How to Engage Your Core?

When you’re exercising with a trainer or in a class, they might tell you to “brace your core,” “engage your abs,” or “keep your midline stable.” These cues all mean the same thing: tighten your core muscles. It’s like preparing your body to stay steady while you do exercises like biking.

In this guide, you’ll find out what it really means to tighten your core. It’s not just about sucking in your stomach. You’ll learn how to do it properly, when to do it during your workouts, and why it’s important for your overall fitness.

What are Your Core Muscles?

Your core muscles are important for stability and movement in your body. Here are the main ones:

1. Rectus Abdominis: This is your “six-pack” muscle, running from your ribs to your pelvis. It helps you flex your spine, like when you sit up or do crunches.

2. Internal and External Obliques: These muscles run along the sides of your trunk and provide stability and help with trunk rotation and side bending movements.

3. Transversus Abdominis: This deep muscle wraps around your torso and supports your spine. Strengthening it can help with lower back pain.

4. Pelvic Floor Muscles: These muscles act like a hammock under your pelvis, supporting your organs and stabilizing your spine. They also control the flow of urine and feces.

5. Diaphragm: This muscle under your ribs helps you breathe, but it also plays a role in other functions like stabilizing your spine and managing pain.

6. Back Extensors: These muscles support your spine, help you stand up straight, and assist with bending and lifting movements.

7. Iliopsoas: This muscle group helps flex your hips and is also involved in stabilizing your spine.

Keeping these muscles strong and balanced is important for overall health and preventing injuries, especially in activities that involve bending, lifting, or twisting.

What Does the Core Do?

Your core has many jobs, like keeping you stable, helping you balance, and controlling your breathing, as well as your bathroom needs.

1. Stabilization: Your core muscles keep your body steady and support your spine. They also help move your spine in different directions like bending and twisting.

2. Trunk stability: When you lift things, your core muscles kick in to keep your body strong and steady. This is super important in sports like weightlifting and soccer to prevent injuries.

3. Balance: Whether you’re standing still or someone bumps into you, your core muscles help you stay upright. They’re essential for activities where balance is key, like weightlifting.

4. Breathing and trunk stability: Your core muscles help you breathe by working with your diaphragm, which is a big muscle under your ribs. They also help you hold your breath when you need extra strength, like lifting something heavy.

5. Bowel and bladder control: Your pelvic floor muscles help you control when you go to the bathroom. If these muscles are weak, you might have trouble controlling your pee or poop, but you can strengthen them to help manage this.

So, your core isn’t just about having killer abs; it’s crucial for everyday movements and bodily functions!

How to Engage Your Core

Engaging your core muscles can mean different things depending on what you’re doing. Whether you’re doing sit-ups or trying to balance on one leg, how you engage your core will vary.

Your core muscles work together, they don’t work alone. They help you move and stabilize your body. To have a strong core, you need to engage it in different ways.

Here are four main ways to engage your core:

1. Concentric contraction: This happens when your muscles shorten to create movement. For example, when you do a crunch, your abs contract to lift your shoulders.

2. Eccentric contraction: This occurs when your muscles lengthen to control movement. For instance, when you straighten up from slumping, your abs lengthen while your back muscles contract.

3. Abdominal bracing: This is when you tighten your abs without moving your spine, ribs, or pelvis. It’s like creating a stable support for your spine, especially when lifting heavy things.

4. Abdominal draw-in or hollowing: This is when you pull your navel towards your spine. It’s great for stability and is effective when you exhale. It targets deep core muscles.

Both bracing and hollowing have their supporters, but the best core is one that can do both effectively, using each method as needed.

Exercises for Core Stability

Here are some simple exercises to help strengthen your core muscles:

1. Abdominal Draw

1. Lie on your back with knees bent or sit up straight.
2. Breathe in, then breathe out while pulling your belly button towards your spine.
3. Hold for 5–10 seconds, then relax and repeat.

2. Plank

1. Start in a pushup position on hands and toes (or knees if it’s too hard).
2. Tighten your abdomen and keep your body in a straight line.
3. Hold for 20–60 seconds.

3. Side Plank

1. Lie on your side with elbow on the floor and one foot on top of the other.
2. Lift your hips up, supporting yourself on your forearm and foot.
3. Hold for 20–60 seconds on each side.

