Written by: Bronwyn Vaughan

For many years, Pilates instructors and physiotherapists have taught people to “activate their core” during exercise. In particular, when working with people with chronic low back pain, the thinking was often that if we couldn’t feel our deep abdominal muscles working, we weren’t strengthening them properly. But do we actually need to consciously activate our core?

A new study challenges this idea

A recently published study investigated whether deliberately activating the “core” during Pilates actually makes a difference for people with chronic low back pain.

Two groups completed two Pilates sessions per week for 12 weeks. The difference was in the instructions they received.

• One group was taught to consciously activate their “core” — including the abdominals, pelvic floor, diaphragm and deep spinal muscles.
• The other group was simply encouraged to perform the exercises smoothly and in a relaxed way, without being told to activate or brace their core.

So, what happened?

After 12 weeks, there were no significant differences in pain, function or exercise effort between the two groups. Interestingly, the group encouraged to move in a more relaxed way showed a small improvement in disability scores. Essentially, consciously focusing on “activating your core” did not appear to provide additional benefits.

But doesn’t my core still need to work?

Absolutely!

This doesn’t mean your abdominal or spinal muscles aren’t working during Pilates. They are. The important distinction is between your muscles naturally working during movement and you consciously trying to activate them.

Our bodies are remarkably good at coordinating movement without us having to consciously control every muscle. And this is something physiotherapists have increasingly recognised when working with people with persistent low back pain.

We often see people working incredibly hard to “brace” or “activate” their core, yet they continue to experience pain. Sometimes, focusing too much on whether you’re doing it correctly can actually make exercise feel more complicated and stressful.

What does this mean for your Pilates?

You don’t need to worry if you can’t feel a deep abdominal “burn”. You don’t need to hold your stomach in throughout every exercise. And you haven’t failed at Pilates if you’re not consciously thinking about your core!

Good technique, appropriate exercises and progressive loading are still important. But perhaps we don’t need to micromanage every muscle while we’re moving. Sometimes, less thinking can mean more movement.

So next time you’re in Pilates, focus on breathing, moving smoothly and enjoying the exercise. Trust the process.