October 14, 2024 • 23 mins
Unlock the secrets to a healthier midlife as we explore the transformative power of core strength and balance. What if achieving true core strength is less about six-pack abs and more about the collective muscle power of your back, diaphragm, hips, and pelvic floor? Join us for a journey into understanding how strengthening these vital muscle groups can improve posture, reduce back pain, and combat the natural muscle loss that accelerates after age 40. We’ll discuss the often overlooked health implications of striving for low body fat and advocate for a holistic approach to core training, which is crucial for maintaining overall well-being as we age.
Discover practical and engaging ways to seamlessly integrate core and balance exercises into your daily routine. Whether you prefer structured workouts like planks and bridges or functional movements that mimic daily activities, there’s something for everyone. We'll highlight the significance of breathing techniques, like 360 breathing, to effectively engage your core and pelvic floor, ensuring every movement is both efficient and injury-free. Dive into the interconnectedness of the whole body with a particular emphasis on the foundational role of your feet. By actively practicing balance work and engaging in programs like Move Better Feel Better, our listeners can look forward to enhanced stability and grace in midlife. Don’t miss out on joining our Moving Through Midlife community on Facebook for more insights and to share your journey with others on a path to healthier habits.
Head to www.movingthroughmidlife. com to learn more
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today we are discussing core strength and
balance in midlife, why itmatters and how you can get
started.
Welcome to Moving ThroughMidlife.
I am your host, courtney, apersonal trainer and movement
specialist who wants to help youmove through midlife with more
(00:23):
grace.
Each week we will discuss wayswe can show up better for
ourselves and our childrenwithout the burnout.
We will focus on overall healththrough habit stacking to help
increase energy, providemovement snacks to help you move
more throughout the day, whilealso moving your body more, and
(00:43):
learn from professionals onmoving through midlife with ease
so that you can feel confidentwith aging.
Gracefully, grab your earbudsand join me on a leisurely walk
while we discuss moving throughmidlife.
So for many of us, when wethink of our core, we tend to
(01:06):
think of six-pack abs.
That is what has been glorifiedin the fitness industry and I
am going to ask that you pushback against that, because I
don't think that that is thehealthiest way for us as women
(01:27):
in midlife.
If you have it naturally,that's one thing, because there
are, you know, we're alldesigned differently and some
women are able to get that veryeasily.
But if it is not something thatyou naturally have, then I
would recommend not even tryingfor that just because it can
(01:49):
wreak havoc on your hormones.
Our bodies, women's bodies aredesigned to have a little extra
fat on them for estrogen, and itcould be unhealthy if you are
(02:11):
trying to get that low body fatpercentage and try to get that
appearance of core strength.
I do feel that core strength isfar more than what we see with
our eyes and has a lot more todo with what is within us.
So if we want to think aboutcore strength, we need to make
sure that we're looking beyondjust the abs.
(02:32):
Our abs are a portion of ourcore, but there are a lot of
other muscles involved with corestrength.
That is going to be our backmuscles, our diaphragm, our
intercostal muscles, which arethe muscles around our rib cage,
(02:52):
our hips, our pelvis, ourpelvic floor, our glutes, our
inner thighs.
All of this is interconnectedwith our core and it's important
that all of those muscles arebeing strengthened.
When we have a strong core,including the muscles that I
(03:15):
just mentioned, we will havebetter posture, we will reduce
the low back pain, we will beable to move better, with more
efficiency, and have functionalstrength.
So functional strength being ifI lift my suitcase to put it in
the overhead compartment.
That is going to be myfunctional strength.
(03:35):
So doing an overhead press isan exercise I might want to do
functionally to help get strongso that when I do press that
suitcase up over my head I don'ttweak my back Twisting,
twisting and bending, being ableto twist our midsection without
(03:57):
our lumbar or low backresponding as well, causing
tension, tightness, pain, slipdiscs, all of those things
occurring in our midbath.
And all of these things matterbecause in midlife we are
dealing with a lot of hormonalchanges, which is going to
increase our risk of sarcopenia,so that's our muscle mass
(04:24):
decreasing, and actually all ofus are going to deal with muscle
loss.
Once you hit it may even be 35,but by 40, you will start to
see a rapid decrease of musclemass, which is why it is
imperative for us to workagainst it and find ways to add
(04:45):
some strengthening exercisesinto our daily life.
