The Secret to Core Training

As we now know from part one of this series, the core muscles are primarily involuntary muscles - 80% of the muscle fibers of the core are innervated by the autonomic nervous system, meaning we don’t have voluntary control over their activation. So in order to get a complete core workout and recruit ALL of the muscle fibers of the core, involuntary reflexes must be elicited. 

The secret to core training is targeting those involuntary muscle fibers. Without focusing on those involuntary fibers, your core training won’t give you the results you’re seeking (ie. waist slimming, reduction in pain, deep inner strength). Targeting only the voluntary muscles in your core (i.e. doing kegels or drawing belly button to spine) is only working 20% of the muscle group. True core training must elicit reflexes that trigger the involuntary activation of ALL the core muscle fibers. 

And the way you trigger those reflexes is through posture and breathing! How you breathe either turns your core muscles (abs, pelvic floor, spinal muscles) ON or turns your core muscles OFF. Breathwork training has significant carry over into the way you breathe unconsciously throughout your day. So training yourself to breathe in a way that triggers reflexive activation of 100% of your abdominal muscle fibers will lead to better results (like a toned belly, a supported spine and optimally functioning organs) much faster than focusing solely on the voluntary muscle fibers.

Hypopressive Training is a game-changing breath work technique that triggers reflexive core muscle activation and will give you the results you are seeking with core training like spinal stabilization, resolution of pain, toning and slimming of the waist, and deep inner strength. It will also give you improvements in whole body circulation and nerve conduction, digestion, and organ support. You can learn this technique, and create a regular core strengthening practice for yourself through The Core Recovery Method ®  Online Program.

Besides Hypopressive training, there are lots of other ways to target the involuntary muscle fibers of the core. These practices do not require you set aside time to do them, and can be done throughout your day. So another secret to core training is to move and breath in a way that reflexively activates your core muscles all day long - no matter what you may be doing.

How to Regularly Activate the Involuntary Muscle Fibers of the Core

The two main pathways to trigger reflexive core muscle activation are Posture and Breathing. The position of your spinal cord, and the mechanics of your breathing will either turn your core muscles ON or turn them OFF. So understanding what activates or inhibits your core muscles is absolutely key to core training and having a healthy, optimally functioning core.

POSTURES that ACTIVATE the Core Muscles:

• Aligning ears over shoulders, and shoulders over hips. This keeps the fascia of the core “taught” and stable, leads to reflexive activation of the core muscles, and puts them in the “ready position”.

• Maintaining a neutral spine. This means the spine keeps its natural “S” shape as you move throughout your day or exercise. The most important areas to keep in mind are the thoracic and lumbar spine. There should be a slight outward curve to the thoracic spine and a slight inward curve to the lumbar spine. When this occurs, the cervical and sacral spinal curves automatically follow.

• Lengthening the waist. Keeping the rib cage lifted as far away from the pelvis as possible will lift the organs and improve their blood, lymph and nerve flow. This will also reduce waist circumference and stabilize the spine.

• Bending the knees. When the knees are bent, it reflexively activates the core muscles and sets up the core fascia to be in its ideal position to receive loading.

POSTURES that INHIBIT the Core Muscles:

• Forward head posture. This leads to tension on the spinal cord, decreased nerve flow to your whole body, increased intra-abdominal pressure, distension of the lower belly, lowering of the pelvic organs, reduced pelvic circulation, and spasming of the pelvic floor muscles.

• Flattening the lower back. Flattening the natural inward curve in the lower back will put the lumbar spine in a vulnerable position and increase risk for disc herniation. It also turns OFF the paraspinal, abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

• Over extending the thoracic spine. This reduces the size and mobility of the rib cage, which means you are unable to take a complete breath in. When the rib cage cannot fully expand with breathing or has a limited capacity to hold air, then the belly will have to expand instead during breathing. When the movement of breathing takes place in the belly instead of the rib cage, the spine is destabilized, the organs move down and the pelvic floor becomes over-pressurized and dysfunctional. This also leads to increased waistline.

• Hyper extension of the knees. When the knees are hyperextended, the core fascia is over stretched and the core muscles will become inhibited and weakened. When the body is loaded in this position, the core muscles are unable to accept the load, so the loading occurs in the ligaments and joints, which then can lead to pain, inflammation and injury.

BREATHING that ACTIVATES the Core Muscles:

• 3 dimensional rib breathing. When the movement of breathing takes place in the rib cage (and not the belly) the core fascia is activated in an eccentric way that narrows the waist and triggers reflexive activation of the core muscles.

• Inhaling through the nose with a closed mouth. Nose breathing results in a slower, more controlled intake of air that is more easily directed into the rib cage. Slow intentional breathing through the nose increases core muscle activation.

• Breathing with full lung capacity. Inhaling until your lungs are completely full, and exhaling until your lungs are completely empty leads to improved oxygen delivery to your whole body, which improves the activation, strength and endurance of your core muscles. This also allows CO2 to build in the blood stream for a longer period of time, which is the trigger that allows of oxygen to pass through the cellular membrane and improves oxygen saturation of your tissues.

BREATHING the INHIBITS the Core Muscles:

• Belly Breathing. Distension of the belly at any time during the breath cycle turns OFF the core muscles. This practice is great to do while lying down as a way to relax. However, belly breathing when upright and against gravity is not ideal mechanics for your core muscle function.

• Inhaling through the mouth. This triggers the fight or flight response in our body and increases stress hormones. This also makes it difficult to direct the air into the rib cage and leads to distension of the waistline.

• Shallow breathing. Failing to inhale to your fullest capacity deprives your core muscles of a great workout, and also deprives your brain of oxygen. Failing to empty your lungs completely leaves stale air in the lungs, which increases intra-abdominal pressure, lowers the organs, pressurizes the pelvic floor and inhibits core muscle activation.

If you can apply these principles to your daily activities, your core will become incredibly stronger; your core muscle function will improve; your organs will receive more blood, lymph and nerve flow; your waistline will reduce and you will feel better overall! At first it takes some conscious effort, but with repetition and a regular hypopressive training practice, these postural and breathing patterns will become second nature.