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Parks & Rec Business
| sports + fitness + recreation Core Training By Kati Trammel There’s an efficient way to train a body, and a not-so-efficient one. It’s time to make a change in routine, and start weeding out the programs that aren’t working. Enough with the fads already! We all know fads don’t work in the long run, so stop wasting your time and the time of your patrons, and start getting into what really drives our physical well being… our core. What does that mean? Read on. In order to develop a solid program, it is important to understand not only why core training is good for you, but also how it changes the body for the better. I’m not talking about promising to “melt away fat” or “lose six inches in six weeks.” What core training addresses is how to make each person’s body become a more efficient machine. Core training focuses on posture, strength and movement in a way that most of us are not used to, but once we develop a sense of comfort with it, we can begin to learn its benefits. Posture, strength, movement If your posture is out of line, your body is not working efficiently. That’s truly the bottom line. Posture is key to efficiency and health, and many people are not focusing on this essential part of fitness. Standing up straight not only looks better, it feels better. As people age, bad habits of poor posture begin taking a toll. Someone who has always had a swayback (where the abs are pushed forward and the buttocks are therefore pushed back) will begin to suffer the medical consequences of weak abdominals and a sore back as they age. Even if the abs look strong, the inability to stand straight will cause problems. Such is the case for those who slouch, hunch over, or push the hips forward. Anything causing a curvature of the spine suggests a lack of postural strength. This is not something that weight lifting can help. It will take core training to teach the body how to align itself naturally. The strength that core training can provide will then allow the body’s movements to be less painful and cause less wear on the joints. Get on the ball One of the best exercises for core training is the exercise ball. This ball is extremely helpful in providing stretching and strengthening aids that go beyond what one can do alone. Gymnasts are able to push their bodies into a bridge, but the ball will help non-gymnasts do the same, with the same benefits. Lying with your back on the ball and gradually rolling to shift your weight from your hands to your feet is very helpful in providing stretching, strength and flexibility for the spine and the abdominals. This type of flexibility makes it more comfortable to stand up straight. If you’ve been slouching for years, standing straight will not be very comfortable at first because of the lack of flexibility. Another great exercise is to lie on your stomach and alternate lifting off your upper body and your lower body to strengthen and increase flexibility in the back. If you do not have the strength to support better posture, then again it will feel uncomfortable to stand up straight. The ball provides fluid, easy movement that is in coordination with the movements of the spine. There is no need for maintaining good form or thinking about doing something right, for the body hangs naturally on the ball. This is why the ball is good for beginners through advanced exercisers. The ball can also help assist with difficult strength moves. Hanging leg lifts are a great abdominal exercise, but not everyone can do them. Lying on the ball and performing crunches not only helps stretch the abdominals while strengthening them, but it also provides the same benefits. Push-ups are also easily performed with a ball. Start out with your lower abdomen on the ball and just push yourself back and forth between your hands and feet. This is a great alternative for anyone who is not strong enough to do a push-up yet, and the strength in the upper body will also aid in posture. These can then be made more difficult by gradually moving the ball farther toward the feet so the hands bear the majority of the weight, rather than the feet. Concentrating on the core is beneficial, but understanding why and how it needs to be trained is key. Make sure you and your patrons know why it is important and how it benefits. One of the best ways is to have everyone look at their posture before beginning core training, then after 30 minutes of class take another look. I guarantee you everyone will see a difference, not only in the mirror, but in the ease of everyday movements that used to hurt! Kati Trammel is the advertising and public relations account executive for MCCS Marketing, Semper Fit Retail, Food and Beverage, based in Okinawa, Japan. She can be reached at katitram@yahoo.com. |
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