Your Core Is More Than Just Your Abs
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When you hear the word “core,” what comes to mind?
For many people, it is the abdominals. Maybe a plank, a crunch or that familiar feeling through your stomach when an exercise starts to get challenging.
In Pilates, your core is much more than that.
Your centre plays a role in how you organise, support and control movement. Learning how to use it is something we return to again and again in class, because it can completely change the way a familiar exercise feels.
What Actually Makes Up Your Core?
Your core is not one muscle that you simply switch on.
It includes several muscles working together around your trunk, including your transverse abdominis, obliques, rectus abdominis, pelvic floor and muscles that support your spine. Your diaphragm also works alongside this system as you breathe.
You do not need to memorise the anatomy to practise Pilates well. What matters is understanding that your core works as a system. It helps create support while still allowing your body to move.
What Does “Engage Your Core” Actually Mean?
This is one of those cues you might hear regularly in class without being completely sure what you are supposed to do.
Engaging your core does not mean pulling your stomach in as hard as possible, holding your breath or making your entire body rigid.
Instead, we are looking for the right amount of support for the movement you are performing. One way we may introduce this is by asking you to gently connect through the lower abdominals while continuing to breathe normally.
The key word is gently. You should still be able to breathe and move.
How Do We Teach Core Activation in Pilates?
Core activation often makes much more sense once you can actually feel it.
One thing we notice with newer clients is that the cue “engage your core” can sometimes make them tense everything at once.
In class, we may slow an exercise down, change your position or make the movement slightly smaller so you can notice what is happening through your centre.
On the Reformer, the springs and carriage can also give you feedback. A small adjustment through your trunk can make an exercise feel completely different, even when nothing else has changed.
This connects closely with Why Control Can Make Pilates Feel Harder. Sometimes the challenge is not adding more resistance or choosing a harder exercise. It is learning to control the movement you are already doing.
Your Core Is Still Allowed to Move
Having a strong core does not mean keeping your body completely still. Your spine is designed to move.
Pilates includes exercises where the spine bends, extends and rotates, as well as movements where we want more stability through the trunk while the arms or legs move.
The skill is learning the difference.
Your centre may be creating support in one exercise and actively moving in the next. That is why there is no single position or level of effort that you need to maintain for an entire class.
What Does Breathing Have to Do With Your Core?
Quite a lot.
Your diaphragm works alongside the muscles around your trunk, which is one reason breathing and core activation should not be treated as completely separate ideas. When an exercise becomes challenging, it is common to hold your breath without even realising it.
In class, your instructor may use breathing cues to help you coordinate the movement or manage effort without unnecessarily tensing your whole body.
If you want to explore this further, Why Breathing Is More Than Just Breathing in Pilates looks more closely at how breath becomes part of your movement.
You Learn More as You Practise
When you first start Pilates, there is already plenty to think about.
You are learning where to place your feet, how the Reformer works and what your instructor means by all those new cues. As the exercises become more familiar, we can start adding another layer.
What is happening through your centre?
Can you maintain control while your leg moves?
Are you using momentum?
Can you keep breathing?
This is also where Why Concentration Matters in Pilates becomes relevant. The more familiar an exercise becomes, the more attention you have available to notice these smaller details.
At One Percent Pilates in Fairfield, we want you to understand how you are moving, not simply follow an exercise.
You do not need to arrive knowing how to engage your core. That is something you will continue learning in class.
Start Pilates in Fairfield
If you are looking for Pilates in Fairfield, our Reformer and Mat & Stretch classes are designed to help you understand how you move, not simply follow an exercise.
At One Percent Pilates, our instructors use clear cues, repetition and progressive teaching to help you understand not only what movement you are doing, but how you are doing it.
Our current timetable includes Reformer Pilates and Mat & Stretch classes, and we also offer private Pilates sessions for clients looking for more individual time with an instructor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is your core just your abs?
No. Your abdominal muscles are part of your core, but your core also includes muscles around your trunk, spine and pelvic floor, with your diaphragm working alongside them as you breathe.
Should l suck my stomach in during Pilates?
No. Core activation is not about pulling your stomach in as hard as possible. You should still be able to breathe and move while creating enough support for the exercise you are performing.
Do I need to know how to engage my core before starting Pilates?
No. Understanding core activation develops with practice. Your instructor can use different cues, positions and exercises to help you recognise what it feels like in your own body.
View our schedule or explore membership options to get started.
