The Prevalent Myth Of a Tight Core

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

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How to Run Faster Part Two: What We Can Learn From Four Legged Animals

How to Run Faster

There are only two ways to increase running speed, increase your turnover speed per minute or increase your stride length. To run the fastest you must do both, without stride length interfering with cadence, or cadence interfering with stride length. Speed is a beautiful balance between the two. In this second article about running faster we will look at the importance of faster turnover or cadence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jc8Hno4M0Qs#t=13

Last week we had a fun look at the fastest animal on two legs, the Ostrich and how its running and structure compare to a humans gait.  There was a lot to learn from the Ostrich. This week we will look at the running of two fast four legged animals. There is a surprising amount we two leggeds can learn from the way four leggeds run.  It turns out that the difference in speed between a greyhound and a cheetah is in part due to the ability of the cheetah to increase its turnover or cadence while the greyhound does not do this as well.

 Cadence is an essential part of running faster. Here are some more things we can learn from these two animals

1.      Just as in humans the power for running comes from the pelvis.

2.      The ability to use the hips, pelvis and spine with skill is essential to good running.

3.      Cadence and stride length are both important. When these two ingredients are perfectly balanced we might called this balanced quality fluidity.

4.      Notice that these animals are masters of coordinating and using their “core”. The concept of holding a tight or rigid core, or just keeping the core “engaged “ is not seen at all in their running. It is a whole body well coordinated use of themselves that we see.

5.      There is a float phase in the running of these animals in which they are flying through the air. Humans have this float phase in their running too.

6.      The rear legs come far forward to facilitate the timing of this float phase, but then act powerfully under the animal’s center of gravity.

7.      Animals tend to run well with instinctive good self usage or form and when they are tired they stop.

8.      Now we come to something very important:  The running of both of these animals has a quality of beauty to it.  They are beautiful when they run. This is a running tip that you might not have heard often. Your best running has a quality of beauty to it. This is something that can be cultivated.

9.      Four legged animals have a horizontal central axis. Humans have a vertical central axis. That does not mean that humans should run exactly vertically with the ground. Lean the whole postural column forward slightly. But learn to use your vertical axis well. Figure skaters use the vertical axis to spin, bull fighters use it to turn quickly out of harm’s way, runners use it to “spiral “ forward.  Watch the easy spiraling action in the spine of the runner below.

Here is a human example of no wasted effort, long spiraling spine, great opening of the stride, very high cadence, and great fluidity, ease and speed.

  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sZHeply7SE8

Cultivate a sense of beauty. If you find yourself pressing to increase your stride length in your training or a race, back off the slightest bit until you no longer hinder your cadence, your beauty, your ease, your fluidity. The number one enemy of high cadence is excessive muscular tension, straining, “trying”.  Maintain a long relaxed spine that moves and spirals easily through the running movement. Find what is true ease for you.

I hope you had fun with this in a series of posts about increasing your speed. I am here to help. If you want to learn more about taking your running farther click here.

Thanks and best to you till next time - Scott