It is common knowledge that having a strong core is important for optimum health. What isn’t often discussed is that no amount of stomach crunches will strengthen the most important core muscles: our DEEP core muscles. These are the muscles that attach to our pelvis and stabilise the spine all underneath the muscles that we can poke!
These muscles are our stabilisers and their job is to protect the spine whilst the body is in motion. We don’t need them to be powerful but we need them to have strength endurance to protect us through the length of our days and throughout the multiple stressors we place on our body throughout the week. Sometimes we forget that the demands of our body go way outside our workouts and actually moving stuff about the house, lifting the kids out the bath or trying to get the dog in the car to go to the vets all contribute. So…
How do we strengthen our deep core muscles?
We create instability either in our own body or in our environment. The swissball (as many of you might have experienced) can be a very wobbly experience indeed 😂 but it is this “wobble” that makes our stabilisers work hard. Several effective exercises back to back for 10-20 minutes will help estabilish the endurance that we need from these muscles. An added bonus is that the stronger these muscles are, the easier we will find more dynamic strength work: win win!
Swissballs come in different sizes – I would recommend a 55 inch if you are under 5″5, 65 inch if you are between 5″5 and 6″0 and then a 75 inch if you are taller than 6 foot. A ball the wrong size can decrease how effective the exercises are and place strain through the lower back so be sure to take care 🙂 If you feel like you are loosing your form and you aren’t feeling on your stomach but on but in your neck or lower back then take a rest for 20 seconds and then try a couple more repetitions. Remember less and better is preferable to more with bad form!
The joy of these short videos is that you can tie them into your normal workout routine or do it after your normal walk or run – it is also great in isolation so squeeze it in if you need to! If you have enjoyed this little blitz then sign up to our newsletter to receive notifications for when new workouts are uploaded 🙂 To sign up, you can opt in in the box that appears when you first come onto the site or you can email me your address at victoriajonespt@yahoo.co.uk and I will happily add you.
I plan to add more videos over the next few weeks so if you have a request then let me know! Whether you train with us or you just came across our site online, I will happily cater to what you need 😊
Have a great workout! If you are struggling to workout regularly or have been unhappy with your fitness for a long time then we can help you! Nothing more disheartening than short bursts of work and then not being able to keep it going, requiring more effort and motivation to start again each time. Many of our clients train with us once a week (you can partner up with friend or family member too) and then we set them work that they can do independently the rest of the week. Doing the right exercise consistently is what gets the results! Book yourself a consultation today 
Victoria xx
