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April 2014 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
Core Work
for Your
Health
By Charles J. Sebastian,
Staff Writer
Many people in modern workout
regimes are unaware of the benefits
of core work and how keeping a
strong core is vital for health, balance, and posture. One of the most
obvious changes in the body as we
age is the tendency to slump forward, as the muscles in the upper
back begin to slacken. Without
exercise and training for these muscles, the body becomes weaker with
each passing year as muscle tone
diminishes and gravity takes over.
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certain activities that once were
easy, all of a sudden become more
difficult. The weak core phenomenon, unlike the slackened back
muscles, do not manifest a visual
effect (like a hunchback), as a result
of their non-use. One might find
themselves having difficulty with
sitting up in bed, getting out of a
chair, pushing something heavy.
Body pain can increase as other
muscles compensate for the lack of
abdominal power, and that in turn
affects the body in negative ways.
Dr. Stuart McGill of Ontario,
Canada, has spent his career concerned with the lower back and
how exercise affects the back in
the negative ways. Many exercise
programs are great for some people
and bad for others, as the case may
be. “Pilates is fine for some people
and very troublesome for others,”
McGill says. “It’s important that
each person get an expert assessment to determine who fits in
each category, the specific types of
Pilates that would be best, the set
and rep design to the intervals, etc.”
While Pilates is one of the bestknown core-enhancing regimes, this
goes for any workout. What is great
for some is not good for all.
If the goal is to feel strong and
eliminate pain, then finding the
thing that works for you in particular is a great strategy. This can only
be done through trial and error;
being willing to explore the many
options. Some people need to hire
a personal training for motivation, while others don’t. The trick
regarding core work, like all exercise, is getting educated, finding
what works for you, and then being
consistent in its execution.
While the slump resulting from
weakening back muscles is very
obvious, what is not so obvious is
the role the core plays in keeping
that posture we want. The human
body is designed with the S-shaped
curve of the spine, which allows the
body to move and jump, walk and
run with some degree of resiliency.
This makes for a healthy body that
can maneuver and last for years.
When the spine gets too compact
or “S” skews from its proper form,
however, it can become problematic, and lead to many physical issues,
including balance loss.
Many exercise regimes have
cropped up in the last twenty years
that focus exclusively on the core.
The granddaddy of these is Pilates,
which focuses mainly on floor exercises that strengthen the abdominal
area. While many other exercises
like dancing, martial arts, and yoga,
focus on core strength, they do not
promote themselves as “core exer-
cise” programs. The net effect is
the same, though, if they are being
practiced correctly, with the core
in mind.
The several layers of abdominal
muscles all perform specific functions. When these muscles weaken,
Without exercise and training for
these muscles, the body becomes
weaker with each passing year as
muscle tone diminishes and gravity
takes over.