#Core Bracing

📌 5 Science-Backed Steps for Proper Core Bracing 1️⃣ Start with 360° Breathing • The foundation of proper bracing begins with breathing mechanics. Research shows diaphragmatic breathing activates your transverse abdominis 30% more effectively than traditional “sucking in” techniques (Hodges et al., 2019). ✨ Inhale and feel your ribcage expand in ALL directions - front, sides, and back ✨ Place your hands on your lower ribs and feel the expansion ✨ This activates your diaphragm, which is literally connected to your core muscles! 2️⃣ Find Your Neutral Spine • Before you can protect your spine, you need to find its optimal position. Studies demonstrate neutral spine positioning reduces shear forces by up to 40% (McGill, 2015). ✨ Lie on your back ✨ Tilt your pelvis forward and backward to find the middle ground ✨ Find a position that stacks your ribs over your pelvis that feels most comfortable for you 3️⃣ Engage at 30% Capacity The research is clear: most people over-brace! A moderate contraction (20-30% of maximum) has been shown to provide optimal stability without restricting movement (Grenier & McGill, 2007). ✨ Imagine your core as a cylinder ✨ Create gentle tension like you’re preparing for someone to poke your stomach ✨ Maintain the ability to breathe normally - if you can’t, you’re bracing too hard! 4️⃣ Coordinate Breath with Movement Timing matters! Research from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning found synchronized breathing-movement patterns improve stability by 23% (Andersen et al., 2020). ✨ Exhale during the effortful phase of exercise ✨ This naturally increases intra-abdominal pressure ✨ Your deep core muscles activate automatically during properly timed exhalation #physicaltherapy #holisticpainsolutions

You shouldn’t have to choose between breathing and engaging your core.🙏🏼 This is where so many people get stuck. You either hold your breath to keep engagement, or you try to breathe but nobody taught you how to actually distribute pressure while doing it. That’s why on the top you see bulging happening into my belly as I breathe while bracing. All that pressure has to go somewhere. 😬 This is a game changer for lifting heavier with a brace that supports your spine AND lets you keep breathing through your sets.👏🏼👏🏼 Here’s what’s happening 👇 Your diaphragm is the most underrated muscle in your body. When it has the expansion and rib cage mobility to do its job, your pelvic floor kicks on automatically. → When your diaphragm rises back into the rib cage on exhale, it suctions your pelvic floor up → When you maintain your TA engagement, it helps distribute that pressure along with your diaphragm and pelvic floor working together → Where you direct your inhale matters. Breathing into your lats and back instead of your stomach keeps that pressure off the midline of your stomach (linea alba) and pelvic floor (can do this in a valslava too) This isn’t something you’re going to use during your heaviest compound lifts. This is for your medium to heavy work where you need constant core engagement and the ability to breathe through the set. This is really important if you: → Want spinal support during high intensity exercise or when your heart rate is elevated → Struggle with incontinence or pelvic floor dysfunction → Want better form during your lifts and to prevent injury We go deep on all of this + other breathing strategies inside my Reclaim You program. Comment reclaim or Link in bio. 💛 #deepcore #fitnesstips #diastasisrecti #pelvicfloor

Knowing how to properly brace your core is probably the most important thing to learn to make every single exercise you do more stable in the gym. And of course the more stable you are, generally the stronger you generally are too. Here’s how to properly brace your core on any exercise, not just squat, so you can push your sets harder and break that plateau 😏💪

I look haggard here yall but the community has asked how to brace your core so I deliver. Have I slept much lately? No. Is my finger mysteriously injured? Yes. Should you be tensing your abs like you’re posing for a photoshoot? NO!! Bracing is NOT FLATTERING! You should be giving pregnant lady, just ate a big burger, perhaps indigestion vibes when you brace. I wanna see BIG BELLIES!! If yall have ever watched a video of me squatting or deadlifting you’ll know what I mean. This is not a skinny queen stomach maneuver. Push your core out into a stable base or risk bending that spine in a way it don’t wanna be. Outfit is @gymshark as always and LXWREN10 will save ya some $$. Personal training linked in bio if you want to hear me yell this in your ear once a week <3

