Care For Your Core

Summer gives you every reason to bare your midriff and move your body in the sun. Expert Jill Miller, best-selling author of “The Roll Model “ and creator of the Treat While You Train program takes your training beyond crash diets and crunches to a comprehensive core reform for extraordinary results.

EXERCISES

BREATH RESET

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOXLLoYT8h8

EQUIPMENT: YOUR BODY, YOUR BREATH AND A SOFT BALL OR PILLOW.

A chief strategy for high performance and a great-looking core is literally contained within you. Your untapped capacity to breathe fully and consciously is the secret to excel in core achievement. You take on average 20,000 breaths per day — become aware of each valuable breath “rep” and train your deep breath muscles to be more efficient at helping your body recover, heal and perform.

Your deep-breath muscles are invisible and seem “out of reach,” and this leads to being out of touch with sensing this engine. Unknown abdominal tensions or scars prevent your diaphragm from optimal function and reduce your ability to train well. With improved liberation of your core tissues and a healthy diaphragm, your ability to recover overnight leads to an even better workout tomorrow.

Ripping your abs to shreds does not necessarily correlate to improved function (or looks). Update your approach to core reform and you will not only see gains in functional performance, but physiological improvements in your digestive health including reduced inflammation and bloating. And as an added bonus, you’ll be more stress-resilient and emotionally balanced. We now know for a fact that incorporating core tissue work will improve the body’s ability to integrate and train with improved mobility and sophistication of movement. In short, give your belly some well-kneaded love and it will love you back.

PEC PREP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgmachr2M9c

EQUIPMENT: YOUR BODY, YOUR BREATH AND A THERAPY PLUS BALL.

Your core does not simply begin at your belly button. Improving your results from core training means tending to the entire torso, from the shoulders to the hips. The deep muscles that connect the shoulder girdle to the rib cage often become excessively tight from daily habits and hours spent at computers and holding kids or mobile texting devices. This posture mimics the shape of a stress breather, someone who cannot catch their breath…and this becomes a vicious cycle and chronic issue. Your anterior chest muscles pay a price for all of the activities you do repeatedly day in and day out and they inhibit full, healthy breathing.

Unfortunately, the mainstream approach to overtrain the core torso with endless focus on push-ups, planks, chest press, throwing sports and swimming is not the core remedy we need. The Pec Prep is part of your solution.

LAT SEAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSjfDm__j5Q

EQUIPMENT: YOUR BODY, YOUR BREATH AND ALPHA TWINSET.

We have the weight of our world on our shoulders, and it seems to compound day by day. The extra-large lattisimus dorsi (lats) are the cape-like muscles that can feel like a heavy cloak to bear – especially when they are over-tightened from slumping all day. Slumping further compresses your rib cage and leaves you short on breath.

The lats cover major body territory and they are a powerful soft-tissue link tying together the shoulders, rib cage, lower back and pelvis/buttock. Training that corrals the lats, intercostals and obliques creates total integration and liberation of power. Great movements to integrate include a variety of full movements, pull-ups, deadlifts, back squats, swimming, and also picking heavy stuff off the ground!

BONUS: STRENGTH SHAPES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpCy337lJQQ

EQUIPMENT: YOUR BODY, YOUR BREATH

Looking for a healthy inspiration for core-possibility? Check out Jill’s demonstration of Nauli Kriya – movement mastery at its best. Nauli (aka lateral abdominal churning) is a yogic cleansing exercise or Kriya. Created by a side-to-side rolling motion of the abdominal muscles, it is intended to massage the internal organs and tone the abdominal region.

THERAPY BALLS: Tune Up Fitness tuneupfitness.com.