I do want to make a quick asidehere, because there are often
times just last week I did aepisode on exercise Y'all you
(05:07):
are not listening to thoseepisodes.
It is a drastic.
It is about 50% of you who stoplistening to those episodes and
I want to say that we cannot.
We cannot be healthier, wecannot move through midlife
without doing some of thesethings.
We have to do it.
You have to.
(05:27):
I know you don't want to.
I don't want to either, butwe're going to figure out a way.
We're going to do it throughmovement.
We're going to do it throughmovement.
I'm going to help guide youthrough that so that you're not
having to do exercise.
I got you Okay, so I'll makesure to hit on it here today
with core strength and balance.
So we want to make sure that weare working on all of this to
(05:53):
help, because what's going tohappen is, if we're not doing
these things, then we're goingto be that 80-year-old woman who
can't walk without a walkerbecause she's scared.
She's going to fall.
Okay, these are things that youneed to be cognizant of because
it's going to come up quick andyou don't want to wait until
(06:13):
your balance is affected tostart working on your balance
work.
You need to start working on itnow, because it's going to
sneak up on you and balance doesbecome harder in midlife
because of the decreased musclestrength that we're dealing with
, because of that sarcopeniathat's naturally occurring
Because of our joint mobility,things start to tighten up,
(06:35):
especially for those of us whoare not moving as often.
We are going to be tighterthrough our joints, tension
tightness through the muscles.
The joints start to get alittle achy and then we're not
able to move as well as we hadhoped.
And then our reflexes that'sanother thing is your reflexes
(06:56):
start to slow down.
You may notice that when you goto grab for something you're
not quite as quick as you usedto be.
Or if you go to jump, anythinglike that, your reflexes aren't
quite there, which is going toaffect us when we hit that
sidewalk a little bitdifferently and we end up
(07:19):
falling because of it.
Or we, if you're like me, in myhouse, we have that slippery
tile and it's fine unless we geta wet spot.
And if you don't see that wetspot, you're going down or
you're getting close to goingdown.
And there have been so manytimes where we have walked both
my husband and I we've walkedwe've hit that water with our
(07:42):
heel.
That heel slides out from underus and you gotta be quick.
Those reflexes have to take overand those are the kind of
things that if you have the corestrength and you have that
pelvic floor, the hips and theglutes, all of those inner
thighs, all of it workingtogether, you can pretty much
right yourself without going allthe way down.
(08:02):
But those of you who don't havethat strength are going to end
up falling and then you're goingto deal with possible other
injuries definitely strains andpossibilities depending on your
age and your nutritional factors.
You know some breaks orfractures as well.
So, in addition to the corestrength, we need to be working
(08:24):
on some balance training to helpwith that.
So we're going to reduce therisk of falling because we're
doing not only corestrengthening exercises but
balancing exercises Becauseremember, like I said, your
inner thighs, your glutes, yourhips, your pelvis all of these
muscles are interconnected withthat core.
So how do I hit those muscles?
(08:47):
In a functional way?
It's going to be standing onone leg, movements on one leg,
rotating through those hips onone leg to work on those deep
hip muscles, hip rotator muscles.
All of those things are goingto help and that's where that
balance training comes in.
So we really can't you'll alwayshear me mention this we really
(09:10):
can't segment things out.
We've got to really work onincorporating all of these
things together.
So we're not just going to docore work and we're not just
going to do balance, but we'vegot to kind of incorporate them
all together because they, ourbody, works that way.
Our body works all together.
It's not segmenting things outas we move.
(09:31):
So what things can we do tobegin to strengthen our core?
So you've I'm sure you've heardof them the planks, the bird
dogs, the dead bugs, the bridgesall of those things are great
exercises and are great forthose of you who like to
exercise.
Add those in you probablyalready are.
If you want to make sure thatyou're doing them with proper
(09:54):
form, head over tomovingthroughmidlifecom.
You can find the community, thefree community.
Join us over on Facebook andthat way you can.
I'll put a video each day thisnext week for you, each day this
(10:14):
next week for you, so you knowhow to do them with proper form.
But the other thing is forthose of us who may not want to
exercise did I just throw myselfin there, okay?
So that was a slip For those ofyou who may not want to do
specifically exercises, what youare going to focus on are
functional movements.
What do I do in everyday life?
A functional movement is whatdo I do in everyday life and how
(10:37):
can I mimic that?
