Mastering the Most Important Core Exercise: Learn the Drawing-In Maneuver

Forget about crunches, sit ups, or leg raises. The drawing-in maneuver to engage the transversus abdominus is the most important core exercise to master if you want to develop core stability.

If you’ve never heard of the transversus abdominus I wouldn’t be surprised. It the deepest of the abdominal muscles and so you can’t see it. As its name implies, it runs across the abdomen. It is often referred to as your natural girdle because it’s only job is to brace your lower back and pull in your belly button, like a girdle.

Why is targeting the Transverse Abdominus so important?

A group of physiotherapists in Australia studied back pain by looking at muscle coordination patterns. They wanted to see if there were difference between people with no lower back pain and those with chronic lower back pain. What they found is that when healthy people with no lower back pain move their arms or legs the transverse abdominus is the first muscle to fire.

That’s right… If you move your arm, this core muscle contracts before your arm contracts. Your body is naturally wired to be stable around the center first before you can move.

In contrast, people with chronic lower back pain displayed an inability to contract the core muscles before the arm muscles. When you start to move before your spine is stable, more pressure is placed on the joints of the lower back.

This is one reason core training has become so popular. Core training can help to stabilize the pelvis and lower back while taking pressure off the spine.

The drawing-in maneuver is very easy to do. Simply pull in your belly button so that it moves towards your back. Hold for 10 seconds, relax and repeat 5-10 times.

This simple core exercise can help to improve your core stability and it’s the most important core exercise to master!