Warding

I often get asked what are the best core exercises to do. Usually, someone is padding their tummy when they are asking me. Keep in mind core exercises are beneficial for balance, for sports activity for life activities such as gardening. If you have a strong core your back will be happier.

Don’t think core exercises will help with the extra calorie ring around your belly though. (It has not helped mine 😉) It will help firm muscle under the fluff, but it will not rid the fluff. Those thousands of crunches we did when we were younger did nothing but put our backs into possibly herniation jeopardy later in life.

Back to today’s focus, warding.

Strengthening the trunk by keeping body wide tension against an external force, while doing a movement. Its a plank with movement! There are many different ways to use warding. Today I am using a band to create my force. I do use these type of movements for my arthritic clients and osteopenia clients and they generally feel they are safe. However, everyone is different so if this movement does bother you please discontinue.

You can vary the band strength or pulley strength and there is no rotation involved. In fact, that is what we want to focus on is not rotating the hips into the force. Be sure you do this from the left and the right side. My demo shows only from the left side! Also please be sure to breathe!

Let me know how they work for you in a comment below. Happy Warding!