If you are thinking about sit-ups, crunches or anything that will give you that six-pack that we see in media everyday, forget it about it. What If I told you that our overrated abdominal muscles are not even part of our “CORE”?
Apologies for my lack of sugar coating, but it’s fair to say even Wikipedia needs an update on this one! Let’s get this straight! Or, even better, VERTICAL! Our intrinsic core muscles, aka our deep front line (DFL), starts from the bottom of our foot, runs behind our shins, goes through our inner thigh, connects into our pelvic floor muscles and diaphragm, continues underneath our rib cage and is in front to the spine, all the way to the top of our head.
If our DFL runs vertically, it will be as strong as the contact of our feet with the floor or any other surface. Let’s recall Newton's third law: “For every action, there is an equal & opposite reaction.”
In our case, Force Production + Gravity = Ground Force. In other words, how we push the floor or any medium, defines how much strength we can produce as a whole.
What to do:
· Add some bare foot play in your movement routine (there are more nerve ends per square centimeter on the bottom of our foot than any other part of our body).
· Choose minimalistic shoes over cushioning high tech shoes.
· Avoid high heels, flats and tight shoes as much as possible.
· If you enjoy running, try running on softer surfaces like grass, sand, or dust.