Truth be told, no amount of abdominal crunches will get rid of your love handles. Spending 30mins on a treadmill will do more for that spare tyre than 30mins of crunches. If you want to lose the annoying flab around your middle, first determine is it fat or muscle. If you bear down and grab the loose skin around your belly button, that is not muscle, it is fat (and skin). Dig deep with your fingers and you will feel the muscle. Does that feel firm or flabby? In fact most of us have a pretty good six pack, it’s sometimes just hidden under a doona of body fat!

The core abdominal muscles underneath our body fat are extremely important for stabilizing our entire body and protecting our backs from injury. They can certainly affect the shape of our torso even if there is excess body fat around them. So just because you can’t spot

reduce fat, doesn’t mean you skip your abs session, you still should be doing some strengthening of your core. Your internal and external oblique muscles (see diagram) are responsible for any twisting movement your torso makes. They stabilize the trunk and help protect the back. Well defined obliques help to narrow the waist giving men the V shape they want and women their sexy hour glass figure. Follow these five effective oblique exercises and your sides will be aching tomorrow!

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Tagged As: abdominals, abs, core stability, exercise, fitness, Weight loss

This is part 4 of a 4 part series on the benefits of improving your core stability, and how you can improve yours.

By now you’ve mastered core stability part 1, core stability part 2, and core stability part 3 and you are ready to ramp it up some more. Try the plank and its variations. It is one of the best exercises to strengthen your core and translates into almost every movement.

The reason why the plank is so effective is because it teaches the stabilizers of the abdominals and back to work together, in unison, creating a much stronger core. It is very important that your back and abdominals work together, and are of similar strength. Think of it like the rigging wires of a sailing boat mast, if one side is loose, you would have and unstable, crooked mast. Well it’s the same with your spine, if your abs are weak and your back is tight, how is your spine going to be aligned?

Do these exercises 2 – 4 times per week for a stronger, more coordinated core.

The basic plank: Hold for 2 min or until you lose form

• Head, shoulders and butt are all in the one line (balance a broomstick along your spine) with a small gap in your lower back, no thicker than your hand. This is called Spinal Neutral.
• Draw your belly button in toward your spine. Don’t stick your tummy out.
• Breath normally
• Beginners may need to start on their knees. Try seconds on each.

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Tagged As: Ball, core stability, exercise, fitness, Spine

This is part 3 of a 4 part series on the benefits of improving your core stability, and how you can improve yours.

If you have been following the exercises from core stability part 1 and core stability part 2, you would notice that these aren’t particularly difficult exercises, but they require intense concentration. Part 1 and 2, is about training the body to recruit the right muscles to stabilise the core, so now that we fully understand which muscles we should be using, it’s time to challenge them!

Single leg lift: Both legs off the floor

Start lying on your back with both feet off the floor and knees bent. In your last exercise you were slowly lowering one foot down to the floor whilst keeping your leg bent. This time, it’s the same activity but with the lowering leg now out straight. Remember the aim is to maintain spinal neutral at all times. Your back must not arch, nor should your rectus abdominis (six pack muscles) fire up and make your stomach poke out. Using the piece of string tied around your waist will help you recognise when these pesky six pack muscles have kicked in.

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Tagged As: core stability, core strength, crunch

This is part 1 of a 4 part series on the benefits of improving your core stability, and how you can improve yours.

Do you suffer from back pain? 80% of people suffer from chronic neck or back pain at some point in their lives, with the majority being posture related and preventable. You’ve probably seen people doing absurd things on giant balls, or performing what looks like a DUI test police would conduct. If you ask what on earth they are doing, they answer simply… ‘oh it’s my core stability program.’ Does this core stability stuff work, or could it be putting our body at risk?

The answer: Core stability exercises are one of the best ways to strengthen and retrain the body’s postural muscles to work effectively. They are excellent when you progress at the right speed, and bad for you if performed incorrectly. There is a fine line between these exercises helping or hurting your back. There are about 5 stages, and the key is to progress only when you have mastered one stage, no matter how long it takes to learn.

Stage #1: Diaphragmatic Breathing Test

This is the hardest stage to master! Whilst you are reading this begin to observe your breathing style. Don’t change anything, just observe. Place one hand on your sternum, in the middle of your chest. Place the other hand over your belly button. Now look down (or go stand in front of the mirror) and observe which hand moves more when you breathe in, top or bottom hand?

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Tagged As: back pain, Breathing, core stability, core strength, Diaphragmatic breathing, Navel, Physical exercise