HSOS #48: Your Core Isn't What You Think It Is

Let's settle this once and for all, your core is not just a six pack hiding under stubborn belly fat. It's basically Grand Central Station for everything you do, from picking up your grandkid to surviving an overly aggressive sneeze. In this episode, I introduce you to the real MVPs of your midsection, including a deep stabilizing muscle that works like a built in corset and one very famous floor you've probably been hearing a lot about lately. I explain why your back tweaks when you reach for something on the floor, busts the sucking in and belly button to spine myth wide open, and walks you step by step through a breath based bracing technique you can do anywhere, no holding your stomach in required. Stick around to the end, because I’ve got a free five move guide waiting for you called Core Confidence, basically a cheat code for a stronger, steadier midsection.

Let's talk. 

Welcome to Her Season of Strength, where women over 40 reclaim their bodies, their energy, and their voices, without apologies. I'm Kim Duffy, registered dietitian, personal trainer, mom, and your biggest hype woman when it comes to aging like you mean it. This show isn't about chasing skinny or counting wrinkles. It's about building real strength: physical, emotional, and hormonal. Each week, I'll share straight-talking nutrition tips, sustainable fitness strategies, and conversations that help you feel powerful in your skin once again. Menopause is not an ending, it is only the beginning. This is your season of strength.

What I Cover in This Episode:

• Why your core has almost nothing to do with how your stomach actually looks
• The six body parts that make up your real "core system" (one of them might surprise you)
• The hidden corset muscle you've probably never heard of, and why it matters more than your six pack
• Why your spine should never be the star of the show during a workout
• The real reason you "threw your back out" doing something totally ordinary
• Why crunches and sit ups are not the core fix you've been promised
• What your core is actually designed to do (hint: it's not to move)
• The everyday exercises quietly training your core better than a thousand crunches ever could
• A simple breathing trick to brace your core for real, no sucking in or belly button to spine required
• Click here for the free "Core Confidence" guide to take this even further

Links & resources for this episode:

Fit After 50+ Program: 8-Week Nutrition Coaching & Strength Program for menopausal women.  Join the interest list today for the best discounts, bonuses and updates about the next program coming Fall of 2026!

Free cheat sheet: "20 Tips to Crushing Menopause"

Join my free weekly newsletter list and get a new high protein recipe sent to your inbox every Thursday. 

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Hi there, and welcome to Her Season of Strength, where women over 40 reclaim their bodies, their energy, and their voices without apologies. I'm Kim Duffy, registered dietitian, personal trainer, mom, and your biggest hype woman when it comes to aging like you mean it. This show isn't about chasing skinny or counting wrinkles.

[00:00:20] It's about building real strength, physical, emotional, and hormonal. Each week, I'll share straight-talking nutrition tips, sustainable fitness strategies, and conversations that help you feel powerful in your skin once again. Menopause isn't an ending. It's only the beginning. This is your season of strength hello, and welcome back to Her Season of Strength.

[00:00:42] I'm so happy you're here with me today. I'm Kim, your dietician, your trainer, your hype woman, and today I want to talk about a part of your body that I think almost every woman over 40 has a complicated relationship with, and that is your core. So if I asked you right [00:01:00] now what your core is, I bet most of you would picture a six-pack, or you'd think about the hundred crunches you used to do back in the day when you were in your 20s or teens, or maybe that ab roller that's collecting dust in your closet.

[00:01:14] But here's the truth I want you to actually sit with for just a few minutes, and your core has almost nothing to do with how your stomach looks, and everything to do with how your body functions, and how it protects your spine, and how strong and stable you feel in everyday life. So today, I wanna break down a few things, and one of them is what your core actually is, why it matters so much more than what you've been told, why crunches and sit-ups are not the magic answer you've been sold, and what to do instead.

[00:01:49] And I'm gonna walk you through just a simple way to find and engage your core that has nothing to do with sucking in your stomach or pulling your belly button to your spine. And [00:02:00] I hope by the end of this episode, you're gonna hear your body completely differently. So let's dive in. So the core is not a muscle.

[00:02:09] It's actually a system. Most women thinks that, the core means abs, or specifically the rectus abdominis, some big words today, which is a muscle that gives you that six-pack look. But that's only one piece. W- let's walk through the full core system in, in really plain language. So the rectus abdominis is the six-pack muscle, the front of the stomach.

[00:02:36] The obliques are those muscles on the sides of your body, and those are used for rotation and bending. The transverse abdominis, and that is that deep internal muscle that wraps around your torso, like a corset, and this is the real stabilizer The next one is the [00:03:00] multifidus and that, and low back muscles, and those support the spine from behind.