Right, we are not going to docrazy exercises.
You might see people in the gymand you're like, how does that
even relate to what I do in reallife?
I'm just it's amazing to seesome of these exercises.
Yeah, it's fancy, but I'm nevergoing to do that.
That's not what I'm going to do.
(10:58):
Okay, getting off track.
So exercises that mimic everydayactivities, like I had
mentioned, if you go to pick upa suitcase off the ground, you
might have a kettlebell.
You might go squat down, grabthat and then push it up
overhead.
That's going to be a squat witha press, an overhead press.
(11:20):
That is going to mimic grabbinga suitcase and putting it up
over your head.
That tends to be one of thosethings that people do and they
tweak their back.
So that would be a functionalmovement, a movement that you
want to practice to help you getstronger within those core
muscles.
Some balance work, somestanding balance work, some
(11:43):
lunges, all of those things thatyou think of already.
But let's add in breathing.
So breathing is one of thosefunctional things that many of
us don't think about, becausemany of us think that we're
doing it properly or because wecontinue to take oxygen in and
(12:04):
out, we feel as if we're doingit right.
The problem is is most of ususe our accessory muscles to
breathe and we're not using themuscles within our core to
breathe, our diaphragm mostspecifically.
So when we work our diaphragm,we are working our core muscles
(12:25):
in the most functional waypossible.
So if you want a really strongcore, start breathing well, and
breathing well is going to bethat 360 breathing pattern.
What I would tend to say is tryto bring the breath deeper
(12:45):
within to your core.
Some people call it bellybreathing.
Belly breathing is good, exceptfor the fact that when we think
of expanding through the belly,we don't expand through the low
, through the mid back, wherethe back ribs are, which can
create some issues as well.
So I like to.
It's called 360 breathing.
(13:05):
I didn't create that name, butI like to.
Anytime I talk about breathingwell, I like to say 360
breathing to ensure that we'regetting those back muscles
working the back ribs workingthat back of the diaphragm
working In turn.
When you do this, like I said,you're going to be effectively
(13:28):
working your core in afunctional way, which is also
going to work your pelvic floorin a functional way.
So for any of you who aredealing with incontinence, who
are dealing with pelvic floortightness or pelvic floor
weakness, by practicing 360breathing you can start to fix
(13:50):
that, not urge incontinence.
Urge incontinence is a trainedthing.
This is more going to be yourstress, incontinence or pelvic
floor tension, tightness orweakness.
So 360 breathing is imaginingyour rib cage is either a
jellyfish or an umbrella andevery time you breathe in that's
(14:11):
expanding out and every timeyou breathe out it's expanding
in.
If you work on doing that, thatis going to help work on
strengthening your core in afunctional way.
All of these things will helpyou to integrate core work into
your everyday activities.
All of these things will helpyou to integrate core work into
your everyday activities.
The other thing that tends tohappen is a lot of people over.
(14:32):
These are my exercisers.
If you are an exerciser, youmay over tense up, over brace
your core to do movementpatterns and we really need to
start to understand what is anatural bracing technique for
our movements.
(14:53):
We don't want to overly brace.
So if you're sitting at yourdesk right now, you would think
or for those of you who might beout walking while you're
listening to this.
What is your core doing rightnow?
Is it braced really tightbecause you're trying to create?
What is your core doing rightnow?
Is it braced really tightbecause you're trying to create
an appearance of your core?
If it is, you are overworkingyour core muscles and
(15:17):
something's going to give.
We need to instead.
Usually the diaphragm gives anddoesn't work as hard, but we
need to make sure that we don'thave too tense muscles within
our core.
We want to make sure that we'reable to move based on the
(15:40):
movement that we're using.
If I'm not using my core while Iwalk, yes, I'm walking and I'm
using it a little bit, but Idon't need to brace it for
walking.
You would brace when you picksomething heavy up, right.
So, just understanding all ofthat and how to make sure that
you're bracing effectively, andif you aren't sure, then I would
(16:07):
go back to that pelvic floorsituation.
If you deal with leaky bladder,then you probably have either a
bracing problem or you're notworking your core enough.
Once you work on those corethings, then you can also start
to add in some balance work, andthis is going to be again the
(16:29):
same type of thing For those ofyou that exercise.
It would be a lot of single legwork, working on single arm
movements, even because doingthings with one arm requires the
other side of the body to helpstabilize.
