You might have read or heard a trainer advise you to engage your core before executing a move.
But if you’ve ever been confused about exactly what that means or how to do it, then you’re not alone.
Engaging the core muscles involves more than just tensing your stomach, and it takes practice.
Holly Fivian, a personal trainer and founder of strength-training platform Holsm, says she encourages women to learn how to connect with their deep core before they start strength training.
Engaging it correctly can improve your performance, boost your posture and lower your chance of injury.
According to Fivian, there’s one move that helps all her clients master this skill: the dead bug.
“This is where everybody starts,” she tells Fit&Well.
“How your core feels during a dead bug is how I want it to feel during your other movements too.
“A properly performed dead bug should never feel easy,” she adds.
Below, Fivian has shared a short routine based on dead bug variations that will help you practice core engagement.
1. Diaphragmatic breathing
Sets: 3 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.
- Place your hands around your lower ribs.
- Inhale through your nose, expanding your abdomen.
- Exhale slowly through pursed lips, as though you're gently blowing through a straw, and feel your ribs and abdomen soften down.
Trainer tip: “Imagine there are magnets on your hip bones gently drawing towards one another while your navel gently draws inwards and upwards. Keep your neck, shoulders and jaw relaxed,” says Fivian.
2. Dead bug
Sets: 3 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec
- Lie on your back with your knees raised above your hips, with both knees and hips bent to 90°, and your shins parallel to the floor.
- Extend your arms straight up.
- Inhale.
- Slowly exhale through pursed lips as you stretch your left foot forward and lower your right arm back behind you.
- Inhale to return to centre, then exhale and repeat on the other side.
Trainer tip: “Think about keeping your ribs and hips connected and in line, rather than allowing the ribs to flare upwards,” says Fivian.
3. Dead bug heel taps
Sets: 3 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec
- Lie on your back with your knees over your hips, bent at 90° angles.
- Have your arms by your sides or extended over your chest.
- Inhale to prepare.
- Exhale as you lower one heel to tap the floor, keeping the rest of your body still.
- Return to the starting position with control and repeat on the other side.
Trainer tip: “If your ribs begin to flare, your pelvis changes position or your back starts to arch away as your heel lowers, shorten the movement and bring your knees closer to your chest,” says Fivian.
4. Dead bug leg extension
Sets: 3 Time: 30sec Rest: 15sec
- Lie on your back with your knees over your hips bent at 90° angles.
- Have your arms by your sides or extended over your chest.
- Inhale to prepare.
- Exhale and extend one foot away.
- Slowly return it to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
Trainer tip: “The lower and straighter the leg travels, the greater the demand on the core,” says Fivian.