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Pilates 101: Finding Neutral Spine

FitSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:00:00 PST

The concept of neutral spine may sound simple, but this important Pilates concept can be elusive. To keep a neutral shade of spine, you maintain the natural curves of your back while doing an exercise, such as an upper abdominal curl (aka crunches). Keeping neutral means the muscles in your back are working in conjunction with your abs, and when you get your abs and back to fire together, you are working your core. Maintaining those natural curves keeps your ab work honest and makes it more difficult to cheat.

Although the concept of leaving things as they are sounds simple, when the majority of people lie on their backs, they automatically press their low spines into the floor. This, my friends, is not neutral.

To find your neutral spine:

Lie down on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, with your heels about a foot from your bum.
Rock your pelvis up and down so you can feel the top and bottom of your sacrum, the bony back of your pelvis.
Stop rocking and feel the entire sacrum on the ground, allowing the five vertebrae in your lumbar spine to make a gentle curve away from the floor. It will not be big curve!
Your bottom rib should also be making contact with the floor.
The curve of your neck should mirror the curve of your low spine, so it pulls away from the floor as well.

To learn how to find neutral spine from the front of your body, simply

You can also monitor your neutral spine from the front.

Your pubic bone and top of your pelvis (ASIS) should be on the same plane and parallel to the floor.
To get a sense if these bones are even, place the heels of your palm on the top of your pelvis and the middle fingers of both hands on your pubic bone. These bones should be on the same plane.
The apex of the curve in your lower (lumbar) spine should be even with your belly button. This is another way to feel that the curve is there but not huge!

When lying on your back with both feet off the ground, you should round your low back (super scoop) and not maintain neutral. In those positions (like the 100s in Pilates), rounding the spine protects your back!

Source

Back to Basics: Finding Neutral Spine

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:30:00 PDT

The concept of neutral spine sounds easy. You maintain the natural curves of your spine while doing an exercise – like an upper abdominal curl. Keeping neutral means the muscles in your back will be working along with your abs and when you get your abs and back to fire together you are working your core. Also, it is more difficult to recruit your leg muscles to help you cheat when you maintain neutral spine during ab work.

The concept sound simple, natural even, but when the majority of people lie down on their backs to exercise they automatically and immediately press their low spines into the floor. This, my friends, is not neutral.

So how to find neutral?

Lie down on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, with your heels about a foot from your bum.
Rock your pelvis up and down so you can feel the top and bottom of your sacrum - the back of your pelvis.
Stop rocking and feel the entire sacrum on the ground, allowing the 5 vertebrae in your lumbar spine to make a gentle curve away from the floor. It is not a big curve!
Your bottom rib should also be making contact with the floor.
The curve of your neck should mirror the curve of your low spine, so it pulls away from the floor as well.

To learn how to find neutral spine from the front just

You can also approach figuring neutral spine from the front.

Your pubic bone and top of your pelvis (ASIS) should be in the same plane and parallel to the floor.
To get a sense if these bones are even, place the heels of your palm on the top of your pelvis and the middle finger, of both hands on your pubic bone. These bones should be on the same plane.
The apex of the curve in your lower (lumbar) spine, should be even with your belly button. This is another way to feel that the curve is there, but not huge!

Fit's Tip: When lying on your back with both feet off the ground, you should round your low back (super scoop) and not maintain neutral. In those positions (like the 100's in Pilates), rounding the spine protects your back!

Source

5 Things: You'll Learn In Your First Pilates Session

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:15:00 PST

If you are curious about Pilates but want to know a little bit more about what to expect at your first class - here's a list of five concepts you will likely learn early on in your first session or group class.

Finding your deep abs, aka transverse abdominis. You work your deep abs in every Pilates exercise, so chances are you will start here. These deep muscles can be hard to isolate without squeezing your bum or tucking your pelvis.
Breathing. Every exhale is a chance to work your deep abs since they work when you force an exhale. Sounds simple but it takes a little practice. You will also learn how to inhale without tensing your shoulders.
Finding neutral spine is a key part of the Pilates repertoire. You will learn how to keep your spine in neutral alignment (keeping its natural curves) while you a) breathe and b) move.
Articulating your spine - this means moving one vertebra at a time. Basically this is the opposite of the "neutral position" and works the flexibility of your spine.
Learning the upper abdominal position - you want to be able to lift your head without straining your neck and to find the spot to optimize your upper ab work.

The Skinny On: Neutral Spine

FitSugar — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 04:00:00 PST

We all want to have some neutral shoes and neutral pants in our wardrobes. But what about a neutral spine? If you have heard an instructor use the term neutral spine in a fitness class, but didn't have a chance to clarify its meaning - I'm here to give you the skinny on it.

Neutral spine means maintaining the natural curves of your spine. If you are lying on your back, the lowest 5 vertebrae should NOT be smashed into the ground but making a slight curve away from the floor. Your rib cage does rest on the floor. The neck mirrors your lower back and pulls away from the floor, while your skull rests heavily on the ground.

When lying on your back, a simple way to check if you are indeed in neutral is to make sure your ASIS (that's what folks commonly call their "hip bone") is in the same line as your pubic bone. Place the bottom of your palms on the ASIS and your middle fingers on your pubic bone. They should make a plane parallel to the floor. To see a spine way past neutral

This spine is way past neutral - the ribs are away from the ground and more than the 5 lower back vertebrae are off the floor.

Why we like it: Working in neutral spine is the best way to work your core since the back muscles are working in tandem with your abs.

