Don’t Walk Around Engaging Your Stomach Muscles
You really don’t want to walk around engaging your stomach muscles.
I am going to tell you why I think that.
But just know that there are a lot of opposing viewpoints that exist for anyone interested in searching.
Look hard enough and you can find numerous points of view on just about any subject.
When it comes to posture and movement many people I respect say things that are the opposite of what I personally teach.
What I do resonates with some people and not others.
And putting oneself out onto the internet allows anyone and everyone to voice an opinion about how silly or stupid you are.
And while I receive mostly positive feedback, some of the criticism is withering (and welcome).
This all refers to a recent session with a client.
Some people I work with also work with other practitioners.
The more the merrier is the approach some people take to changing their bodies, and who am I to say otherwise?
More power to them if they can integrate many opposing views. And if you have the resources to afford it.
The client in question was walking around, and while she wasn’t moving poorly, there was something stiff about her movement.
So I asked if she was holding in her stomach muscles.
She told me that someone else told her that in order to provide better support for her lower back she should gently engage her core during the day.
I have to admit that I love a conundrum of this sort. I really like the person who told her to do this but I disagree completely.
Bad habits are as easy to develop as good ones.
Here is the simple explanation I provided to my client.
- While she did need more core tone to support the lower spine that wasn’t the most important thing.
- What she needed most was to get her legs directly under her pelvis to properly align the psoas. The proper alignment of the pelvis and psoas is more important than the stomach muscles for spinal stability.
- And while it is true that she needs to build better muscle tone in her core, it is best to do that with specific exercises.
- Then you can incorporate the muscle tone with new and improved movement patterns.
Engaging your core while going through your daily life can support the lower back but…
…it will almost definitely interfere with a natural breathing pattern. And I think the upside is outweighed by the downside.
Also, if you walk around holding your stomach muscles, how will you know when to stop?
That is way more consequential than you might think. The brain relishes patterns but doesn’t necessarily make a distinction between good patterns and bad.
Lots of different practices work.
And different practices serve different people.
I like to think that I am right about everything but what good does that do?
So I teach.
I want you to know why I want you to do the things I want you to do.
Then hopefully an informed decision can be made about fairly consequential issues like your body.
If someone tells you to walk around holding in your stomach muscles, you can do it, but make sure you know why.
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