For that, for those of you whodon't want to exercise, that
(16:50):
would be, you know, taking a fewminutes to maybe do a little
bit of balance work while you'restanding in place, maybe while
you're brushing your teeth.
It doesn't mean you need to gointo like a yoga pose to create
this pattern.
It would be more a thing that Iwould call a hip list.
So when we walk we naturallylist our hip.
(17:14):
Our hip kind of lifts up sothat our leg can sweep across
the floor without hitting thefloor.
If you notice that when youwalk hitting the floor, if you
notice that when you walk youhave a foot that kind of scuffs
(17:39):
and I'm not talking like footdrop, I'm talking just every
once in a while it kind ofscuffs across the ground that
would be possibly a hip listsituation, where one side, one
hip, is weaker than the otherhip and a hip list exercise is
really good to help with thatbecause it's going to work on
strengthening the muscles aroundyour hips to help you through
(18:01):
these movements.
So a slight movement like that,which is always good, all of us
can work on that.
Movement like that, which isalways good, all of us can work
on that.
I've never seen where itdoesn't help someone but to do a
quick little hip list.
While you're standing in thegrocery line or in the Starbucks
line or the Target line,wherever you're standing, you
can do that hip list and that isgoing to help you work on your
(18:26):
balance.
The other thing is, like I said, if you're not an exerciser,
next time you go grab a bag ofgroceries, just put the bag of
groceries on one arm rather thanon the other, not up near the
shoulder, but, you know, on yourhands or your forearm, and
carry it out to your car.
(18:46):
Like that you will feel yourcore working.
So there are ways that you canincorporate strength training
without going into a gym to doit.
So those are some of the thingsthat I would recommend.
If you are working on balancetraining, how can you get
(19:07):
started with all of this?
So start small, don't do toomuch.
Try to find ways, like Imentioned, to just add it into
your every day.
Just start working on you know,paying attention to how you
move.
And what can I do if I havesomething held close to me, if I
push that item away from me,like, say, you grab a box and
(19:30):
it's kind of a heavier box,you're bringing in your Amazon
boxes because I know you guyshave a lot of them, right?
No, I'm joking.
So you're going to grab yourbox.
Well, if it's a heavier box, wetend to hold one closer to our
body because it makes it easierfor our core.
Well, maybe hold it a littlebit further away so you can feel
that core activation.
You're going to feel thatstomach bracing up.
(19:52):
Try to find that work withinthe stomach, within the core
rather than the arms, and see ifyou could change that.
It's just kind of playingaround with your movements and
seeing how can I change thismovement to feel it a little bit
differently with your movements, and seeing how can I change
this movement to feel it alittle bit differently.
Those are, you know, the waysthat we can do it in our
(20:18):
everyday life.
If you practice these types ofthings, you will notice that you
will get better, because Ialways say, the more you're
attuned to what you are doing,the better you will get at it
right.
So we've got to understand it.
First.
We need to understand whatwe're doing, why we're doing it,
and then we'll start toactually feel moving through
(20:39):
those exercises or movementpatterns.
So that is what we're focusingon this week is your core
balance work.
I'd encourage you to trysomething.
Pick any of the exercises thatI mentioned today or the
movements, even if it's justgrabbing those grocery bags and
(21:01):
holding them in one arm.
You will start to notice adifference in your core.
You can even do the breathing.
All of us can do it right herewhile we're sitting here.
If you're confused aboutanything, make sure to head over
to our Moving Through Midlifecommunity on Facebook.
You can always find all thisinformation at
movingthroughmidlifecom.
It will take you to my websiteand then I've got a few things
(21:23):
that you can click on based onwhat you're interested in
learning more about.
And then, if you're wanting tokind of dive deeper into
understanding your core,understanding this breathing and
posture that I spoke about,that is all within my Move
Better Feel Better program.
It is part of the CoreConnection program that I have
in there.
(21:43):
You can gain access to all ofthat through the Move Better
Feel Better program and ask yourquestions Questions.
I love to get questions becauseit helps me to kind of know
where you need help.
So this week, let's focus onworking on our core, strength
and balance.
(22:03):
Don't wait until it's too late.
Let's start working onstrengthening now and
understanding how our whole bodyinterrelates to our balance.
