Core Journals: Week 1 of 4

This is guest post two from Kristen Scott. Be sure to follow Kristen’s series of posts as she looks to improve her core strength.

In case you missed it, here is the first post: Core Journals: A month-long quest for core strength

Enter Kristen…

The first week of my core program is over and I’m feeling good! Here are a few notes from each workout:

Kristen on the Bosu Ball

Workout One

Harder than I expected. Even though I do most of these exercises yoga class I was surprised at how much more intense they were when I did multiple repetitions or held an exercise for 30-60 seconds.

Workout Two

Now that I’m more familiar with the exercises I need to watch my form. I have a bad habit of over compensating for the weakness of some muscles by letting other, stronger parts of my body do the work instead. For example, with single leg hip bridge I sometimes let my lower back do all the work instead of focusing on my core and glutes. It’s easier but it’s not getting the job done!

Workout Three

Running Man Sit-up and Bicycle Sit-Up are very challenging for me. Both of these exercises had my core burning!

With this workout program my biggest obstacle so far has been knowing how to isolate the muscles in my lower abdomen and hip flexors that I am trying to strengthen. In order to get the most of out the core program learning how to properly engage my core is essential.

Often in yoga classes an instructor will say, “engage your core!” but what does that really mean?

In order to engage my core I first had to find the core muscles being targeted. To do this I used the following simple exercise:

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet shoulder width apart. Place your hands on the bony parts at the front of your hips and your hands in an inch towards your belly button and down an inch towards your toes. Take a deep breath and on an exhale focus on ‘drawing up’ from the pelvic floor, as if you are stopping yourself from going to the bathroom. You should feel a gentle tightening under your fingers—these are core muscles.

Once I had determined where these muscles were the trick then became keeping them continually engaged throughout the workout. I’ve found that the easiest way for me to engage my core is to follow these three steps:

1) Tuck the tailbone
2) Draw the belly in toward the backbone
3) Lift up through the pelvic floor

This is much easier said than done and requires a lot of mindfulness! However, when I did engage my core the impact on my ability to properly complete the exercises was evident—I felt stronger and much more stable.

Kristen’s Core Workout Routine – Week 2

Core Workout 1
1. Side Hipup – 2 sets, 15 reps
2. Running Man Sit-up 2 sets, 15-20 reps
3. Bicycle Sit-up – Max
4. Swiss Ball Walk Out-2 sets, 10-15 reps

Core Workout 2
1. Bosu Opposite Elbow and Knee-2 sets, 15 reps
2. Hip Bridge (single leg) – 2 sets, 15
3. Swiss Ball Walk Out – 2 sets, 10- 15 reps
4. Bosu Ball – Plank to Stand 2 sets, 5-10

Core Workout 3
1. Stir the pot – 1 set 5 circles each way
2. Swiss Ball Walk Out – 2 sets, 10- 15 reps
3. Bosu Opposite Elbow and Knee – 2 sets, 15 reps
4. Hip Bridge (single leg) 2 sets, 15 reps