O ABDOMINALS, WHEREFORE ART THOU?
Change your life by strengthening 1 thing.

I'm a good driver and I drive quite a bit. There is a lot of road construction going on here in Northern California. Sometimes there is no highway shoulder available through construction zones and the lanes are narrow. Passing a long, wide semi is a challenge in my little Toyota. Guess what helps? When I pull my abdomen in as I pass that truck it goes as smoothly as silk. Why you say would abs make any difference in driving? The answer is that pulling the abdominals in makes EVERYTHING easier. Next time you have something challenging to do, like speaking with someone from Social Security, pull your abdomen in. It really helps!

For quite different reasons, as seniors we need to strengthen our abdominals more than anyone else needs to!

One of my students told me that she was able to walk better when she pulled her abdomen in. She mentioned that one day she started to feel wobbly and unstable as she was crossing the parking lot using her walker. She pulled her belly in and regained her balance. She learned how to do this through Building Better Balance.

As we get older the spine compresses, causing inflammation and pain. This can create or aggravate conditions like sciatica, spinal stenosis and scoliosis among others. Spinal stress is greatly exacerbated by a core that has been weakened due to increased sitting. About half our body’s weight is in the torso. Imagine that your torso muscles are slack. Now imagine carrying around half your weight as if it is extra baggage. That's what happens for most of us as we lead a less active lifestyle. For seniors this heavy baggage effect is terrible for the joints of the feet, knees and lower back - joints already fragile for other reasons. No wonder we feel awful.  

Increased sitting is a big part of the problem. When we sit and rest in our chair, our abdominals automatically disengage. The muscles of the core, especially the abdominals, weaken and are much less available to us just when we need them MORE because of compression. Another effect of increased sitting is the slumping that happens in the upper body causing shortening and tightening of upper rib cage muscles while overextending the upper back muscles. We loose the ability and strength to keep our rib cage lifted. This has profound effects too. 

How do we benefit if our abdominals are in better shape?

  • Spinal pain and inflammation lessen.
  • The joints of the spine, knees and feet receive less stress.
  • Our balance improves significantly and we fall less!
  • Our posture improves.
  • It is easier to move. We feel "lighter".
  • We feel more self-confident.
  • Difficult transitions become much easier. For example, moving from the bed to a wheelchair is much less stressful for the body if you pull your belly in while doing it.
  • And for the frosting on the cake, we look much better. Want to know an easy way to look like you lost 5 pounds? Straighten up and look slimmed down!

Abdominals can be strengthened at any age. In classes I taught several years ago, one lovely 102 year old would do the exercises right alongside all the rest of us!

How to do Abdominals: The easiest way to strengthen your abdominal muscles is simply to pull your belly in. Pull in and hold for a second or 2 or more. Breathe naturally. Do not hold your breath. Try 3 sets of 8 pull-ins each. Do them the same time each day. Try doing them before mealtime if you want to loose weight. Your stomach will feel fuller with less food.

Rules to live by:
  • If your lower back hurts, pull your belly in.
  • If you feel unsteady, pull your belly in.
  • When getting into or out of a car, pull your belly in.
  • When standing up or sitting down, pull your belly in.
  • When climbing stairs, pull your belly in.
  • If your knees bother you, pull your belly in.
  • When you feel stressed out, pull your belly in.
  • When walking on uneven surfaces, pull your belly in.
  • In any treacherous situation, pull your belly in.

In other words: When in doubt, PULL YOUR BELLY IN.

As we age we need to pay attention to our core MORE not LESS.
The biggest obstacle is deciding to do something about it.
Go for it! It can change your life and how you feel about getting older.

Building Better Balance teaches you clearly how to strengthen not only your abdominals, but also the other muscles groups of the core: the muscles that help your posture and the muscles that support the pelvic floor. All 4 DVD balance classes contains a section of exercises for the core. The exercises vary from one DVD to the next. You get full instructions on how to increase core strength overall and the exercises are so easy to do.