Core Strength has become an obsession of mine in the gym. Over and over I find myself saying to my clients, "Belly Button up and into the Spine- TUCK TUCK TUCK" or "Shoulders back, Walk with Purpose People!!" - pretty much like a crazy person. To the point that yesterday I warned my newest clients that I have a tendency to basically go on a core awareness rant and to not take it personally. However, as a society we are losing our ability to foster proper core strength and posture. And it's not your fault.... it's those darn iphones.... and computers, and tablets. As a society all we do is look down. The ability to text not only has brought on bad manners (and you know you do this, multitasking while you try to verbally communicate with one co-worker and electronically communicate with another- totally rude. And I did this just yesterday, for shame!) We have gone from the world of Mad Men, all sitting around a table looking one another in the eyes and have completely shifted our view to our laps. It really is quite amazing when you look around. All you see are people looking towards their crotches. Look around, I bet you see at least two around you right now! Take a moment and with awareness look down at your crotch for three minutes (which is how long it takes me to text a two word message...) and think about about what you begin to feel. The heaviness of that big round weight you carry on your shoulders begins to pull and strain your delicate spine and it does not feel good. As we become a society of people who constantly look down our whole body begins to round forward as well, causing a our posture to go all out of whack. Combine this with a desk job where you sit on your tush all day and we have a recipe for mushy weak middles with a hump on your back.... oh baby, sexy! So not only do we begin to feel weak and achy, but bad posture can also disrupt the health of our digestive system. Rounding forward pushes our digestive system into a jumbled mess, giving the organs less room to do their jobs in. Think about a cubical filled office, everyone has their spot with enough room to spread out and work. Think about what would happen if you suddenly took everyone and pushed them into one cubical. No one has enough room to be productive and at least three fist fights would break out and there would be at least one printer casualty. Same thing with your digestive system. Good posture allows the stomach and intestines to contract correctly for healthy digestion and absorption of nutrients. Good news is we can fix this problem and without firing Siri. It all boils down to body awareness. Taking time to be cautious of your posture for one and two taking time everyday to work on your core.
So how do we become body aware? For one lift your chin off your chest, roll your shoulders down and away from your ears, contract your pelvis, push your glutes towards the floor. Readjust your posture through out the day. The next is to think about your core through out the day as well and practice how it feels to engage those muscles. How do you do that? Stand up and place one hand under your belly button and one above it.
Breath in and tuck your belly button up and into your spine, you should feel the lower hand being pulled up and in towards the upper one.
Exhale and relax the muscles bringing your hands back to the original position.
Do this in the car, at your desk or while making dinner. Just do it. Find one day a week to dedicate to core training. Some of my favorites are planks, walking planks, knee to knee planks on forearms, boat pose and wood choppers with a medicine ball. Try yoga or a Barre class! When strength training remember to engage your core in all moves. Even when preforming a simple bicep curl, pull your belly button up and into your spine tightening your middle and supporting your lower back. By doing this you will sleep better, digest better and be better... all around.
When I prayed for success, I forgot to ask for sound sleep and good digestion.
-Mason Cooley