So not only our core that'swhat we spoke about today but I
always like to bring it back tothe feet as well, because the
(22:26):
feet are our foundation and ifwe don't have a solid foundation
, then we have nothing to workup towards.
So your core could be reallystrong, but if you have really
weak feet, you're going to havebalance issues.
So making sure that we look atit through the whole body as
well.
So hope you all have a wonderfulday.
(22:47):
Make sure to keep moving and gopractice some balance work
today.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand found something to take
away to help you practicehealthier habits, move more or
handle the midlife and agingwith grace.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend or
(23:08):
leave us a review to help usreach more.
Moms just like you Head tomovingthroughmidlifecom to join
the free community or learn howyou can move more and feel
better in your daily life.
Today we are discussing core strength and
balance in midlife, why itmatters and how you can get
started.
Welcome to Moving ThroughMidlife.
I am your host, courtney, apersonal trainer and movement
specialist who wants to help youmove through midlife with more
(00:23):
grace.
Each week we will discuss wayswe can show up better for
ourselves and our childrenwithout the burnout.
We will focus on overall healththrough habit stacking to help
increase energy, providemovement snacks to help you move
more throughout the day, whilealso moving your body more, and
(00:43):
learn from professionals onmoving through midlife with ease
so that you can feel confidentwith aging.
Gracefully, grab your earbudsand join me on a leisurely walk
while we discuss moving throughmidlife.
So for many of us, when wethink of our core, we tend to
(01:06):
think of six-pack abs.
That is what has been glorifiedin the fitness industry and I
am going to ask that you pushback against that, because I
don't think that that is thehealthiest way for us as women
(01:27):
in midlife.
If you have it naturally,that's one thing, because there
are, you know, we're alldesigned differently and some
women are able to get that veryeasily.
But if it is not something thatyou naturally have, then I
would recommend not even tryingfor that just because it can
(01:49):
wreak havoc on your hormones.
Our bodies, women's bodies aredesigned to have a little extra
fat on them for estrogen, and itcould be unhealthy if you are
(02:11):
trying to get that low body fatpercentage and try to get that
appearance of core strength.
I do feel that core strength isfar more than what we see with
our eyes and has a lot more todo with what is within us.
So if we want to think aboutcore strength, we need to make
sure that we're looking beyondjust the abs.
(02:32):
Our abs are a portion of ourcore, but there are a lot of
other muscles involved with corestrength.
That is going to be our backmuscles, our diaphragm, our
intercostal muscles, which arethe muscles around our rib cage,
(02:52):
our hips, our pelvis, ourpelvic floor, our glutes, our
inner thighs.
All of this is interconnectedwith our core and it's important
that all of those muscles arebeing strengthened.
When we have a strong core,including the muscles that I
(03:15):
just mentioned, we will havebetter posture, we will reduce
the low back pain, we will beable to move better, with more
efficiency, and have functionalstrength.
So functional strength being ifI lift my suitcase to put it in
the overhead compartment.
That is going to be myfunctional strength.
(03:35):
So doing an overhead press isan exercise I might want to do
functionally to help get strongso that when I do press that
suitcase up over my head I don'ttweak my back Twisting,
twisting and bending, being ableto twist our midsection without
(03:57):
our lumbar or low backresponding as well, causing
tension, tightness, pain, slipdiscs, all of those things
occurring in our midbath.
And all of these things matterbecause in midlife we are
dealing with a lot of hormonalchanges, which is going to
increase our risk of sarcopenia,so that's our muscle mass
(04:24):
decreasing, and actually all ofus are going to deal with muscle
loss.
Once you hit it may even be 35,but by 40, you will start to
see a rapid decrease of musclemass, which is why it is
imperative for us to workagainst it and find ways to add
(04:45):
some strengthening exercisesinto our daily life.
I do want to make a quick asidehere, because there are often
times just last week I did aepisode on exercise Y'all you
(05:07):
are not listening to thoseepisodes.
It is a drastic.
It is about 50% of you who stoplistening to those episodes and
I want to say that we cannot.
We cannot be healthier, wecannot move through midlife
without doing some of thesethings.
We have to do it.
You have to.
(05:27):
I know you don't want to.
I don't want to either, butwe're going to figure out a way.
We're going to do it throughmovement.
We're going to do it throughmovement.
I'm going to help guide youthrough that so that you're not
having to do exercise.
I got you Okay, so I'll makesure to hit on it here today
with core strength and balance.
