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Core Training – Part Deux

In addition to the 4 layers of abdominals I talked about in my last post, the core consists of other muscles that stabilize the spine, pelvis and shoulder girdle and run the entire length of the torso. Those muscles that create this solid base of support also help shift body weight, transfer energy from the center of the body to the “levers” or limbs and protect the back.

The “Other” Core Muscles

With our 4 layers of abdominal muscles are a handful of other muscles that help the core with its important duties. They are:

Erector Spinae: This group of muscles sounds more like a Transformer toy than the muscles that run along your neck to your lower back.

Multifidus: These spine rotators run under the erector spinae along the vertebrae.

Hip Flexors: 5 muscles make up the hip flexors that are found in front of the pelvis and upper thigh. They are the psoas major, illiacus, recturs femoris, pectinues and sartorius. Often they will tighten up and grip during abdominal exercises when the abs are weak.

Gluteus medius and minimus: The side of the hip houses these are the glute muscles.

Gluteus maximus, hamstrings and piriformis: Well known, this group is located in the back of the thigh and upper thigh leg.

Hip adductors: Otherwise known as inner thigh muscles.

These other core muscles aren’t as sexy to the training community as the 4 ab layers, but they are key to a strong back. In fact, when these muscles are under activated and weak, back pain often presents itself. You can have all the six packs you want, but if your lower back is weak, you’ll find yourself with a swayback posture and low back pain due to the strain on the spine.

The key to core training is training the whole core, not just the abs. Powerful movements of the arms and legs emanate from a strong core. The more stable and strong the core, the harder the levers can work whether during sports performance or in the daily adventure race that is functional fitness. So get to the balancing act of training BOTH sides of your core – front and back!

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Kerrie Ann Frey is the founder and owner of Fit Mom USA, a former stroller exercise-based program that has evolved in to an online presence with fitness, wellness, and nutrition information for all men and women. Her passion for fitness began with credentials including A.C.E. PT and LWMC and grew to include her true love – Pilates. She is West Coast Pilates certified and trains clients in several studios in the New Orleans area.

Whether I’m training someone as a Personal Trainer or as a Pilates Instructor, the bulk of my work focuses on my client’s core.  As the fulcrum to the body’s levers – arms and legs – the core should be strong to protect and move the spine and to give power to the lever’s movements.  Plus, a well-tended core grows a great six-pack garden.

The core, powerhouse, center, whatever you call it personally, makes up the body from the lower ribcage down past the pelvic floor through to where the hamstrings and glutes intersect.  Included in the core are the four layers of abdominals that most people focus on during core training in an effort to lose the low abdominal area pooch and the “muffin top” that caps it off on the sides.

The 4 Abdominal Layers

Rectus aka The Six-Pack: The most superficial abdominals creates the six-pack is atually called the Rectus.  While it is responsible for aesthetically pleasing onlookers, it’s primary job is to flex the spine.

External Obliques: The External Obliques run diagonally down, imagine running your hands down your side like you were putting your hands in your pockets.  The obliques are about a hands-width in size.

Internal Obliques: The Internal Obliques run upwards, making an upside down V up towards your ribs.  Both the internal and external obliques are repsonsible for sidebending and rotation of the spine. When you do the Twist or reach down while standing to scratch the sides of your legs, you can thank your obliques for their help.

The most famous of all, the Transverses, is the deepest layer and protects the spine.  It acts like a corset when strong and active to protect the lumbar spine (low back).  It’s also the bane of your existence if you’re trying to “get rid of my pooch”.  Strengthen this muscle up and you’ll feel flat abs.  Sit ups won’t hit this guy – they only target the Rectus.  That’s why you can do 5,000 crunches and still have a pooch.

Hit these four layers and you are on your way to Core Training.  Don’t forget the back and the glutes!  They should be invited to every Core Training party!  Next time we’ll talk about targeting each layer of the Core.

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Kerrie Ann Frey is the founder and owner of Fit Mom USA, a former stroller exercise-based program that has evolved in to an online presence with fitness, wellness, and nutrition information for all men and women. Her passion for fitness began with credentials including A.C.E. PT and LWMC and grew to include her true love – Pilates. She is West Coast Pilates certified and trains clients in several studios in the New Orleans area.

Pilates continues to be listed as one of the top fitness options in the world as evidenced, for example, in the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) survey of 2010 Fitness Trends.  With this continued interest in the Pilates Method, there is no better time for New Orleans’ area trainers to be certified to teach mat and equipment-based Pilates.  Qualified instructors can teach in health clubs, private studios, gyms, therapy environments or even in clients’ homes.  Additionally, physical therapists, nurses, rehabilitation therapists and others in the medical community may find opportunities to use Pilates techniques in their work.  If you’ve ever considered becoming Pilates certified, now is certainly the time.  To help you decide, here are 5 factors to consider if you’re thinking of becoming a Pilates instructor.

1.  You are ready to put in the time and energy.

Becoming certified to teach Pilates is a process.  While there are companies that are willing to give you a certification after a day’s worth of training or even after merely an online test, qualified schools will require a longer commitment.  Mat Pilates certification usually takes anywhere from 1 to 3 full weekends of study with student teaching hours and a practical exam.  Full apparatus certification can take a year or more, with a required 600 hours of training, apprentice hours and study.   Learning the Pilates Method is process.  By going through the process with a qualified instructor, you will be more credible in the Pilates community and with your clientele.  Additionally, as we talked about in my previous post, it’s also an expensive endeavor.  You’ll want to be ready for the commitment.

