Something I overlooked for years was my core stability. Strengthening and conditioning the deep stabilising muscles that provide balance and help prevent injury.
I paid for this with various injuries and pains over the years.
Whilst not a technical definition, I view my core as the stabilising muscles and deep muscles around my trunk (ie my abdominals, hips, pelvis, and lower back). That’s what I’m really focusing on when I talk about core stability.
My back, as it is for many people, is a weakness. This was probably due to a blend of sitting at a desk for hours, poor flexibility, and then stressing out my body hard exercise I wasn’t conditioned to do.
As anyone who has experienced it, putting your back out is no fun. Every movement becomes painful and you become housebound (if not bed bound).
After experiencing this a couple of times I knew something had to change.
I had neglected doing anything to strengthen and maintain my core stability for years. And I was paying the price.
As with all parts of my health and fitness regime, the answer had to be super simple and easy to do. And my fix is nothing groundbreaking.
My core stability regime includes:
- Plank for one minute.
- Side plank (left side) for one minute.
- Side plank(right side) for one minute.
- Dorsal raise (super man) for one minute.
So in four minutes I’m done. At first I used to shake all over the place, but over time I started to feel stronger and more stable. It seemed like I was building a better foundation from which to do other exercise successfully and sustainably.
Initially I did 30 seconds on each exercise, but was able to build it quickly up to a minute each. And now it really doesn’t feel hard.
I’m quite relaxed now in terms of how frequently I do this. I probably do it once or twice a week. Arguably I should do more but this seems to be enough to maintain my core strength.
When I was building it up, I would do it every other day.
Because it’s so quick to do I either tack it onto the start or end of a run (or whatever session I’m doing). Or I do it in the evening just before I’ve eaten.
I’ve found it’s become more important to work on my core stability as I’ve got older. There’s a reality that I feel less supple and stiffer day to day, and so having a solid core has felt important in minimising the risk of injury and protecting my back.
One tool I have found very useful is sitting on an inflatable exercise ball at my desk instead of a chair when I’m working from home.
Because the ball is naturally unstable it works my stability muscles whilst I’m sitting and working (effectively free training!). I find it also promotes better posture (ie I sit up rather than slouching). So this has been an easy way to build a core stability workout into my daily routine.
The exercise ball is also fun to try and kneel on or even stand on (which I’ve never quite mastered) to challenge myself a bit more.
I also have a wobble board which is fun to stand on every so often. I do squats on it and practice standing on one leg which aids my balance and core stability.
I don’t really have a set egime around this, it’s just something fun to jump on every so often.
My mental test for core strength is always…would I be able to pick up a fridge (or at least help carry one…)? If the answer is yes I’m doing fine, if the answer is no then there’s work to be done!
(Obviously, carrying a fridge requires all kind of strength, but conceptually it forces me to assess how strong and stable I feel around my core and back).
In terms of longevity and aging well, my view is core strength and flexibility go hand in hand. And so I’ve tried to build both into lifestyle habits on the basis they are complementary and interlinked.
That way it doesn’t feel like my core is something I’m working on as an extra session. It’s just embedded into my way of life.
