In many of my columns that give advice on how to perform a particular exercise, I have often mentioned the phrase “engage your core.”

“Pull in your belly button,” “tighten your abdominal muscles,” “close your stomach,” “soften your ribs” – these are an assortment of phrases that personal trainers use to encourage their clients to activate their abdominal muscles (i.e. i.e. the trunk).

However, like me, trainers may assume that everyone knows how to do this correctly, but in reality many don’t know what that means.

It’s something I took for granted because my heart’s commitment comes naturally from decades of training in dance and Pilates.

That is, until a reader friend pointed out to him that he was having trouble breathing every time he contracted his abdominal muscles.

“When you say commit, I just tuck my stomach in like I want to fit into tight pants, right?

“Is that why it’s so hard to breathe?” he asked.

This is not entirely true and I apologize for not explaining this better.

What my friend did was inhale while sucking in his stomach and flaring his ribs; this makes movement uncomfortable.

When the ribs are already filled with air, there is limited space to take in more air, which then creates shallow breathing.

This is a common mistake people make, and it’s especially evident in those with large bellies.

Watch how they tuck in their stomachs and automatically widen their ribs to make their chests appear larger when posing for photos and taking selfies.

Holding this position for long periods of time turns the face red or even bluish – you might even pass out!

How to do it?

This is a no-no: Notice how much your lower back arches? This means that the abdominal muscles are not used.

Let me try to simplify the method for engaging your core here.

Imagine someone punching you in the stomach.

Your immediate protective response would be to hunker down a little and shorten your waist, contract or flex your abdominal muscles, round or flatten your lower back, and take the hit.

Engaging your core is somewhat similar to this, except you don’t round your lower back.

Basically, you need to strengthen and tighten all the muscles in your core to keep your spine safe and stable.

Perhaps the most important part of engaging your core is breathing, because you need to know how to continue breathing normally while keeping your core tight.

Try this: lie on your back as shown in these images and inhale; as you exhale, your stomach should flatten and tighten.

Each time you breathe after the initial breath, you have another chance to further engage your core and create that strong cylinder of muscle from your ribs down to your hips.

Why it matters

When you lift your shoulders off the floor to perform a crunch, your stomach should not rise but remain flat, as shown here. The lower back should also be on the ground with no gaps. This is how you engage your core muscles.

Engaging your core is essential to protect your spine and improve your form during any exercise or activity that involves stabilizing, lifting, pushing, pulling, or holding objects away from your body.

Probably the most crucial time to engage your core muscles is when you’re lifting weights.

You can generally lift more weight when you strengthen your core.

Additionally, studies show that runners have better posture and less back and neck pain when they run with their body slightly tense.

For ballet dancers, due to the aesthetics involved, the abdominal muscles must be constantly contracted.

It takes the weight off dancers’ feet and gives them the extra power needed to perform jumps and turns.

When you stand, you engage your core simply by drawing in your stomach – you should not round your back or hunch as your full height should still be maintained.

This means you won’t contract your abdominal muscles as hard as when you’re lying on the floor.

You are not at as high a risk of spinal injury during cardio exercises as you are during weightlifting exercises, because in general there is not as much opportunity to move the spine into dangerous positions during the first.

The spine is rarely overly flexed, extended, or rotated, so there is no need to keep your abdominal muscles engaged.

All the time or sometimes?

But should you engage your heart all day, every day?When someone punches you in the stomach, the natural tendency is to flex your abdominal muscles. — Filepic

Certainly not.

Your abdominal cavity is filled with different internal organs, which can be crushed by too much pressure.

For example, you may have had a little urine leak when you laughed or coughed too hard.

Indeed, during these movements, your abdominal muscles automatically contract, thus increasing intra-abdominal pressure.

This means your internal organs are compressed a little more and push against your diaphragm and down against your pelvic floor, where the bladder is.

A similar increase in intra-abdominal pressure occurs every time you consciously contract your abdominal muscles.

Doing this constantly will continually press your organs against the diaphragm and limit its range of motion, in addition to weakening the pelvic floor muscles.

Studies show that increased intra-abdominal pressure can affect your breathing, because it’s harder to take deep breaths because the diaphragm doesn’t descend as willingly.

So you don’t need to enter them all the time.

After all, core muscles are skeletal muscles and their constant activation will trigger fatigue.

Once you’ve finished your activity or are between strength training sessions, let them relax.

If you’re shopping, walking, eating, or watching TV, let your belly blow.

On some occasions, a little bouncing belly can be cute!

Revathi Murugappan is a certified fitness trainer who tries to fight gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email [email protected]. The information in this column is intended for general educational purposes only. Neither The star nor does the author make any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or any other assurance with respect to this information. The star and the author disclaims all liability for any loss, property damage or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on this information.