WHY INFANTS HAVE A STRONGER CORE THAN ADULTS

Before I explain why infants have a stronger core than adults, let’s define the core. Many people think of the abs as their core, but in fact, the core is comprised of several muscles in your lower back, butt, hips, and thighs. They stabilize the spine, pelvis and shoulder girdle, create a solid base of support and are primarily responsible for posture and stability.

Have you ever watched an infant roll from his/her back to their stomach? It is a great example of using the core to initiate movement, which is what we all should be doing. Infants first learn to reflexively stabilize the spine in order to control movement.  Notice that they don’t use their extremities to assist with the movement; it all comes from the core.  This happened naturally during growth and development. However as we age, we lose the ability to stabilize the spine due to imbalances, poor training or daily activities such as sitting all day. We then tend to compensate and create further imbalances.

So what should we do? Get back to those primitive movement patterns such as rolling for example.  Below is a video by Gray Cook, a Physical Therapist and the founder of Functional Movement Screening (FMS). FMS assesses the way you move and gives you corrective exercises for those poor movement patterns.  In the video he explains how to do a rolling exercise. Give it a try, it’s harder than it looks!!

I am a certified to perform Functional Movement Screenings, you can contact me via my website below if you are interested.

http://www.functionalmovement.com/exercises/rolling_lower_body#ooid=B4eW9iNjpZNg09QIvsgo__SpYOK5-hq4

Rebecca LeSaffre is the owner of Lynnfield Boot Camp. She is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, a Fitness Nutrition Coach and a Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant. She is qualified to assess what types of exercises will be most beneficial for meeting personal fitness goals, while also helping assure that you use proper form for maximum results and injury prevention. You can contact her via her web site www.lynnfieldbootcamp.com