So we want to make sure that weare working on all of this to
(05:53):
help, because what's going tohappen is, if we're not doing
these things, then we're goingto be that 80-year-old woman who
can't walk without a walkerbecause she's scared.
She's going to fall.
Okay, these are things that youneed to be cognizant of because
it's going to come up quick andyou don't want to wait until
(06:13):
your balance is affected tostart working on your balance
work.
You need to start working on itnow, because it's going to
sneak up on you and balance doesbecome harder in midlife
because of the decreased musclestrength that we're dealing with
, because of that sarcopeniathat's naturally occurring
Because of our joint mobility,things start to tighten up,
(06:35):
especially for those of us whoare not moving as often.
We are going to be tighterthrough our joints, tension
tightness through the muscles.
The joints start to get alittle achy and then we're not
able to move as well as we hadhoped.
And then our reflexes that'sanother thing is your reflexes
(06:56):
start to slow down.
You may notice that when you goto grab for something you're
not quite as quick as you usedto be.
Or if you go to jump, anythinglike that, your reflexes aren't
quite there, which is going toaffect us when we hit that
sidewalk a little bitdifferently and we end up
(07:19):
falling because of it.
Or we, if you're like me, in myhouse, we have that slippery
tile and it's fine unless we geta wet spot.
And if you don't see that wetspot, you're going down or
you're getting close to goingdown.
And there have been so manytimes where we have walked both
my husband and I we've walkedwe've hit that water with our
(07:42):
heel.
That heel slides out from underus and you gotta be quick.
Those reflexes have to take overand those are the kind of
things that if you have the corestrength and you have that
pelvic floor, the hips and theglutes, all of those inner
thighs, all of it workingtogether, you can pretty much
right yourself without going allthe way down.
(08:02):
But those of you who don't havethat strength are going to end
up falling and then you're goingto deal with possible other
injuries definitely strains andpossibilities depending on your
age and your nutritional factors.
You know some breaks orfractures as well.
So, in addition to the corestrength, we need to be working
(08:24):
on some balance training to helpwith that.
So we're going to reduce therisk of falling because we're
doing not only corestrengthening exercises but
balancing exercises Becauseremember, like I said, your
inner thighs, your glutes, yourhips, your pelvis all of these
muscles are interconnected withthat core.
So how do I hit those muscles?
(08:47):
In a functional way?
It's going to be standing onone leg, movements on one leg,
rotating through those hips onone leg to work on those deep
hip muscles, hip rotator muscles.
All of those things are goingto help and that's where that
balance training comes in.
So we really can't you'll alwayshear me mention this we really
(09:10):
can't segment things out.
We've got to really work onincorporating all of these
things together.
So we're not just going to docore work and we're not just
going to do balance, but we'vegot to kind of incorporate them
all together because they, ourbody, works that way.
Our body works all together.
It's not segmenting things outas we move.
(09:31):
So what things can we do tobegin to strengthen our core?
So you've I'm sure you've heardof them the planks, the bird
dogs, the dead bugs, the bridgesall of those things are great
exercises and are great forthose of you who like to
exercise.
Add those in you probablyalready are.
If you want to make sure thatyou're doing them with proper
(09:54):
form, head over tomovingthroughmidlifecom.
You can find the community, thefree community.
Join us over on Facebook andthat way you can.
I'll put a video each day thisnext week for you, each day this
(10:14):
next week for you, so you knowhow to do them with proper form.
But the other thing is forthose of us who may not want to
exercise did I just throw myselfin there, okay?
So that was a slip For those ofyou who may not want to do
specifically exercises, what youare going to focus on are
functional movements.
What do I do in everyday life?
A functional movement is whatdo I do in everyday life and how
(10:37):
can I mimic that?
Right, we are not going to docrazy exercises.
You might see people in the gymand you're like, how does that
even relate to what I do in reallife?
I'm just it's amazing to seesome of these exercises.
Yeah, it's fancy, but I'm nevergoing to do that.
That's not what I'm going to do.
(10:58):
Okay, getting off track.
So exercises that mimic everydayactivities, like I had
mentioned, if you go to pick upa suitcase off the ground, you
might have a kettlebell.
You might go squat down, grabthat and then push it up
overhead.
That's going to be a squat witha press, an overhead press.
(11:20):
That is going to mimic grabbinga suitcase and putting it up
over your head.
