Core muscle help! How often do you activate?

[TheSensiblestSloth]

Looking for advice from people with better fitness and posture than me....!

I've been doing 2x weekly pilates for 2 years and I can now feel that there are good muscles in my core. But they're under a bit of wobbly skin thanks to two huge babies and also some fat. Overall I'm quite muscular, a little overweight (working on this), physically fairly fit. I'm also tall and curvy which is relevant I think because of the effect big boobs have on posture.

When I activate my core muscles (as you're supposed to in pilates) the difference in my appearance/ inches around my belly is staggering. It completely changes my shape and the way clothes look on me (I don't mean I'm sucking myself in, just holding my core correctly. It actually makes no difference to my waist which is higher up, all the difference is lower pelvis) .

My question is: How can I get myself to be like this more of the time? Is it at all achievable? How often do really fit women activate their core muscles?

I’d love to know this! If I relax my core I look pregnant, if I tighten it I don’t look too bad.

I'm not sure what you mean. I don't have a rounded belly, but it's not because I'm.consciously sucking it in all the time or using core muscles.

If you have been doing Pilates for a while then I assume, as with yoga, that you will likely have strong core muscles and have good posture and breathing and will be using that in every day activity or exercise.

I know what you mean OP. I am slim with not much belly fat and I still get this difference too. Where the looser skin is, it is still a but wrinkly and loose but i dont think much exercise will make a difference now, teo bug babies have left thier mark ha. In fact sometimes i think it looks a bit 'better' when i have a little extra fat on my stomach as it doesnt look so wrinkly! I'm working on loving myself and my body instead.)
Fwiw intermittent fasting really helped me loose weight post kids (stopping eating at 8pm and eating again at midday the next day).

I don't think many women activate them all the time like you do in pilates, because it would be exhausting! I have a good posture after years of ballet. It uses core muscles (but not full on), but it's more about correcting yourself so it becomes automatic. If you think about how your shoulder blades back and pelvis touch the mat when you're lying correctly, then imagine a vertical mat when you're standing or sitting. It's good to practice activating them when you stand up and don't use the chair arms!

This is useful thank you!

I think the pilates has trained me into good posture and core activation in certain situations - including standing up from a chair - but there are points in my day where I realise I'm standing about and everything is out of alignment.

I just tried your suggestion sideways to a mirror, with only a very slight core activation, and actually that has made quite a difference. I don't think I realised how much my pelvis wants to tip forward and how much my shoulders creep up when I'm not thinking about it!

I think I'm going to try and focus on pelvis and shoulders as I move through the day and see how that goes.

Do you think that moving in a good posture all of the time works other more subtle muscles which then get used to kind of holding the body up, if that makes sense?!

I suspect so! No expert though. It makes carrying shopping or walking fast much more efficient because all your muscles are carrying the load equally so in the end you don't go back to slumping because it's so damn inefficient! You can build in moments when you think about how you're standing like when you're waiting for the kettle, cleaning your teeth or walk past a particular window or mirror. You could even do pelvic floor exercises at the same time, thinking about the angle of you hips ;p

Think about it more. Standing peeling potatoes, cleaning your teeth, waiting in a supermarket queue, any old time you are standing up or walking around, check your posture and engage your core.

These are brilliant suggestions thank you.

I actually already programmed myself to do kegels at various points in the day and I credit that with recovery from substantial tearing a few years ago.... But I will have been kegelling away all this time with my pelvis tilted and shoulders hunched and my core flopping forward.... No more!!

The thing that improved my posture was getting a strong back, shoulders, posterior chain. Cos then you have muscle to hold you up. It made me realise all the efforts I'd made in the past were pretty futile as the strength wasn't there in the first place. Core is part of that too, but i don't think it's the whole picture

Any tips on getting this?

Strength training.

Doing planks for me, I find it 'activates' the muscles more unconsciously during the day. Not the same as when you turn it on in yoga but not far off.

Recently hurt my arm and it was the only thing I could do in the cast so I did loads.

Still hate them though.

I don't believe in core muscles or activating muscles.
I hope OP finds a way forward that suits them.

What an odd thing to write. Do you also not believe in hands or using them to open doors?

😅 🤷🏻‍♀️