I promised an update about how the fitness regime is going and I’m happy to say it’s going really well! I am eight weeks into it now and am varying my work-outs mainly between strength training and cardiovascular work. So that basically means conditioning classes with free-weights, and the treadmill!

One thing that has really been driven home to me during this process is the importance of core strength or core stability. If you’ve ever done Pilates with its focus on strengthening the core postural muscles you will know how important this facet of training is.

A few weeks into my routine, I started to notice pain in the lumbar area of my back during the exercises. At first it was just during my conditioning class which involves lifting weights with lunges, squats etc, but then this lower back tension started to become quite noticeable during aerobics and running too.

I had made the mistake of jumping straight into the more vigorous forms of training without developing the postural foundations for these exercises first. As I started to “brace” my abdominal muscles as I was running or lifting weights for example, I noticed an immediate improvement in form, effectiveness of movement, and best of all, release of tension through the lower back!

Core strength refers to the ability to control the position and movement of the central, trunk region of our body. Our “core” is made up of many muscles deep within the abdomen which stabilise the spine and pelvis and run the length of the torso. Some main functions of these muscles are the support of good posture, to help with the control, smoothness and coordination of dynamic movements of the arms and legs, and to prevent injury to the spine.

And for anyone not really into working out, core strength is also a helpful part of our everyday “functional” fitness and is important when it comes to lifting, carrying, stair-climbing and walking as well as correcting postural imbalances.

There are a number of different exercises that can be done to strengthen the core including crunches, the “plank” and “side plank” exercises, back extensions and pelvic floor contractions. Earlier in this post I referred to abdominal bracing which I’ve found really effective. This involves contracting or purposefully engaging the abdominal muscles during exercise or sitting for long periods. The basic motion is pulling the navel back in towards the spine (while still breathing normally). If you imagine what happens to the abdominal wall when you cough, it’s a similar tensioning of the muscles.

So this is a whole other area of fitness I have been learning to develop in the past few weeks. I really like it too, you can really feel your form as being so much stronger and controlled. An inner strength with the power emanating out from the core of the body.

* Please contact a qualified fitness or Pilates instructor for personal advice and/or demonstration of core strength exercises