Strengthen Your Core
Now that you have learned how to activate and engage your core, it’s time to learn to control and strengthen it!
A strong and well-coordinated core is an essential foundation for any exercise or activity you want to do whether it is walking for exercise, running, outdoor adventuring or sports. Be sure to make time in your day for at least 5-10 minutes of core work to keep your movement healthy and protect you from developing pain or the escalation of any symptoms you are managing currently when you’re being active.
See the exercises below or watch the videos where I walk you through them. These exercises are in order by challenge level. Master the easier ones first before working on the more challenging ones.
These exercises are not supposed to be painful. If it hurts, check your form and core engagement. If it still hurts after checking your form and core engagement, then stop and work on the easier exercises for a few days before trying the one that bothered you again.
Clam Shell (Easy)
This exercise works on hip and low back rotation stability and coordination.
Stack your hips and shoulders so you are balancing on the bony points (Red and Blue).
Keep your ankles together (yellow) as you lift up your top knee as shown just to hip height (green).
Do not let your hips or low back roll backwards
Perform up to 30 reps.
Alternating Leg Lowering Exercise
This exercise challenges the deep abdominals, the multifidus where your mid back meets your low back and the counterbalance of the upper back stabilizers to your abdominals so you don’t get pulled into a forward flexed posture.
Easy:
Start by laying on your back with your knees bent. Exhale to set your core. Lift one leg up into a table top position (yellow). Check that your core is set again before moving (blue). Exhale lower your leg down just hovering it above the ground while emptying your breath into your pelvis without collapsing into your chest or letting your head pop up. Inhale to bring it back up. Repeat on the other side. Perform up to 15 reps on each side.
Medium Challenge
Medium Challenge: Start by laying on your back with your knees bent. Exhale to set your core. Lift both legs up into a table top position. Check that your core is set again before moving. Exhale lower your leg down just hovering it above the ground (yellow) while emptying your breath into your pelvis without collapsing into your chest or letting your head pop up (blue). Inhale to bring it back up. Repeat on the other side. Perform up to 15 reps on each side.
Bridge Series
This exercise works on hip and low back rotation, side to side, front to back stability and strength.
Easy:
Start by laying on your back with your knees bent. Exhale to set your core. Lift your hips up so that there is a straight line from your knees to your hips (yellow). Don’t let your low back arch or your ribs flare (blue). If you see that happening, exhale forcefully, emptying your breath into your pelvis as your draw the points of your ribs down and in. Hold for 3 seconds, then lower. Repeat up to 15 times. When that is easy, move on to the medium challenge bridge.
Medium Challenge:
Start by laying on your back with your knees bent. Exhale to set your core. Lift your hips up so that there is a straight line from your knees to your hips (yellow). Don’t let your low back arch or your ribs flare (Blue). Roll one foot up onto the tip toe and lift your foot up 1 inch (Red) without any drooping, side shifting or twisting. Lower your foot and reset your hips if necessary before repeating on the other side. It’s ok to lower in between each right and left set at first if you need to. Repeat up to 15 times on each side.
The Bird Dog (Medium Challenge)
This exercise works the control and strength of the deep spine stabilizers, the deep abdominals, the deep hip and scapular stabilizers without the support of the ground.
Work on this one after you have worked on the first 3 for at least a week. It might be hard to do this correctly otherwise.
Start by getting onto your hands and knees.
Line up your shoulders and knees so they are directly on top of your hands and knees.
Set your upper body core: Push through your hands, lift through your chest and tuck your chin.
Exhale to set your lower body core.
Slide one leg back, keeping your toe planted. Push through the front of the hip of the extended leg to make sure your hips are level. Exhale to set your core again if necessary.
Raise the opposite arm. Keep your shoulder down and back away from your ears. Recheck your neck, head, rib, and pelvis position. Exhale again to set the core.
Lift the planted toe off the ground to hip height. Recheck your neck, head, rib, and pelvis position. Exhale again to set the core.
Hold for 3 to 5 seconds.
Repeat on the other side.
Do 3-5 rounds on each side
