Core Strengthening Exercises
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What is the core?
The core is that part of the human body which can lock down the torso to give us extra stability when our bodies need it, for example, when throwing a ball or picking up a toddler.
The most important core muscles are those
1) in our backs including the glutes,
2) under our spines and in the upper back, and
3) in our abdominals.
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Our well-braced torso gives our arms and legs more power by providing them with a stable base from which to perform, when hitting a tennis ball for example. Core muscles can freeze our torsos into just about any bend or twist or simply stiffen it to provide a base from which our limbs can act.
Look at a tennis player's body during a racquet swing. On preparation to hit the ball. First, the abdominals stiffen the torso, preventing it from falling back during the swing. Second, the back muscles solidify into a base for the shoulders. Third, deep muscles in the upper back lock the shoulder blades firmly down, giving power and stability to the arm holding the racquet. Fourth, the glutes weld the torso and legs into an immovable structure long enough for the tennis player to drive the ball over the net.
This stiffening-loosening dance characterizes core muscles at their best. Legs may allow us to run, arms to throw. Core muscles enable us to run and throw with our entire bodies. The Bar Method restores core muscle function to its rightful place in bodily movement: a dynamic base from which the four limbs perform.
Some of Bar Method’s Core Strengthening Work:
The Bar Method, by virtue of its ballet bar, is uniquely equipped for core work. When students hold challenging muscle-building poses at the bar, their bodies have no choice but to call their core muscles into action.
The Bar Method’s seat work keeps the glutes deeply contracted for minutes at a time. In all of the Bar Method’s many variations of glute work, a student lifts one leg behind the hip and hold it there for several minutes at a time. The weight and power within the backs of both legs are in this way put into service as resistance against gravity and each other.
After several minutes of keeping the muscles “on,” students often say they’ve discovered “muscles I never knew I had.” While the glutes are on fire, the ballet bar is making multiple demands on students’ other core muscles. Abs are hard at work holding students’ hips upright from the front. Back muscles are stabilizing their spines as shoulders and arms use the bar to maintain balance.
“Flat Back” is another core exercise offered by The Bar Method. Done seated at the bar with the back flat against the wall, this exercise strengthens and stretches an important muscle located deep within our centers called the iliopsoas or the “psoas.” It simultaneously works the muscles directly above the psoas, namely the abs. Since this exercise is performed at the bar, it is training the abdominal muscles to “turn on” when those in the hips, legs and torso need them.
Not only will “flat back” strengthen your core, it also will make students’ abs look flatter and their legs appear longer. |
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