How Using Your Core Protects Your Back, So You Can Lead Your Fullest Life

At Pongo Power, it’s no secret that we love core work. In fact, all of our clients are first taught how to correctly access and engage their transverse abdominis before moving onto other types of exercise.

Focusing on the abdominals may seem like an exercise in vanity, but we’re more interested in helping clients lead full, rich lives than we are in “sculpting” a toned tummy: after all, strong, toned abs are just a natural and organic added benefit! 

So why all the core work? 

Do you ever feel that pain in your lower back is preventing you from moving freely? Have you ever wanted to swoop your child up into the air, but stopped due to lower back tension? Does the thought of picking up a heavy bag of dog food or cat litter give you pause? You deserve to live pain free. That starts with building a strong foundation by doing lots of core work- and we don’t mean endless crunches.

Your transverse abdominis is the musculature responsible for stabilizing your spine, hips, and limbs throughout all movement.

The transverse abdominis is located under the rectus abdominis (the muscles we typically train when we think of “six-pack” abs), and acts as a natural human girdle. 

Since the function of the core is to stabilize while the rest of the body moves, it is best to utilize exercises that more directly mimic this function, as opposed to, say, crunches. While exercises like planks train the core using stabilization, oftentimes trainees have a difficult time accessing their transverse abdominis, and end up not training their lower abs at all!

This means that many people end up training the more superficial musculature of the core, and simply cannot activate properly through their transverse abdominis. When this occurs, the function of the kinetic chain is altered, and movement patterns become less safe and stable.

Eventually, this could lead to “tweaking” or hurting your lower back when performing simple activities, like taking out the trash or playing with your kids. One client came to us after “throwing their back out” while closing a window! We are always thrilled to help people like this get back to- or perhaps for the first time begin- living their lives pain-free.

A new year is a time for new beginnings. We are so committed to helping you lead your life to the fullest. Make this the year you learn about proper stabilization techniques to prevent lower back pain, tension, and injury. The future you will thank you.

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