How To Engage Your CORE | Feel Your Abs, Not Your Back! 

I still cannot engage my core it is frustrating

No one talking about this but it is really common mistakes especially when you are beginner.. thank you for highlighting very important point .

As a Personal Trainer...this is THE BEST core engagement tutorial ever!!! Thank thank thank you!!!!!

i genuinely can't tell if I'm feeling this in my abs or my back anymore. even just holding my legs up feels like my back hurts

I've been going to HIIT style classes for months and always having trouble with engaging my core and no matter how many times I've asked no one has been able to really explain how exactly I do that. This is an amazing example and very clear, simple instruction. I look forward to trying it and finally feeling like I'm getting somewhere. Thank you very much!

Learnt the necessity of proper core engagement the hard way over the years. The constant hip flexor, lower back, lower leg injuries(shins splints et al)... It's called CORE for a REASON. coz it's literally the core. This is perhaps the most important/fundamental concept you can learn early. Wonderful illustration.

I've struggled with back pain while working out at home for years. This is life-changing. Thank you!

I’ve been running for years and never understood why my core was not strengthening with exercises. Thank you so much!

SUCH A GREAT VIDEO !! This was extremely helpful for me, I always thought I was doing ab workouts wrong and this video made me more confident about just starting to exercising.

Most helpful video I've seen on this subject! thank you so much!❤️

Thank you so much, I've been having so much trouble with understanding how to engage my core and you've explained it perfectly ❤️

I have always struggled with lower core exercises. This has been so clearly explained - for the first time! Thank you so much!

Thank you so much for this! I’ve been trying to work out at home and been having trouble engaging my core. This is the simplest explanation on how to do it properly!!

This was really good. I like how you started from the super basic to more advanced and showed how to tell if you should move forward or not

She is very helpful and informative. I love how she helps you through the process, and focuses on how to do it right and what you may be doing wrong. Thank you so much! Well taught!

Best video on core engagement. Thank you so much

Appreciate for clarifying to keep the lower back flat while doing dead bug exercise, and I like it. A Canadian expert advises to keep spine in neutral position while doing dead bug or wall angel exercise and insists to keep neutral spine. He even goes further that keeping lower back flat while performing dead bug exercise will cause damage to spine.Please advise.

You are a angel. This has been the best explanation of why and how to fix the pain in the lower back. THANK YOU!

This was sooo helpful!! Thank you so much! I never understood how to engage my core properly!

Excellent example of how to do it the right way, thanks a lot 🙏

This video benefited me so much thank you ❤ I was struggling to understand how to engage my core and this video helped me.

What a great video! Thx!

This was super helpful. Thank you so much

Best explaination ever! I'm one of those people that has been doing these wrong - for years! Thank you for this video. 😊

So simple! Thank you for explaining something I couldn't figure out what I did wrong!

Perfect explanation thank you so much! Been trying to fix the lower back pain/ arching on the dead bug

Absolutely, beautifully detailed, thank you! 🎉❤

Great video! Very informational. Gonna give this a go in 30 mins at the gym

Very good explanation. Most of the trainers just post videos of abs workout, but don't focus on this important fact. These mistakes are exactly what beginners like me do. I just started abs workout and my lower back started painting. Thia video is extremely helpful. Thanks for explaining in detail. ❤❤

This video is amazing, concise and down to the point!! I've had so many problems with engaging my core and this video explains it so well. I now I know I've been wasting these years engaging it wrong, when I've been constantly complaining about having a weak core. Hopefully with time I can get strong abdominals!

Brilliant and really easy to understand thank you!!

Thank you so much! This vid Helped to fix my form

Super helpful! The stages you explained and cues about when to proceed or stop. Thanks a ton❤ could you show the breathing too?

Thank you thank you thank you thank you endlessly Its so much better and comfortable and i dont feel any stress during the workout its like magic

Great explanation!!!. Thanks.

thank you so much for this.

Thank you for this💜

Thank you ...u explained it very well🙂

Excellent tutorial.Thank you.

This was a great explanation. Thank you so much. Could you do one on engaging core for standing ab workouts.

Fantastic! Keeping my back flat over the years would have saved a whole lot of muscle tension. Thank you lovely

Thank u, this is very helpful, I'll try it the next time I do my workout ❤

Thank you!! I'm always trying to get stronger abs. Your video is great!!

thank you soo much. i learnt alot from this video

Thank doll Finally, a person on RU-vid, who explains a video the right way ❤

Honestly this was perfect. You deserve a like

This was really helpful thanks.

Thank you!! This helped me so much

I finally understand, thank you so much!!

Very detailed explanation 👍and very beautiful doctor ☺️ thank you it was very helpful 🌹❤️

The best video I have ever seen. Such a good explanation and the levels.. keep up the good work.

AWESOME VIDEO, THANK YOU SOO MUCH

Missed your uploads. Thanks for education

Thank youuu !!

Thank you so much 💕

I’ve had lower back pain for WEEKS bc I tried it do ab workouts I’d find on TikTok but none of the gym girlies talked about having the right form so I assumed it wasn’t that hard. Needless to say I’ll be using this video to work on my form before doing more complex workouts !! This video literally saved my life

Excellent video 🙏🙏

Great explanation!