Not sure how to actually engage your core? Here are 3 tips that actually work!👇 1. Draw your ribs towards your hips - Think of closing the space between your ribcage and your pelvis. This helps switch on your deep abdominal muscles, especially your transverse abdominis. Try doing this on an exhale to really feel the connection! 2. Brace like you’re about to get punched in the stomach - This cue helps fire up your entire core . Imagine someone’s about to hit your stomach, you wouldn’t suck in, you’d tighten and brace. That tension is what we want when lifting weights, doing planks, or stabilising your spine. 3. Knit your ribs together and zip up your abs - Visualise your ribs drawing towards the centre and your lower abs zipping up from your pubic bone to your belly button. It’s like doing up a tight pair of jeans! This helps avoid flaring the ribs and creates full core engagement from bottom to top. 
📌 Save this for later and try them in your next workout! #Coreengagement #core #Fitness #coreactivation #MindBodyConnection #tips

How to BRACE your CORE👇️⁠ ⁠ A lot of people leave gains on the table by NOT BRACING.⁠ ⁠ Their back hurts, or they can’t go as heavy. ⁠ ⁠ And they abandon the exercise, thinking it’s not for them.⁠ ⁠ That’s why I made this easy tutorial for you.⁠ ⁠ Bracing is one of the least understood things.⁠ ⁠ But it helps you move more weight, do more reps and keep your back safe. ⁠ ⁠ That’s why I made this easy tutorial for you.⁠ ⁠ I want you to get the most results possible from your exercises while keeping you safe.⁠ ⁠ I hope this video helped you and make sure to follow for more free glute content. 🍑⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #fitness #workout #gym #fitfam #training #health #motivation #fitnessmotivation #fit #exercise

✅Save this video because performing core bracing will help you to lift heavy weights without injuring the lower back. It will activate your transverse abdominal muscles which acts as a weight lifting belt. #core #coreworkout #strong #exercise #fitness

This is how to brace your abs when you squat! One of the most common errors people make with “bracing” their core is excessively arching their spines in an attempt to prevent it from rounding forwards. THIS IS THE WRONG WAY! Watch this video to learn how to brace your abs correctly for squats! #squats @strengthsystemonline

Do you know how to properly engage your core?! Listen up to these helpful cues on how to do so, pregnant or not! 🫶🏻 Workout with me! Link in bio 💕 • • • • #morewithfittestcore #workoutwithme #trainwithme #engageyourcore #hugyourbaby #hugthebaby #huggingthebaby #pregnancycore #prenatalcore #properform #fittips #fittok

Most people do abs like this 👇🏻 ➡️ Lower back arched ➡️ Core relaxed …and then wonder why they don’t feel anything! But when you do THIS 👇🏻 🔹Posterior pelvic tilt (tuck your pelvis) 🔹Engage your deep core 🔹Keep your spine stable That’s how you turn a crunch into real results 🔥 #CoreTraining #CoreEngaged #AbsWorkout #FormMatters #PelvicTilt #SpineHealth #WorkoutForm #MindMuscleConnection #Addominali #CoreAttivo #AllenamentoFunzionale #FitnessTips #FitReels #ControlTheMovement #BackSafeCoreStrong

“Engage your core”… One of the most common cues in barre, but let’s make sure you know how to do it correctly. It might be a solution for your lower back pain. TA = Transverse Abdominis #barre #engageyourcore #barreinstructor #barrestudio #barreintensity

ENGAGE THAT CORE, but how?! I’m sure every class you have ever taken the trainer in the background is screaming “hold your core” “breathe with the core” “engage the deep muscles” BUT you are still absolutely clueless about what that means ⬇️ Mistake: often I see people pulling their stomach in to create a hollow effect which they think means holding the core but in reality they are just holding their breath and that’s doing nothing but putting a pressure on your normal breathing cycle. That pull isn’t activating your muscles at all infact it’s only going to make training harder as you are unable to breathe freely Solution: the cue I like to work with is ‘tilt the pelvic’, when we are standing straight there is a slight curve at our lower back which is the normal posture of the spine, when I say engage the core I mean tilt the pelvic towards yourself so you can feel those lower belly muscles tighten. Do note: the back still remains completely neutral but the deep pelvic muscles are now pulling towards you making you feel like you are breathing from your lungs to the end of your stomach. The easiest way to feel this is by doing belly breathing laying on the floor, by practicing this the awareness in your core area will be much different & your exercises will become much more effective So the next time you think you have to pull the stomach in 🙅🏻‍♀️ Instead tilt the pelvic towards you while keeping a straight back 🫡 . . . . . . . . #fitnesstips #coreengagement #posturecorrection #muscleactivation #coreexercises #exercisescience #bellybreathing #corework #strongwomen #trainsmart #spinehealth #mobilitytraining #stabilitytraining #breathwork