Core control is a central part of the FLexercise system. Whilst we know that core control can be achieved both lying and standing, we felt this exercise would be a great one to do with equipment. Your core needs regular attention – remember the phrase ‘use it or lose it’?
To add a bit of fun to this we have used a baby as our equipment. Clearly, there are loads of health and safety issues around using your child/grandchild so we don’t recommend you start with the baby. Work up to it. We at FLexercise take no responsibility for injuries caused by you dropping the equipment.
Equipment
Baby, small animal or a cushion.
Technique
Lie on the floor with your knees bent and get yourself into neutral spine. Draw your navel to your spine and pull up the pelvic floor. Relax your shoulders drawing them back and down towards your waist making sure you don’t thrust your rib cage forward.
Lift one leg with your knee bent to what we call tabletop position. That ’s where your knee is directly over your hip and your knee is bent, creating right angles at the hip and knee joint. Recover that leg to the floor, still with the knee bent, making sure you keep your abs and pelvic floor engaged.
Repeat on the other leg. The idea is to get your core firing up to stop your spine arching or flattening.
Once you can do this safely, move on to lifting one leg and joining it with the other. Then place one leg down followed by the other. Remember, your spine has to remain stable, with your ribs closed, and your neck long. Oh, and it’s a good idea to breathe!! For some of you, this will be the endpoint as it is quite hard work to maintain your core whilst lifting and returning your legs to the floor. Legs are heavy. This is absolutely fine and right for you.
If you find the above pretty easy, then it’s time to take your hands off the floor. Many of us cheat and grip the floor with the shoulders and hands. That’s why we think it is easy! So, keep your shoulders down, lift your hands up to the ceiling. Hopefully, you will find that harder.
Remember, keep your core engaged. Always check your ribs aren’t thrusting forward and make sure your spine remains long. If your shoulders are up around your ears, then you have tension, so go back to the start and keep working on it.
Once you are competent and confident you can consider adding equipment. We recommend you start by holding a cushion (there’s less to go wrong because it doesn’t wriggle). Remember to keep your shoulders down, and lift the cushion up to the ceiling.
You can then move on to a small child or animal. Please note, we at FLexercise take no responsibility for your dropping said child/animal so this is done at your own risk.
One of the good things about using a child as the equipment is the great smiles you get while they are up in the air.
Have fun with your little people and work your core too 🙂