[00:03:07] Next is the diaphragm. I promise I'm almost done. The diaphragm, and that's the top of the canister. That's your main breathing muscle, right? And lastly is your pelvic floor, and that is the hot word that so many, especially menopausal women, are hearing about because there's all these, pelvic floor therapists and stuff, and we're determining how important the strength of this pelvic floor is to help us with things like urinary leakage and just, not peeing your pants when you're, jumping up and down or when you take off at a run for no reason.

[00:03:42] Which is embarrassing. But the pelvic floor is the bottom of that canister, which is especially relevant for women our age. So think of it like a soda can or a canister. The top is a diaphragm, the bottom is the pelvic floor, the walls are those [00:04:00] abdominals and low back, and when all of those work together, you have pressure and stability.

[00:04:07] So when one part is weakened or disconnected, the whole system can suffer. So this is why core work is not just an aesthetic thing. It's not just how your gut look. It's just... it's a functional whole body thing, and everything is tied back to it so stability, first of all. Your core is what keeps your spine and your pelvis stable when you move.

[00:04:32] So every time, you're bending down, you're twisting, you're lifting your grandchild, you're pulling weeds, you're carrying groceries, or you're getting up and out of a chair, your core is that thing that decides whether that movement is safe or whether it puts a strain on your back Secondly, mobility.

[00:04:51] A strong and well-functioning core actually allows for more mobility, not less. So when our trunk is stable, [00:05:00] our hips and shoulders are free to move through their full range without our body compensating somewhere else, which our body likes to do that, right? We have a pain on one side, so we start limping, and our body compensates, and then we get a strong muscle here and a weak muscle here, and then we're wondering why our neck on the opposite side hurts when it was our hip on our left side.

[00:05:22] It's just, it's crazy. We're- it's all connected. So next is spine protection, and this is huge. Your spine was not designed to be the primary mover in exercises. It was designed to be protected and supported while your hips and shoulders and your core do the work. So when we have a weak or improperly engaged core, it means that our spine is taking on load that it was never meant to handle, and that's where a lot of back pain comes from.

[00:05:55] And we know right away when we do it, right? You turn really quickly to grab something that's falling, [00:06:00] and you tweak your back. You're like, "Oh, shoot. You know what? I wasn't even thinking. I didn't have a chance to brace my core." So if you've ever, thrown your back out for just playing with the grandkids or reaching with some- for something simple...

[00:06:13] I always find it funny because somebody's "Oh, yeah, I threw my back out this past week." And be like, "Oh, what were you doing?" And they're almost embarrassed to tell you, 'cause it's usually something really like, "Oh, I sneezed really hard," or, "I was playing, soccer with my grandchild, and I did a little too much or whatever," and twisted funny.

[00:06:32] But a lot of times when we're dealing with that nagging low back tightness, it's often a core engagement issue, not just a back issue. If it's not about how the stomach looks, it's actually about protecting our spine and supporting how we move through life. So why, I don't understand why so many of us still think that doing a million crunches is the answer.

[00:06:57] Because, crunches and sit-ups, they're not [00:07:00] bad, but many people are doing them incorrectly, and they are not the foundation of a strong, functional core. And so for many women, they aren't even the safest place to start. For so many years, women have been told then f- that, flat abs and a strong core come from endless crunches and sit-ups, and that's where most of us learn kinda that term ab work.

[00:07:26] But the problem is that crunches, they're only training one small piece of the system, that rectus abdominis. And it's through spinal flexion, which means that we're rounding that spine forward repeatedly. And it doesn't train the core to, to do its actual job, which is to resist movement and stabilize that spine while the rest of the body moves.

[00:07:52] So for women who are, me- menopausal especially, repeated spinal flexion can be more aggressive on the spine and our [00:08:00] disc health than it's worth, especially if bone density is already an issue. Think about real life. We don't move through our day curling our spine forward over and over.

[00:08:11] We twist, we reach, we carry things on one side, we bend over, we stand back up. So our core training should reflect that Your crunches, train your core to move, but what your core is actually designed to do is resist that unwanted movement and keep your spine stable while everything else moves around it So the biggest shift I want y'all to make is to stop thinking of core work just as a separate category of exercise, and start thinking of core engagement as something that should be present in everything we do, whether that's a squat or a row or a walk with a weighted vest or simply standing up from a chair [00:09:00] I'm constantly my clients can tell you that I'm constantly like, engage your core."

[00:09:06] So think about it like here's a couple examples. When you're doing a squat, your core is what's keeping your spine tall and stable instead of collapsing forward. So I don't know, if you do squats, and one of the first things we'd look for as trainers is it's- there's a certain amount of functional range that we should be, our back should be hinging forward to a certain degree.

[00:09:28] But if someone is unable to go down without their back, totally caving over, that some- sometimes that can be related to a weak core. When we're doing a row, which would be a back exercise where we're pulling, or really any pulling exercise, our core is what prevents our low back from arching and taking on that load.

