What is the core?

What is the core?

The core is made up of the muscles that surround your spine (think 360 degrees). This includes your front and side abdominal muscles, spinal erectors on the back, as well as some of your larger supporting muscles (like your glutes and lats). Contrary to what most believe, it is not just your ‘abs’.

What does “engage” mean?

When a trainer or coach tells you to “engage” a muscle or group of muscles, they’re telling you to focus on those specific muscles and ‘turn them on’ for assistance in doing the exercise correctly. They want you to FEEL those muscles working. “Engage” and “feel” are synonymous in this case.

What does “engage your core” mean?

You’ll typically hear this cue during: planks, push ups, pull ups, squats, deadlifting. When a trainer or coach tells you to do this, they simply want you to squeeze everything in your mid-section and “get tight.” The idea is to limit the amount of movement in the spine during the exercise. This is the point of the core, to limit movement and not to create it.

If you (a) find yourself questioning whether you’re truly engaging your core or (b) struggle to “engage your core” while doing exercises like push ups or planks, we’d suggest taking a step back and work on ground-based core strengthening exercises. Check out our page later this week for a video series on what those might include!