That tends to be one of thosethings that people do and they
tweak their back.
So that would be a functionalmovement, a movement that you
want to practice to help you getstronger within those core
muscles.
Some balance work, somestanding balance work, some
(11:43):
lunges, all of those things thatyou think of already.
But let's add in breathing.
So breathing is one of thosefunctional things that many of
us don't think about, becausemany of us think that we're
doing it properly or because wecontinue to take oxygen in and
(12:04):
out, we feel as if we're doingit right.
The problem is is most of ususe our accessory muscles to
breathe and we're not using themuscles within our core to
breathe, our diaphragm mostspecifically.
So when we work our diaphragm,we are working our core muscles
(12:25):
in the most functional waypossible.
So if you want a really strongcore, start breathing well, and
breathing well is going to bethat 360 breathing pattern.
What I would tend to say is tryto bring the breath deeper
(12:45):
within to your core.
Some people call it bellybreathing.
Belly breathing is good, exceptfor the fact that when we think
of expanding through the belly,we don't expand through the low
, through the mid back, wherethe back ribs are, which can
create some issues as well.
So I like to.
It's called 360 breathing.
(13:05):
I didn't create that name, butI like to.
Anytime I talk about breathingwell, I like to say 360
breathing to ensure that we'regetting those back muscles
working the back ribs workingthat back of the diaphragm
working In turn.
When you do this, like I said,you're going to be effectively
(13:28):
working your core in afunctional way, which is also
going to work your pelvic floorin a functional way.
So for any of you who aredealing with incontinence, who
are dealing with pelvic floortightness or pelvic floor
weakness, by practicing 360breathing you can start to fix
(13:50):
that, not urge incontinence.
Urge incontinence is a trainedthing.
This is more going to be yourstress, incontinence or pelvic
floor tension, tightness orweakness.
So 360 breathing is imaginingyour rib cage is either a
jellyfish or an umbrella andevery time you breathe in that's
(14:11):
expanding out and every timeyou breathe out it's expanding
in.
If you work on doing that, thatis going to help work on
strengthening your core in afunctional way.
All of these things will helpyou to integrate core work into
your everyday activities.
All of these things will helpyou to integrate core work into
your everyday activities.
The other thing that tends tohappen is a lot of people over.
(14:32):
These are my exercisers.
If you are an exerciser, youmay over tense up, over brace
your core to do movementpatterns and we really need to
start to understand what is anatural bracing technique for
our movements.
(14:53):
We don't want to overly brace.
So if you're sitting at yourdesk right now, you would think
or for those of you who might beout walking while you're
listening to this.
What is your core doing rightnow?
Is it braced really tightbecause you're trying to create?
What is your core doing rightnow?
Is it braced really tightbecause you're trying to create
an appearance of your core?
If it is, you are overworkingyour core muscles and
(15:17):
something's going to give.
We need to instead.
Usually the diaphragm gives anddoesn't work as hard, but we
need to make sure that we don'thave too tense muscles within
our core.
We want to make sure that we'reable to move based on the
(15:40):
movement that we're using.
If I'm not using my core while Iwalk, yes, I'm walking and I'm
using it a little bit, but Idon't need to brace it for
walking.
You would brace when you picksomething heavy up, right.
So, just understanding all ofthat and how to make sure that
you're bracing effectively, andif you aren't sure, then I would
(16:07):
go back to that pelvic floorsituation.
If you deal with leaky bladder,then you probably have either a
bracing problem or you're notworking your core enough.
Once you work on those corethings, then you can also start
to add in some balance work, andthis is going to be again the
(16:29):
same type of thing For those ofyou that exercise.
It would be a lot of single legwork, working on single arm
movements, even because doingthings with one arm requires the
other side of the body to helpstabilize.
For that, for those of you whodon't want to exercise, that
(16:50):
would be, you know, taking a fewminutes to maybe do a little
bit of balance work while you'restanding in place, maybe while
you're brushing your teeth.
It doesn't mean you need to gointo like a yoga pose to create
this pattern.
It would be more a thing that Iwould call a hip list.
So when we walk we naturallylist our hip.
(17:14):
Our hip kind of lifts up sothat our leg can sweep across
the floor without hitting thefloor.
