You
need to strengthen and tighten your core. Is that not one of the most
prevalent, familiar, popular and persistent teachings of modern exercise,
fitness, and rehab? When we speak of the core, we are speaking of the strongest
muscles in the body.
While
it is true that the core, the muscles that control movement around the center
of the body is extremely important, forming a habit of keeping these muscles
tight is not necessarily beneficial. In fact this idea can rob us of our
potential.
People
are encouraged to keep “a tight core”. Occasionally, people are encouraged to keep
certain specific muscles tight. . Sometimes the instruction is to keep the core
partially engaged when you run. But you
do not need a tight core. What you need to move well is a well coordinated
core.
Try
this:
Place
your finger tips on the front of yourself below the waist. The bones you feel
there are the top of the pelvis. Now let your arms be at your side and take a
walk. Your walk should feel normal to you. Now begin to consciously engage your
core. Now as you walk place you fingers again at the top of the pelvis in the
front of yourself. If you are keeping your core consciously engaged you may
notice very little pelvic rotation. Does this feel like your normal habit?
Notice also that if your feet, ankle, hip joint, and back have a fairly
coordinated relationship you might be able to walk this way quite a while. Some
people do this all the time. Notice how
your feet, ankles and knees feel! I did
this focus exercise this morning and was surprised to find how little pelvic
rotation I had. Functional strength in
the core is not achieved through holding it tight but through using ourselves
in more efficient ways.
Now
have no focus on tightening the core. Walk forward with your hands on the front
of the top of your pelvis again and consciously move one side of the pelvis
forward, say the right side of the pelvis forward to initiate the movement of
the right leg forward. Go back and forth between these two types of walking,
holding the core tight with no or minimal pelvic rotation and coordinating the
core in a way that freely allows and causes, and energizes pelvic rotation. How
much pelvic rotation you want, and how you coordinate with the rest of your
movement depends on you and what you are doing at the time. Go back and forth
until the difference between these two types of walking feels clear. Can you
make the differences between the two ways of acting more and more subtle and
still feel the difference? Now notice that when you have pelvic rotation you
have added an extra element that could be used to soften your walk or run and
with practice take stress off the feet, ankles, knees, hips.
Look
at the photos at the top of the article.
Can you see that in the side view, you are getting a good profile of the
face yet an angular view across the buttocks? This is due to pelvic rotation.
In the front view of Usain Bolt it is clear that one side of the pelvis has
advanced in front of the other side. Clearly Bolt is allowing the pelvis to
rotate and the spine to twist in a very powerful way. This is not a core that
is being kept tight. This is a core that knows how to produce a strong spiralic
action through the core.
Experiment
and enjoy-
Scott
To work with Scott click here
For the free ebook Runner's Body/Mind click here
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