videos

Conclusion

Recommended Posts for Core Strength

Core Strength Guide

Core Strength and Osteoporosis

Four Abdominal Exercises for Osteoporosis

Core Breathing Techniques

Stability Ball Plank Exercise Variations

Core Exercise for Beginners

References

Margaret Martin

Core Strength and Osteoporosis

Table of Contents

Core Strength and Osteoporosis

Benefits of a Stronger Core

Strengthen Your Core

Today's Exercises

Beginner Side Plank Roll

Active Side Plank at 45 and 90 Degrees

Conclusion

Four Abdominal Exercises for Osteoporosis

Table of Contents

Abdominal Exercise Benefits

Abdominal Exercise Reduces Back Pain

Stronger Abdominals Lead to Improved Balance and Reduced Fall Risk​

Transverse Abdominis Exercise and Lumbar Spine Support​

Abdominal Exercises and Pelvic Health

Improved Bone Heath

Why I Recommend These Over Traditional Abdominal Exercises

Abdominal Exercises for Osteoporosis

Beginner Level Abdominal Exercise

Directions for Transverse Abdominis Exercise for Beginners

Setup

Tighten the Pelvic Floor

Engaging Your Deep Abdominals​

Repeat

Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis

Active Level Abdominal Exercise with Leg Drop

Directions

Setup

Activate Pelvic Floor and Tighten Deep Abdominals

Lower Your Leg​

Athletic Level Abdominal Exercise with 90/90 Leg Drop

Directions for Athletic Level Advanced Abdominal Exercise

Setup

Engage Pelvic Floor. Keep Abdominals Tight. Raise Leg.

Stronger Abdominals Lead to Improved Balance and Reduced Fall Risk

Transverse Abdominis Exercise and Lumbar Spine Support

Engaging Your Deep Abdominals

Lower Your Leg