I need help bracing my core please?..

[choccyswag]

How do you guys brace your core properly and be in a nice position at the same time? I am having a lot of trouble with this!

When I push my core out like trying to make a food baby gut, I am leaning forward like i am trying to do an ab crunch.
Then when I try to correct this by keeping my chest UP my trainer says my back is hyper extension.

So when i push my core out i am not in the right position. Then when i am trying to do stuff like the overhead press its even worse bc i have to push my hips forward like Ripptoe explains in the 'overhead press' video. so it feels like i am swwaying all over the place lol.

If you can help me with some cues to fix this problem that would be fantastic.

 

[Jebrook]

For me it's all about breathing. When squatting heavy I take a deep breath right before descension. I focus not on expanding my lungs but on pulling the air into the diaphragm. This expands your lower gut area a bit and helps stabilize your spine during descent. Sometimes wearing a belt helps to feel when your diaphragm is expanded. Any people just suck in a huge lung full of air which expands the check but doesn't really protect or stabilize you lower lumbar area. When I do this it helps me by drawing air in deeper through the nose. Hope this helps.

 

[choccyswag]

thanks Jebrook;!

i have no problem pushing air into my core. What happens is i am bent over slightly or too far back. basically one or the other. if I brace my core properly shouldn't my back be in a nice position too? and if i flex my abs really hard i bend over more like i have a stomach cramp lol.

 

[bolt10]

Agreed on the breathing. Sounds like you may just need to re-work how you are bracing. Of relevance (and what has helped me the most): http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/06/26/deadlifts-breathing-and-bracing/

 

[jvandy50]

you can tilt/rotate your pelvis forward/back to find the best place for your lower spine. play with finding your sweet spot and if you know how to brace it lock it there. if you're tight in your hammies or quads it may determine your neutral position

 

[Jebrook]

thanks Jebrook;!

i have no problem pushing air into my core. What happens is i am bent over slightly or too far back. basically one or the other. if I brace my core properly shouldn't my back be in a nice position too? and if i flex my abs really hard i bend over more like i have a stomach cramp lol.

Is this a problem while squatting or in general. I wouldn't recommend consciously flexing the abs while squatting. The key is to find the right position for the spine and protecting it during the exercise. Without really knowing exactly what you're trying to do it's hard to offer advice. Sorry.

 

[booneman77]

I find that the best things that help my core are squeezing my glutes and focusing on shoulder "pinch". Obviously these things depend on what lift, but usually its less about the actual "core" for me and more about everything above and below it being stable and aligned.

 

[herderdude]

Okay, first, stand up straight and tall and squeeze your glutes as hard as you can. Now breathe out all of your air. I mean every last bit. Your ribcage Will be crunched toward your pelvis. Now brace your abs like Tyson is about to hit you in the stomach. Then take all the air in the room into your stomach with your abs still flexed. Then inflate your obliques. You now have optimal 360 degree intra abdominal pressure and your ribcage is locked in parallel to your pelvis. This is correct.

Breathing into your belly and poking your chest up is flat out wrong. You will absolutely look hyperextended because you will be hyperextended. In that pattern you described, your lower back will have no support and your ribcage Will float independent of your pelvis. You absolutely should think about having your abs tight when you squat, how else will you be able to transfer force from the floor into the bar? If your trunk isn't stiff, squatting is like pushing a rope. It will fold and coil and the thing on the other end of the rope won't go anywhere.

 

[choccyswag]

jvandy50; booneman77; Thanks guys, I think I was paying so much attention to pushing my core I forgot about aligning the rest of my body up.

herderdude; thats very useful thanks! I now realise its breathing downwards not outwards lol. And everything has to be aligned.

And because I was doing the overhead press the problem was worse with my body swaying to get the bar over my face and not braced properly.

 

[youngandfree]

You want to squeeze the abs, not push them out.

 

[choccyswag]

You want to squeeze the abs, not push them out.

Got it
thank you, i don't know why I thought pushing out was a good idea but obviously not!

 

[Tufts604]

I watched a great vid on tigerfitness's youtube channel by doctor stu on bracing correctly. I can't get the link youtube is not working but search it.
for me i realized my upper vertibre(t spine i believe) was not mobile enough. after you lock ribs down you need to think of being taller through the shoulders and neck. I am making these postural changes slowly as you are fixing years of imbalance. I find focusing on the proper position in daily life is best and let that carry over to form. I am concious of it during exercises but I find some exercises can be harder to maintain than others. I am sure in time the position will feel much more natural and easier to achieve.

 

[Tufts604]

I don't have enough posts to add links
The one i was thinking of was "Dr.stu How to perform neutral stance"
These other two are related as well "How to perform thoracic mobility" "how to lock and load"

 

[choccyswag]

Thanks Tufts604;!! I like the lock and load one