Get Lifted: How to Do an Overhead Press Correctly

Leta Shy — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:46:11 PDT

Yes, it's almost tank top and bikini season, which means that bare arms will be the norm for the months ahead. If you want to sculpt shapely shoulders and toned arms, learn how to incorporate the overhead press into your workout routine.

Proper form: You can do an overhead press using dumbbells, barbells, or resistance bands. The following are tips on how to do a standing overhead press using dumbbells; for more advanced tips on how to do an overhead press using a barbell, check out the American Council on Exercise's recommendations on how to do a standing barbell press.

Keep reading to find out how to do a standing overhead press.

5 Exercises to Ditch Arm Flab Forever

Shape — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:07:15 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to celebrity trainer Jay Cardiello for some help!

Ah, that infamous area along the back of your arms, the nemesis of so many women. How do you tackle the jiggle? First, I want to tell you what not to do, as people are often tempted to take the wrong course of action. And that is the concept of spot reducing, or lowering fat stores in one specific area of the body. It is essentially impossible to accomplish and should not be a part of your fitness regimen. Fighting arm flab requires more than just spot treatment!

In order to tone the backs of your arms, which is where your tricep muscles are, you have to remember this: specific exercises to increase your lean muscle mass will get you results, but you must also decrease your fat intake without risking too much muscle loss. (Sound familiar? Have you managed to lose fat, but still carry some extra bulk around the tricep?) So, to lose the wiggle and jiggle, be sure to eat a healthy balanced diet with proper nutrients; get at least six to eight hours of sleep so that your body can repair, recover, and build muscle; and consistently maintain your exercise program. And be sure to incorporate these five flab-fighting exercises into your workout routine.

The Ultimate Abs and Arms Workout

See Jay's arm workout after the break!

Healthy Computing: How to Create an Ergonomic Desk

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:39:47 PDT

You might not be able to swing a professional ergonomic evaluation, but you can make simple changes to your desk environment to sit up a little bit straighter and avoid neck, wrist, and back strains. While ergonomics is about proper seating position, it also includes common habits you might be unaware of, like your line of sight toward a computer screen and how you type. Try out these adjustments to your work space and your moving habits, and tell us if you notice the difference.

To sit ergonomically, your knees and ankles and shoulders to wrists should be positioned in 90-degree angles to your keyboard. If you are on the shorter side, keep a footrest underneath your desk, so your feet aren't dangling. Your back should remain neutral, with something supporting your lumbar spine. Here's a helpful diagram of correct sitting and typing ergonomics.
Keep your keyboard, mouse, and phone within your forearm's length. When you are typing or clicking on your mouse, your wrists should be in a neutral position (not angled up or down) and up in the air rather than rested on the table or on a squishy "wrist support." Resting your wrists actually places greater strain on the sensitive tendons. Also, your elbows should remain close to your body throughout the day.

Find out more tips by clicking here.

Why You Should Love Deadlifts (and How to Do Them Correctly)

Leta Shy — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:05:18 PST

If the deadlift isn't part of your regular routine, it should be. While the move's name may conjure images of meaty bodybuilders, the exercise is an amazingly effective move for your lower body, especially your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Not only that, it's great for your core muscles, too. "The act of keeping the core tight while the load is trying to pull you forward is extremely beneficial," says Tim Rich, a personal training manager at Crunch. Basically, the deadlift is a great exercise to get ready for bikini season.

Another reason to love deadlifts? It's the ultimate functional fitness move. "The deadlift is a must-have skill to keep your independence," Tim says. "Proper loading of the spinal column will keep you active and mobile in the later years. You will always have to pick things up for the rest of your life." Regularly doing deadlifts also does wonders for your posture, so if you spend a lot of time at a desk, you should be doing this move.

Ready to add deadlifts to your workout circuit? Read on for tips on how to do a deadlift correctly.

Tighten Up! Engage Your Core to Alleviate a Nagging Back Injury

Anna Monette Roberts — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:58:08 PST

One moment of overextending yourself can lead to years of physical therapy and doctors visits to help keep your sports-related back pain at bay. Trainers and physical therapists constantly remind us to keep the abs engaged when completing any exercise, but to really strengthen your entire trunk, you must work it beyond the gym.

Since most of us sit at a desk most hours of our waking day, our abs have become very lazy. We evolved to be on the move with an engaged core supporting every step. Keeping your abdominals pulled in and up makes a kind of natural corset instantly lifting you up, creating traction (or space) between the vertebrae of the low spine. By consciously pulling your muscles toward your spine, your trunk has the mobility, strength, and support needed to safely and (hopefully) painlessly accomplish any physical task, whether it's lifting a leg, reaching for the floor, or rising from a chair. Many people think engaging your abs means clamping down tight in the torso, but that might aggravate the pain more. Click here to learn how to safely engage all deep ab muscles.

How to Get Rihanna's Rock-Hard Abs

Shape — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:32:58 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Rihanna is one hot singing sensation. Having recently been named the best-selling digital artist of all time - thanks to a whopping 47.5 million downloads of her hits - the sexy songstress is also a top contender for album of the year at this year’s Grammy Awards.

But not only does the Barbadian beauty know how to rock a stage, she also rocks a bikini, too! No stranger to showin’ off some skin, getting that taut and tight tummy definitely takes work.

The Top 10 Best-Dressed Stars at the Golden Globes

That’s where inspirational fitness expert extraordinaire Ary Nuñez comes in; she’s been training the artist hard for almost four years. “We focus on the core muscles and we do a ton of repetitions,” Nuñez says.

See Rihanna's ab workout after the break.