Did you know that your Core and your Abs are NOT the same?
CORE MUSCLES
Your core is a whole system of different muscles groups that work in unison to help you stabilize and control just about all of your movements.
Some of these muscles groups include:
- The pelvic and pelvic girdle muscles: pelvic floor, glutes, hip flexors, etc.
- The abdominals: Rectus abdominis(six-pack muscle), internal obliques, external obliques, transverse abdominals, serratus anterior
- Back muscles
ABDOMINAL MUSCLES
Your Abs/Abdominal muscles are one of the muscle groups that form part of your core system. There are exactly 5 muscles that form part of the abdominals.
Just like all of our muscles groups, the abdominal muscles are layered(see photo below). Some of these layers are much deeper than others.
Why is this important to you?
Because if you want to build true ABDOMINAL strength, you need to work all 5 layers of your abs practicing an array of movements using different angles and ranges of motion. So basically, not just your six-pack muscle (rectus abdominals) since this muscle is just the external layer of your abs.
And if you want to build solid CORE strength, you need to make sure you’re working all the muscle groups that form part of your core system so you can learn how to properly stabilize and work from a strong center.
Often times, us teachers will cue the core as a whole because we don’t want you to engage just your abs but also your pelvic floor and pelvic girdle muscles.
Understanding how to stabilize from your entire core will also make your abdominals work that much more effective which is why in pilates, we focus on principles such as centering (alignment) and control.
Moving this way is essential for stability and true strength from the inside out so you can remain injury free learning to move safely.
This is also the reason why you will hear so many detailed cues on each of my workouts. VB FIT METHOD focuses on form and technique while emphasizing working from a strong core. This is the only way to develop an uniformly strong toned body that can serve you and function a lifetime.
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If you have any questions or requests, feels free to reach out via the contact form above.
xo,
Vilmaliz
#VBMETHOD
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