Have you noticed in your latest catalogs there are now stability balls and bands for sale – what do they have to do with YOU!? LOTS! Many people have now heard the word “core” and core training, but what does that have to do with running, swimming, cycling, group rides, and racing? Again, LOTS!

Think of your core as being the center structure based upon which all movements start from. When you have to quickly adjust to changes, loosing your balance, shift in the wind to remain upright… etc. etc. all these require that the core is engaged, strong and stable.


But, what is the CORE? The core is more scientifically referred to as the lumbar pelvic hip region, and is essentially your trunk without your arms or legs – however your muscles and tendons have a lot of connections and extensions that go past just the trunk area into the legs.

The transverse abdominus is a muscle in your core that is the first muscle (in the body) to fire in response or preparation for movement. If you have a dysfunctional timing sequence (weak core), then the chance that you have lower back pain is great!
We train our clients on how to better engage their core muscles to get the most out of the body!

If your core is not engaging properly, then you may feel pain in your lower back. The interesting thing is that your back may be stronger than you think. In fact it may just be overloaded because your abdominal muscles are not doing their fair share of the work, and the lower back has to do extra to support your spinal column.

What those bands and stability balls are supposed to be used for is strength and stability in the core. There are dozens of exercises and even more variations of each exercise to suit all ability levels!

When doing exercises for the core, we always start out doing stabilization. Stabilization is the base of the pyramid upon which everything else is built upon. Stabilization is the bodies ability to hold itself in place for a set amount of time, this is also known as Isometric exercises, and clients typically think they are some of the hardest. I may start out clients at 10 second holds, with up to 10 seconds rest. The goal is to be able to hold the position for 30 seconds, up to a minute. The holds will start from stable positions, but will eventually progress to stabilization on non-stable surfaces.

Next, typically after 6-8 weeks, we will add in some strength building exercises, such as many variations of crunches, side crunches, and rotations. This not only keeps the core strong, but also keeps the kinetic chain firing properly.

When done safely and effectively this core work will be noticed on the inside and out!

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