4. Bird Dog

1. Start on hands and knees.
2. Extend one arm in front and the opposite leg behind, keeping your hips steady.
3. Hold for 5 seconds, then switch sides and repeat.

5. Dead Bug

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat.
2. Lift your knees to a 90-degree angle.
3. Slowly tap one toe to the floor and return, while keeping your back flat.
4. For extra challenge, extend your arms overhead as you tap your foot.

6. Bridge

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet hip-distance apart.
2. Squeeze your buttocks and lift your hips off the floor.
3. Hold for a count of five, then relax and repeat.

If you don’t have time for exercise, using ab stimulators like Vital Flex Core can help too. We also have a popular and affordable ab stimulator to offer here.

Learn more: 9 Best Six Pack Ab Exercises You Can Do Without Equipment

The Benefits of Engaging Your Core During Exercise 

Here are the benefits of engaging your core during exercise:

1. Better Posture and Balance: Your core muscles act like a natural corset, providing support for your body. Engaging them helps maintain proper form during exercise, preventing injuries and improving stability. For example, when doing squats, engaging your core keeps your spine straight and helps you perform the exercise correctly.

2. Improved Exercise Effectiveness: Engaging your core enhances the effectiveness of various exercises. For runners, it smoothens strides and conserves energy, while cyclists benefit from stronger pedal strokes. It also helps with weightlifting, aerobics, dance, and yoga by allowing you to perform movements more efficiently while maintaining balance.

3. Reduced Back Pain: Weak core muscles can lead to poor form and back pain during exercise. Strengthening your core reduces the risk of back injuries and improves your ability to perform exercises with higher intensity and lower risk of injury.

4. Increased Strength: A strong core is essential for daily activities and overall strength. Even in extreme cases such as recovery from cancer treatment, focusing on core exercises improves total body function and quality of life. Strengthening your core translates to improved strength and ease of movement in daily tasks for everyone.

How do you know if you’re really using your core muscles?

It’s all about how your body lines up. Your pelvis should be in a neutral position, not tilted. Imagine your pelvis is like a bowl holding your spine and organs. If it tilts forward (anterior pelvic tilt), your lower back arches. To engage your core, tighten your glutes and lift your pelvis slightly forward. This works best when you’re standing.

For exercises on the floor, here’s a trick: Pretend you’re blowing out a candle really hard. When you breathe out, your core automatically tightens, pressing your spine against the floor. Keep that tightness during all floor exercises. If your lower back starts to arch, do the candle-blowing trick again.

When lifting weights, always engage your core first to avoid injuries. Your core gets tired quickly, so focus on gently tightening your abs and back muscles, breathe deeply, and align your spine before lifting. Only start the lift when you feel fully stable and engaged.

If you need more guidance, make an appointment with our online personal training. 

When Should You Engage Your Core?

Engaging your core is super important when your spine might bend too much, either forward, backward, or sideways.

1. Lifting Weights: When you lift weights, like doing squats or lifting dumbbells, it’s crucial to engage your core. For example, when you lift something heavy over your head, like during an overhead press, you could arch your back. But if you tighten your tummy muscles, it helps keep your spine straight and prevents injury. Same goes for deadlifts – if you don’t brace your core, your back might round, which isn’t good.

2. During Cardio: While cardio workouts like running or cycling are generally safer for your spine, engaging your core still helps. It improves your posture, making you stand tall and preventing things like neck pain or lower back ache. So, when you’re out for a run, squeeze those tummy muscles to keep everything aligned.

3. Ab Workouts: It might seem tricky to figure out when to engage your core during ab exercises, but watch out for arching your back too much. Try to tilt your pelvis forward or squeeze your butt to keep your spine straight and your abs tight.

4. All Day Long: You can practice engaging your core during everyday activities, like reaching for stuff on high shelves or even just standing or sitting. It helps you maintain good posture and prevents those nagging pains that come from slouching.

So, whether you’re lifting weights, doing cardio, working on your abs, or just going about your day, remember to engage your core to keep your spine happy and healthy!

What does it feel like when your core is engaged?

When your core is engaged, you should feel stable and secure. It’s like your rib cage and pelvis are connected and strong, forming a solid cylinder. Think of it like preparing for a sudden punch – you shouldn’t be sucking in your stomach or holding your breath. And most importantly, you should still be able to breathe freely!