If you notice that when youwalk hitting the floor, if you
notice that when you walk youhave a foot that kind of scuffs
(17:39):
and I'm not talking like footdrop, I'm talking just every
once in a while it kind ofscuffs across the ground that
would be possibly a hip listsituation, where one side, one
hip, is weaker than the otherhip and a hip list exercise is
really good to help with thatbecause it's going to work on
strengthening the muscles aroundyour hips to help you through
(18:01):
these movements.
So a slight movement like that,which is always good, all of us
can work on that.
Movement like that, which isalways good, all of us can work
on that.
I've never seen where itdoesn't help someone but to do a
quick little hip list.
While you're standing in thegrocery line or in the Starbucks
line or the Target line,wherever you're standing, you
can do that hip list and that isgoing to help you work on your
(18:26):
balance.
The other thing is, like I said, if you're not an exerciser,
next time you go grab a bag ofgroceries, just put the bag of
groceries on one arm rather thanon the other, not up near the
shoulder, but, you know, on yourhands or your forearm, and
carry it out to your car.
(18:46):
Like that you will feel yourcore working.
So there are ways that you canincorporate strength training
without going into a gym to doit.
So those are some of the thingsthat I would recommend.
If you are working on balancetraining, how can you get
(19:07):
started with all of this?
So start small, don't do toomuch.
Try to find ways, like Imentioned, to just add it into
your every day.
Just start working on you know,paying attention to how you
move.
And what can I do if I havesomething held close to me, if I
push that item away from me,like, say, you grab a box and
(19:30):
it's kind of a heavier box,you're bringing in your Amazon
boxes because I know you guyshave a lot of them, right?
No, I'm joking.
So you're going to grab yourbox.
Well, if it's a heavier box, wetend to hold one closer to our
body because it makes it easierfor our core.
Well, maybe hold it a littlebit further away so you can feel
that core activation.
You're going to feel thatstomach bracing up.
(19:52):
Try to find that work withinthe stomach, within the core
rather than the arms, and see ifyou could change that.
It's just kind of playingaround with your movements and
seeing how can I change thismovement to feel it a little bit
differently with your movements, and seeing how can I change
this movement to feel it alittle bit differently.
Those are, you know, the waysthat we can do it in our
(20:18):
everyday life.
If you practice these types ofthings, you will notice that you
will get better, because Ialways say, the more you're
attuned to what you are doing,the better you will get at it
right.
So we've got to understand it.
First.
We need to understand whatwe're doing, why we're doing it,
and then we'll start toactually feel moving through
(20:39):
those exercises or movementpatterns.
So that is what we're focusingon this week is your core
balance work.
I'd encourage you to trysomething.
Pick any of the exercises thatI mentioned today or the
movements, even if it's justgrabbing those grocery bags and
(21:01):
holding them in one arm.
You will start to notice adifference in your core.
You can even do the breathing.
All of us can do it right herewhile we're sitting here.
If you're confused aboutanything, make sure to head over
to our Moving Through Midlifecommunity on Facebook.
You can always find all thisinformation at
movingthroughmidlifecom.
It will take you to my websiteand then I've got a few things
(21:23):
that you can click on based onwhat you're interested in
learning more about.
And then, if you're wanting tokind of dive deeper into
understanding your core,understanding this breathing and
posture that I spoke about,that is all within my Move
Better Feel Better program.
It is part of the CoreConnection program that I have
in there.
(21:43):
You can gain access to all ofthat through the Move Better
Feel Better program and ask yourquestions Questions.
I love to get questions becauseit helps me to kind of know
where you need help.
So this week, let's focus onworking on our core, strength
and balance.
(22:03):
Don't wait until it's too late.
Let's start working onstrengthening now and
understanding how our whole bodyinterrelates to our balance.
So not only our core that'swhat we spoke about today but I
always like to bring it back tothe feet as well, because the
(22:26):
feet are our foundation and ifwe don't have a solid foundation
, then we have nothing to workup towards.
So your core could be reallystrong, but if you have really
weak feet, you're going to havebalance issues.
So making sure that we look atit through the whole body as
well.
So hope you all have a wonderfulday.
(22:47):
Make sure to keep moving and gopractice some balance work
today.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand found something to take
away to help you practicehealthier habits, move more or
handle the midlife and agingwith grace.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend or
(23:08):
leave us a review to help usreach more.
Moms just like you Head tomovingthroughmidlifecom to join
the free community or learn howyou can move more and feel
better in your daily life.
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