The Best Core Exercise For Women Most Woman Are Probably Not Doing
Dec 01, 2019By Kim Vopni, The Vagina Coach — Certified Pelvic Floor Fitness Specialist · Published November 30, 2019
Direct Answer: The best core exercise most women aren’t doing is the Core Breath — a slow, coordinated breathing pattern that engages the diaphragm, deep core, and pelvic floor together. Unlike crunches or planks, it builds true core tension and function from the inside out, making it a foundational move for pelvic floor health, diastasis recti recovery, and everyday strength.
Key Takeaways:
- The Core Breath, not crunches or planks, is the foundational exercise for building real core strength and function.
- This breathing pattern coordinates the diaphragm, deep abdominal muscles, and pelvic floor to work together as a team.
- It looks simple but is often challenging to master, since most of us have learned to breathe and brace in ways that work against the core.
- The Core Breath is especially valuable for women recovering from pregnancy, birth, or diastasis recti.
- A quick self-assessment (or quiz) can help you get clarity on which core and pelvic floor strategies are right for you.
The best core exercise you’ve never heard of is The Core Breath. The inner core, what I like to call The Core 4, is made up of the pelvic floor, the breathing diaphragm, the transversus abdominis, as well the little muscles along our spine called the multifidus. These 4 partners work in synergy all day long and play a role in a lot of functions we take for granted. Things like our continence, our pelvic and spinal stability, our organ support and even our sexual response.
When people think of core training they often think of planks, crunches, leg raises and maybe bird dogs…and it's true…much of your core is involved in these activities. What is often overlooked or not considered is the role of the pelvic floor in core training and how crucial it is to our long-term core function.
The pelvic floor is the base or foundation of the core and when functioning optimally, it is involved in a constant dance with the diaphragm with each breath. Training the inner core unit harnesses the relationship between the pelvic floor and diaphragm and improves overall core function. The Core Breath looks simple but it is often very challenging for people because it involves coordination and activating a part of the body that most have never even thought about.
This is the first exercise I give to all of my clients regardless of their life stage as it sets the foundation upon which they build and layer on progressively harder exercises. It is common for people to choose the hardest exercise they can do because they think it will make them stronger faster but here’s the thing…If the inner unit is not working in a coordinated fashion, the harder exercises may not be as effective because the foundation, the pelvic floor, is not optimized to manage the load.
In pregnancy, it is important to train the pelvic floor functionally to help it manage the ever- increasing load of the growing baby and uterus. There is a small modification to the core breath that I add at around 35 weeks to help prepare the pregnant mama for birth and pushing her baby out into the world. As you saw in the video, the core breath involves expansion on the inhale – ribs, belly and perineum – followed by a voluntary pelvic floor contraction on the exhale. I train my pregnant clients this way until about week 35 and then I have the practice inhaling to expand then exhaling while keeping that expansion. During the second stage, the push phase, of labour, it is ideal to exhale during the push. In the regular core breath, that is usually when we voluntarily contract but during birth you don’t want to actively contract your pelvic floor while you are pushing as that would hinder the movement of the baby into and out of the pelvis. By practicing exhaling while keeping an expansion it helps reduce tension and increase the pelvic outlet. A visualization of blossoming the vulva is very helpful during practice and the big day!
Once the baby is born, the core breath returns to the usual inhale to expand, exhale to engage. It may feel a bit tender to actively engage the pelvic floor right away but visualizing the pelvic floor engaging and lifting is helpful and as soon as you can, add in the voluntary contraction. This helps increase blood flow, improves circulation, stimulates nerve growth factor and encourages the abdominal muscles to realign (diastasis recti). The core breath is the very first recovery exercise and should be started as soon as possible to start the core retraining process.
You don’t need to have had a baby or ever been pregnant to find benefit in the core breath. Many other things can interfere with core function so no matter who I am working with, I always start them with the core breath to set the foundation, retrain the core 4 synergy and then build upon that foundation.
The Core Breath is really a more functional approach to a kegel. Kegels are a voluntary activation and relation of the pelvic floor muscles. When the breath is added to the kegel it becomes an incredibly powerful core exercise. Some benefit with more attention paid to the contract and lift portion of the breath while others benefit from spending more time focusing on the expansion, the blossoming and the letting go. Here is an assessment to get clarity on what might be best for you.
The Buff Muff App will help you finally get clarity on the elusive kegel and teach you how to activate your pelvic floor appropriately and then add it to movement. There is a ton of free content available to anyone who downloads the app including a 7-day pelvic floor fitness challenge to introduce you to the concept of a whole-body fitness approach to pelvic health. Once the free challenge ends you have the option to join the membership for ongoing support from me, your very own vagina coach.
You deserve body confidence and it all starts with the pelvic floor!
Related Reading:
- What is “THE CORE”???
- Kegel Your Way to a Stronger Core
- Your Core and Pelvic Floor
- What’s the Deal with Diastasis Recti? – Part 2
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Core Breath?
The Core Breath is a coordinated breathing exercise that engages the diaphragm, deep core muscles, and pelvic floor together, forming the foundation of true core strength.
Why is the Core Breath better than crunches for core strength?
Crunches build surface tension in the abdominals but can increase pressure on the pelvic floor and linea alba; the Core Breath builds function and coordination from the inside out instead.
Is the Core Breath hard to learn?
It can be more challenging than it looks, since it requires unlearning habitual breath-holding or bracing patterns most people develop over time.
Who benefits most from practicing the Core Breath?
Women recovering postpartum, dealing with diastasis recti, or experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction often benefit most, though it’s a valuable exercise for anyone.
How does the pelvic floor relate to core strength?
The pelvic floor is part of the deep core system, working together with the diaphragm and abdominal muscles to manage pressure and provide stability.
How can I find out which core exercises are right for me?
Taking a quick assessment or quiz can help identify your specific needs before starting a targeted core and pelvic floor program.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like our episode:
Holistic Pelvic Health with Dr. Bri Grogan
Listen to the episode