[00:09:53] It's what, it what, it's what helps us to make that weight... Or sorry, your lats [00:10:00] or your back being the primary mover of that weight as compared to feeling it in your back. Even something as simple as carrying a heavy bag of groceries on one side, it's a core exercise because your core has to resist tipping to that side.

[00:10:16] And this is why some of the best core exercises don't look like core exercises at all. Planks, dead bugs, carries, anti-rotation work. Train the core the way it's actually meant to function, by resisting movement rather than creating it. So if core engagement should be happening in everything, the real question becomes how do you actually find that engagement?

[00:10:38] So let's practice it together right now. So I want you to actually do this with me. Okay? So you can be sitting, standing, or even lying down for this one. So if you're going if you're going for a walk or something, maybe just stop for just a quick second. So I want you to get comfortable into nice tall [00:11:00] position.

[00:11:00] If you're sitting, put both of your feet on the floor, flat on the floor, and sit up out of your hips like there's a string that's pulling from the top of your head toward the ceiling. If you're standing, feel your weight evenly through both feet so you feel nice and stable, right? So here's where I want you to be able to, let go of everything you've been told about sucking your stomach in or pulling your belly button to your spine.

[00:11:23] Forget all that, right? We're doing this differently. So place both hands on your sides right around your ribs. Your fingers are wrapping toward your belly and your thumbs toward your back, kinda like you're holding your own waist. Now take a slow breath in through your nose. And as you do, I want you to feel your ribs expand, not just in the front, but out into your hands on the sides and even a little into your lower back.

[00:11:52] So picture, your torso, your trunk like a balloon. It's expanding in all directions, not just puffing out front. [00:12:00] Now here's the brace. As you exhale, instead of sucking everything in and collapsing, I want you to imagine you're gently pressing outward into your own hands, huh, all the way ar- around your waist, your front, your sides, and your back.

[00:12:18] Like you're, y- you're snug inside of a wide belt, and you're pressing even against that belt from the inside. So some coaches call this bracing, like you're about to take, somebody's gonna give you a little bit of a punch or a poke into the stomach, and you're tightening up your gut so that it's, so that you can brace for that.

[00:12:41] And it's not a hollowing or a sucking in. So try that again with me. Breathe in. Feel that expansion 360 degrees around your trunk. And then exhale and gently brace outward into your hands. Huh. All the way around. And that feeling, that even [00:13:00] all the way around tension, that's your true core brace.

[00:13:05] Okay? It's not your stomach pulling in and disappearing. It's your whole trunk that's becoming solid and supported, like a natural weightlifting belt that you carry with you ef- everywhere. So here's your homework. Next time you stand up from a chair, or you reach overhead, or you pick something up off the floor, I want you to take a nice breath, find that same gentle, even brace, and then move.

[00:13:30] That's it. That's core training happening in real life in real time. No, no crunches or sit-ups required So I wanna bring this all kind of together. So your core, it's not just your abs, right? It's a full system that includes your diaphragm, your obliques, your deep abdominals, your low back, and your pelvic floor.

[00:13:51] They're, they all work together to stabilize your spine and support how you move. A strong core isn't just about that six-pack or how your [00:14:00] stomach l- looks. It's about stability. It's about mobility. It's... And most important, it's about protecting our spine so that we can keep being active and doing all the things we love to do for a long time to come.

[00:14:14] Crunches are not evil, but they're not the foundation for a strong core. Real core strength, it's gonna come from learning to brace and stabilize through everything you do. Every movement, every exercise that you're doing, we need to be using that core. And then you'll be amazed at how it gets easier, how it's just...

[00:14:35] and not to mention just when it gets stronger, how you can really just lock it in. I always think of it as, you lock in your core, and it's putting this lovely little lock into your spine or in your back so that it's protecting it and keeping it from injury. And now that you have that tool, that breath, that even all the way around brace that we just practiced together, th- that's something you can use today, right [00:15:00] now, and, or else, in your very next movement.

[00:15:03] So if this episode lit something up for you and you wanna go even deeper on building kind of real functional core strength without a single crunch, I've put together a free guide for you. It's called Core Confidence, and it walks you through exactly five exercises. They're awesome core exercises that you can do that helps to strengthen that core.

[00:15:25] Even, even doing them a few times a week, going through 'em, will help you to ultimately build and strengthen that core. I will put the link for that in the show notes. If you wanted to grab it, just click it and it's yours. And if you found this episode helpful, I'd love for you to follow Her Season of Strength so you never miss an episode.

[00:15:45] And send me a little review if you liked it. I would really appreciate it. It just helps other women to find me as well. So remember, this is about progress over perfection, and we're in this for the long haul. This is your season of strength. Have an amazing [00:16:00] day.