2.  You enjoy teaching people.

The bodies (people) that will be in front of you to teach come with personalities of all types.  You need to find joy in not only Pilates, but in teaching Pilates to your clients – there is a difference.  If you love to see the look in peoples’ eyes when they “get it” after you’ve explained something, then you probably like to teach.  If you merely like to practice Pilates and have a difficult time working with others, teaching may not be for you.

3.  You are willing to learn more than just the exercises.

Anyone can memorize exercises; it takes someone truly interested in Pilates to learn the required anatomy and physiology.  Excellent instructors know what muscles are working, which ones are stabilizing, which ones need to be worked and which muscles need to be released in a student’s body.  And every body is different.

4.   You are able to communicate in a variety of ways.

Every person learns differently.  As a Pilates instructor, you will need to be able to communicate to people who are visual learners and need to see something in order to understand it.  There are those who are auditory learners who will need you to explain things verbally and there are tactile people who need instructors to physically put their bodies in the places that they need to be in.  Pilates instructors should be excellent communicators in a variety of ways and should be able recognize what type of learner is in front of them – maybe not at first, but definitely within the first three sessions.

5.  You are uniquely you!

There is a misconception among the general public that Pilates is for, and taught by, women, dancers, the very thin, the incredibly flexible and people with dramatic names like Mari, Ana and Moira.  And there are people like that who take and teach the Method, however, the majority of instructors come in all different ages, shapes and sexes.  You don’t need to be a woman with the flexibility of a Russian gymnast to teach Pilates.  If you have the drive, the attitude and are self-motivated to continue your career, you will be able to teach Pilates.

Pilates instructors come from all different walks of life – personal trainers, physical therapists, dancers, even lawyers.  They all have a handful of things in common in addition to the 5 factors above: they all are dedicated to a healthy lifestyle and love to help others reach their goals.  If this positive attitude is yours, then you might be ready to teach Pilates!

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Kerrie Ann Frey is the founder and owner of Fit Mom USA, a former stroller exercise-based program that has evolved in to an online presence with fitness, wellness, and nutrition information for all men and women. Her passion for fitness began with credentials including A.C.E. PT and LWMC and grew to include her true love – Pilates. She is West Coast Pilates certified and trains clients in several studios in the New Orleans area.

When I first moved in to our new uptown apartment as a married couple, I didn’t have a sofa. My husband was happy to bring his from his old place; I was equally happy to leave it on the curb. We were young and just starting out with a strict budget for decorating. After going to a few affordable furniture stores, we settled on a sofa that lasted all of 6 months. It settled right in the center leaving whoever sat on it looking like an airplane with his wings tipped up. It was cheap and soft and we should’ve bought the more expensive one we really wanted but didn’t want to spring for at the time.

I use this analogy often when I get the initial response to the Pilates certification cost and time commitment I’m currently encouraging people to consider. This week, I’ve had to use it a little more often because I have a 3-weekend intensive certification program coming up.

“How many weekends for this? How many student teaching hours? Why this cost?”

My explanation is simple: you get what you pay for. There are Pilates certifications available that can have you taught, tested and certified to teach mat in one day. They will cost you a couple of dollars and may fulfill the CECs for another one of your certifications. But you will only get about 8 hours worth of knowledge and no opportunity to practice under the guidance of a trained instructor.

My first Pilates certification was a day long workshops and I remember leaving thinking, “There is no way I can teach this stuff. I don’t know the ‘why’ of what I’m doing and I really don’t want to hurt anyone.”

It was from that experience that I found my mentor, Cecile Bankston, Assistant Director of Kathy Corey Pilates. Kathy Corey Pilates is one of the original founding companies of the Pilates Method. Devoted to quality education and the highest standards, Kathy Corey Pilates is recognized internationally as a leader in the Pilates community.

Okay, so I’m a dork about it.

I wave that Dork Flag high because I know I am a contemporary Pilates instructor who is confident in her knowledge. The three weekends of workshop – in Mat Work, CORE Band and Magic Circle, specifically – were opportunities to work with a Master Trainer and the required student teaching hours allowed me to practice and gain the confidence necessary to work with any client. I made up the cost within three months of working part-time. When I was ready to become equipment certified, I felt prepared to take on another challenge. While I was technically “certified” to teach Pilates after that initial training, I was floundering. However, the full certification training gave me the time to practice, to ask questions, to research and to study.

I encourage anyone who is looking to become Pilates certified to look at the certifying body. Find out the lineage of the trainer; ask about the length of time for certification and what are the student teaching hours required. Find a program that is dedicated to teaching Pilates, not just certifying people to teach Pilates.

Are you absolutely infatuated with Pilates? Are you wondering if you should take the plunge? Have you been wondering about the benefits of being a Pilates instructor? Are you hoping to take your passion for fitness to a new level? Stay tuned – I’ll share my thoughts on all of that in my next post.

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Kerrie Ann Frey is the founder and owner of Fit Mom USA, a former stroller exercise-based program that has evolved in to an online presence with fitness, wellness, and nutrition information for all men and women. Her passion for fitness began with credentials including A.C.E. PT and LWMC and grew to include her true love – Pilates. She is West Coast Pilates certified and trains clients in several studios in the New Orleans area.