As I was climbing into bed last night, I was pondering the best way
to write about proper abdominal usage. I figured I'd think of
something, so assumed my usual supine position, snuggled close to my
two bulldogs and drifted off to sleep. Then, in the wee hours of the
morning, I was awakened by the weight of one of my (hungry) 45 pound
bulldogs traipsing across my stomach to lie on my torso and exfoliate
my skin (a proven method for getting me up to feed them).
Instinctively, I tightened my abs and pushed OUT to prevent her
dagger-like paw from impaling my liver, pancreas, stomach or any other
vital organ.
As I deliriously poured some kibble into the bowl,
it hit me! We humans KNOW what to do to protect our organs but don't
know what to do to protect our lower backs! Clearly, with a bulldog on
your stomach, you're going to tighten your abs and push OUT -- so
obvious, right? But to protect your lower back, you must PULL IN the
abdominal muscles and keep the belly-button glued to the front wall of
the spine. If it's not initially obvious, think of it this way: to
protect your lower back, you want the abs to be as close to the spine
as possible. So pull in!
"Pulling in" targets the deepest layer
of the 4 abdominal muscles, the transversus abdominus. The transversus
abdominus, or "TA," wraps around the abdominal cavity like a corset or
girdle with horizontally running fibers that compress the abdominal
contents when contracted. We won't go into the debate currently
looming in the Pilates/kinesiology world regarding its role in stabilizing the core,
but we will tell you this. If you focus on keeping your belly button
drawn to the front wall of your spine through all of your abdominal
work (this includes crunches, push-ups, etc.) you will see a dramatic
difference in core strength. Our clients have experienced great
success focusing on this deep muscle, instead of just the Rectus
Abdominus (the "six pack" muscle) or the Obliques.
Do: Keep your abs flat! Don't: Let them pop!
Try this: do "the Hundreds"
and follow the directions exactly. Can you keep you abs FLAT, with
your belly-button pulled to the spine the whole time (see the picture
on the left above). Or do your abs "pop" halfway through (as in the
picture on the right)? If they do, a great way to start training is to
keep the knees bent for exercises like "The Hundreds" until the
endurance of transversus abdominus increases.
After years of
teaching, I know that the idea of "pulling in" and not "pushing out"
can be confusing, but learning to pull in will do wonders for your
abdominal strength and your lower back, not to mention a flatter stomach and a more defined mid-section!
Just getting started with Pilates or want to brush up on technique? Try "My First Pilates Workout" at www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com!