Skip to main content

How do you know if you are working your core too hard?


I am terrible at this.  I am super competitive and very hard on myself.  I always feel that I should be able to do the hardest level and the maximum amount of repetitions. But experience, training and an excellent tutor has shown me that Pilates should not be like that.  It is better to have a deep connection with your body, tuning in to how you are feeling on a particular day at an exact moment.  The way to go is building a strong core through listen to your body, learning good technique and understanding which muscles you should be feeling. 

So how do you really know if you are working your core too hard?  

  • Firstly being able to hold your neutral spine throughout an exercise is a great sign that you are working at the right level.  As soon as you can't keep your core engagement and neutral spine for all stages of an exercise you are probably working too hard.  
  • Can you feel your tummy doming?  Another sign that you are working too hard.  
  • If you can feel your tummy doming you might be getting a little pain in your lumbar spine.  Another sign things are a bit too hard.  When I am teaching I often have to remind clients to slow the movement down.  Flow, precision and control are some of the fundamental elements of Pilates.  
  • It can often be easier to make a movement faster using a little momentum, however often a slower precise movement gives you a higher quality of exercise. So my forth watch point is don't move too fast. (Although, I love rolling like a ball).  
  • My final watch point is holding your breath.  If you find yourself holding your breath whilst completing an exercise, its probably a bit hard.  It is always better to breath.  Breathing patterns can help with core engagement, but breathing differently to what is being directed is preferable over holding your breath.  Some very respected teachers are moving away from prescribed breathing patterns and letting the individual choose a breathing pattern that works for them.

What can you do to improve? Spend some time getting to know your body.  Listen to how you are feeling throughout an exercise.  Throw away any preconceptions of how strong you are or what you should be able to achieve.  When you are in your class be really present with your body and the instructions, there is nothing else that is important. Start at level 1 and be really sure that you have perfected all elements of the movement before progressing.  As part of my personnel practice I sometimes go right back to basics and complete level 1 classes, focusing on technique.  Am I engaging my core without squeezing my bottom (I am terrible for that), have I nailed the breathing? (I am quite good at holding my breath, at times), can I feel the muscles that are working?  Finally, am I only moving the parts of my body that should be moving? I am very good at shrugging my shoulders up when doing some tricky leg work.  I know my shoulders are not going to help, but it just happens.  

Remember to enjoy your practice, be aware of your body and don't be too ambitious.  

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flex, rotate, extend and articulate your spine.

Articulate your spine!  How many times have you been asked to do this in a Pilates lesson?  If you come to one of mine, probably lots.   The cue, "articulate your spine" is used in the large pelvic tilt exercise and is used to promote movement between each individual vertebra.  In a large pelvic tilt you start in the Pilates relaxation position.  Firstly you tilt your pelvis so that your lower back moves closer to your mat and your pubic bone rises (a small pelvic tilt).  Then leading from your pubic bone you peel your spine from the mat one vertebra at a time, until you reach a bridge position.  To come back down, I like to think I am trying to imprint my spine into sand.  So to make a really good spine print I have to get each vertebra to touch down individually finishing with my tail bone.  Naturally I am engaging my core throughout the whole exercise.  So what do we achieve by articulating our spines?  We have lots of muscl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hip flexors! What are they, what do they do and why are they important?

 For many years I attended group Pilates classes and was blissfully unaware of what my hip flexors were, what they do and why they are important.  However, I can guarantee that not a class went by without the great HIP FLEXOR being referenced by many different instructors.  If you don't know or are not sure, keep reading and I will explain.  Hip flexion is the movement the thigh makes when you raise it towards the body, just like my sporty friend is doing in the picture above. (She is also flexing at the knee joint).  You use hip flexion every day as you walk around, every time you lift your thigh towards you to take a step.  If you have spent a significant portion of your day sat down, you might feel tightness in the front of your pelvis or top of your thigh.  This could be your hip flexors where they have been stuck in flexion as you have been seated.  The main muscles responsible for this movement are Iliopsoas, (iliacas and psoas major togethe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tight hip flexors from sitting at my computer all day! How to release this feeling at home.

At home there are a number of ways to release tight hip flexors.  Think about the main hip flexor the Iliopsoas for a moment. It originates in the lumbar spine attaching to the vertebra at the bottom of your back, it then attaches to the inside of the pelvis (illiac crest the bony bit you feel at your waist) and then passes through the pelvis and connects to a nobly bit of the leg bone your can't feel at the top of your inner thigh (the lesser trochanter of the femur).  Its helped by some other muscles, but to keep it simple we are going to only think about the Iliopsoas.  Now think about being sat down,  The front of your body is scrunched up.  Your legs are brought closer to your lumbar spine (the bottom of your back) and the Iliopsoas is contracted or squashed in size.  Now think about being sat for 3 hours.  Upon standing up you might feel tightness along the front of your legs/pelvis.  This tightness is from you hip flexors.  Humans are ...
Post a Comment
Read more