Core Journals: A month-long quest for core strength

Core Journals: Week 1 of 4

Enter Kristen…

Two steps back and one step forward—that’s how I would describe this week’s series of core workouts.

I began Week 2 intent on completing all three core workouts before the weekend. My gym seems to triple attendance on Saturday and Sundays and I didn’t want to fight for a space in the stretching area or wait in line for a Swiss ball.  However, we all know the saying about the “best laid plans” and sure enough, after a great post-yoga core workout on Monday evening, I awoke Tuesday morning with a sore throat and the first signs of a winter cold. The cold knocked my core workout off by schedule by three days. It was a race to the finish to complete the last two workouts by week end.

Kristen - Week 2

Fortunately, I’m happy to report that despite these initial setbacks I am getting stronger! After six workouts many of the exercises that were initially quite difficult have become easier.  More importantly, I am increasingly conscious of my core and find it easier to keep continually engaged throughout the workouts and yoga classes.

Improved core awareness has also had a positive impact of my posture. I am prone to anterior (forward) pelvic tilt and will naturally assume a posture characterized by lumbar hyperextension which, in my case, is the result of tight or weak hip flexors.  To counteract this tilt I stretch my hip flexors through yoga poses like Warrior 1 and strengthen through some of the exercises in my core program, like Hip Bridge.

Additionally, bringing awareness to the alignment of my pelvis by using the steps to engage core muscles mentioned in last week’s post– tucking the tailbone, drawing the belly in toward the backbone, and lifting up out of the waist–  is a simple way to maintain a neutral posture outside of the gym or yoga studio.

My Paripurna Navasana is improving even if the effects aren’t outwardly evident.  Now, when I attempt Paripurna Navasana I feel more connection to the internal muscles that will eventually help me to fully realize the posture.

Kristen’s Core Workout Week 3

Core Workout 1

1. Mountain Climber- 1 set, 60 seconds
2. Bosu Opposite Elbow and Knee- 2 sets, 15 per side
3. Swiss Ball Walk Out- 2 sets, 10-15
4. Bicycle Sit Up- 2 sets, max

Core Workout 2

1. Hip Bridge (single leg)- 2 sets, 15 per side
2. Bird Dog- 2 sets, 5 per side (10 second hold each rep)
3. Side Hipup- 2 sets, 15 per side
4. Swiss Ball Walkout- 2 sets, 10-15 per side

Core Workout 3

1. Push Up- 2 sets, 10 reps
2. Running Man Sit Up- 2 sets, 15-20 reps
3. Bosu Opposite Elbow and Knee- 2 sets, 15 per side
4. Swiss Ball Walkout- 2 sets, 10-15 reps

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

Enjoy!

Enter Kristen…

A month-long quest for core strength

Core strength is something I thought I had in the bag.

For the last four years I’ve kept an active yoga practice which, I thought,  had been building total core strength.  I was wrong.

A few months ago I started going to a new yoga class, the philosophy of which seems to be “no pain, no gain.” At the first class I put my mat front row center, ready to meet a new challenge head on. Unfortunately, I  regretted this decision almost immediately after displaying my complete inability to do the first few poses to the entire class;  a difficult series of Paripurna Navasana (v-sit/boat pose) which involved holding the pose and then lowering both legs and upper body simultaneously ten times before resuming the posture.   I didn’t even attempt the wide leg variation of the pose.

“What’s going on here?” I thought to myself.  Navasana had never been my favourite pose, but the fact that I couldn’t even seem to isolate the muscles necessary to realize the posture was just downright shameful.

I hoped that with regular attendance I would improve, but after a few classes with similarly embarrassing results I decided something needed to be done.

My weaknesses, it turns out, are my lower abs and hip flexors which is why Paripurna Navasana and its variations are such a challenge.

Therefore, my first resolution of 2011 is to build some serious core strength, which I will do by introducing a simple and focused core workout into my usual routine. Starting tomorrow I will perform a personalized core workout three times a week and, using the dreaded Paripurna Navasana as a barometer, will chart and blog my progress. The ultimate goal is to fully realize the posture in one month.

Today I did some initial testing to see where my core strength is at. Turns out I can hold plank for 1:27 (yippee!), which is apparently pretty good. However, my current Paripurna Navasana looks like this…

when I would like it to look like this.

I also learned all of the exercises I’ll be doing over the next month.  Each week the workouts will increase in difficulty.  This week’s workout is below.

Follow along and leave comments about how the workouts are working for you!

Kristen’s Core Workout Routine – Week 1