Very helpful, thank you

Very nice , explained very well thumbs up

Thank you, thank you!!! Finally someone who tells me NOT to move on until I can KEEP it flat. I cannot even get my back to flatten out right now, so I have much to work on.

Wow thank u, u've just changed my life

Amazing,thanks!

Very well explained! 😁

Great explanation

Amazing video, my abs really worked without moving my back at all

Thank you. With your video I was able to understand the positioning of the lower back on the floor.

omg thank you so much, this video was so so helpful i now know what I'm doing haha

Thank you!!!

honestly thank you so much. i’ve been trying to work out but i CANNOT do workouts like dead bugs or butterfly kicks, they hurt my back so much. all the advice just told me to keep my back on the ground but i literally cannot. as soon as i pick up both legs my back arches as i have no idea how to stop it. it feels like to get my back flat on the ground i need to put weight on the heels of my feet

Very helpful thank u for sharing

Thank you!

Great explanations, thank you! Instead of having back problems during extensions I’m having hip flexor strain and I feel like my hip flexors are doing the primary movement and my abs are simply stabilizing, do you have any suggestions for that?

Great video❤❤

Amazing!

Nice video thanks good idea

Thank you

Thank you great video, I could properly engage my core , I have my adductors pulling on my lower abs , would I benefit from training the adductor aswell or focus on the core ? And is it possible to do this every day? Thank you

very well explained.

You're a life saver

Great video

So what should I do if I’m in the pelvic tilting phase? Practice doing the pelvic tilt in reps? Hold it as long as possible?

Can you please post the best exercises for strengthening the core? I can tighten my core, but the hard bit is holding it. Thank you

What if you have anterior pelvic tilt and cervical scoliosis.

Great explanation, thank you! However when I tried it I got back pain 😕 Is it normal? Or did I overdo it?

Can you please tell me that my legs pain when I do this what's the reason ?? Also I am not able to completely straighten my legs

Very nice

Hello, I know it's already to late to comment about this video since it's 2 years old (Today). But I feel I have to comment it. First of all, I'm not an expert, neither I have the strongest Abs, but I know when I feel the abs and when not, also how they properly work. So let's go. I'm going to start by refering to the ""Core"" as the actual muscles that are involved, which are the abdominal muscles. Such as the Tranversus/Obliques/Rectus, all of them are Torso's Flexors (Basically they turn forward the torso), they are complete opposites of the Lumbars, which are Torso's extensors (Basically they make you stand in two feet and straight up). The main point of the video (Touching your back with the floor at all times) is not great, but a good thing to do if you actually want to work on the abs in a strict way. But we have 2 main problems: 1) The head: You don't have to check how just by turning your head forward you're almost making a torso's flexion (What the abs work), but it's actually making the abs to get thighter. If you're comfortable and you don't have any neck issues please lift your head, or at least put something below like a small pillow. 2) 3:38 and forward (Exercises). All of them makes you move your extremities, which is not only unnecesary for the workout you're talking about, but actually useless. If you look up into any picture of the abs muscles, you may find out that the fibers are located at the bottom of the chest straight down to the pubes. In any, and I repeat, Any moment the abs can't work on your arms because they are not connected, neither your legs because the abs are not leg extensors. They can only hold your legs in a isometric way, but that's like saying holding the shop's bag it's useful for your biceps because they are in tension. Yeah, they are but you're not going to stimulate the muscle if you don't follow their pattern. In this case the pattern is to flex your torso (Christian words, to curve your body forward). You can make it in 3 basic ways: Moving only your chest and head forward / Moving your whole legs and hips to your face / Both. Remember, moving your legs, neither arms stimulate your abs, so you better let them alone and not moving while you're working on your abs. Thank you for reading all of this. If you have any question or suggestion about my comment, please comment below and I'll try to respond everything.

What if you don't have the core control to do a pelvic tilt? I have diastases and have lost functionality in my core

I tried out the single leg movement earlier this weak with my back pressed against the floor, got more ab activation out of it than other core movements. I think I’ll stick with that and build myself up to the more advanced core exercises. As far as progressing goes, how many sets/reps should I be able to do before trying to hold a dead bug hold?

Very clear; thank you, but when you raise your legs, do you have to tense your muscles?

I appreciate the explanation. The core isn't just the abs, though, so what about engaging the rest of the core?

Thanks for the explanation now I know how not to hurt my back anymore

So is flattening back on the floor is same as pulling stomach muscles in ?? Are these both the same things i mean when it comes to core engagement???

Nice

So I'm a newbie weightlifter, and I'm trying to get serious lower body gains. I know the key to good explosive glute sets especially is keeping the core engaged and the spine from doing any actual work. My problem is I have a hard time keeping my core engaged without 1. Holding my breath. 2. closing off my chest/hiking my shoulders up a bunch. Any pointers in these areas?

Thanks Alina I'm 78 core works now go Aussie

why does my back not feel curved in neutral and most core stretching males my bum ache

how to disable hip flexors ?

Question can I use a weight on my stomach to help with me keeping my back on the floor like a 10 kettle ball