When you hear the words “strengthen your core,” what comes to mind? Maybe planks, crunches, sit-ups, or trying to pull your belly button toward your spine.
But here’s something that often gets overlooked: your lower abdominal muscles play an important role in how your core functions, and that matters for your pelvic health, too.
Your core is more than just your six-pack muscles. It’s a group of muscles that work together to support your spine and pelvis, help you manage pressure inside your abdomen, and allow you to move through everyday activities. And yes, your pelvic floor is part of that team.
So let’s talk about what your lower abs actually do, why they’re important, and how to start strengthening them.
First, What Are Your Lower Abdominal Muscles?
Your abdominal muscles include several different muscle groups. These include the rectus abdominis (the muscles that run vertically along the front of your abdomen), the internal and external obliques (which help with rotation and side bending), and the transverse abdominis (the deepest layer of your abdominal muscles).
The transverse abdominis wraps around your abdomen like a natural corset. It helps provide support and contributes to managing pressure within your abdomen.
Although people often refer to the “lower abs” as one specific muscle group, there isn’t a separate lower abdominal muscle that can be completely isolated from the rest of your core. Instead, different portions of your abdominal muscles work together depending on the movement and the demands placed on your body.
And that’s important because we don’t just want your abs to contract. We want them to work effectively while you breathe, move, lift, and exercise.
Why Are Your Lower Abs Important for Pelvic Health?
Your abdominal muscles and pelvic floor muscles are closely connected in how they coordinate during movement and changes in pressure.
Think of your abdominal cavity as a space with the diaphragm at the top, your abdominal muscles surrounding it, and your pelvic floor at the bottom.
When you breathe, your diaphragm and pelvic floor naturally move in coordination with one another. Your abdominal muscles also help regulate pressure within this space, particularly when you’re doing something that requires more effort.
For example, think about picking up a heavy laundry basket, getting out of bed, lifting your child, or performing a squat at the gym. These activities require your abdominal muscles and pelvic floor to coordinate to manage the increased demands on your body.
If your core isn’t coordinating well, you may find yourself holding your breath, bearing down, or struggling to manage pressure during certain movements.
This doesn’t mean weak lower abs automatically cause pelvic floor dysfunction. Pelvic health is multifactorial, and strength is only one piece of the puzzle. But improving abdominal strength, coordination, and endurance can be an important part of supporting overall pelvic floor function.
So, How Do You Actually Strengthen Your Lower Abs?
Here’s where things get interesting. You don’t need to start with intense ab workouts or hundreds of crunches. In fact, some of the best ways to build abdominal strength involve learning how to maintain control of your trunk and pelvis while moving your arms and legs.
The goal is to challenge your abdominal muscles without holding your breath, excessively arching your back, or bearing down through your pelvic floor. There are certain exercises that can create a greater challenge for your lower abdominal muscles, placing more emphasis on controlling your pelvis and trunk as your legs move.
Here are a few exercises to get started:
1. Supine Marching
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Find a comfortable, neutral position for your pelvis.
Gently engage your abdominal muscles, then slowly lift one foot a few inches off the floor. Bring it back down and alternate sides.
What to focus on: Keep your pelvis relatively still as you lift each leg. Continue breathing rather than holding your breath or pushing your abdomen outward.
2. Heel Slides
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Gently engage your abdominal muscles and slowly slide one heel away from your body, straightening that leg as far as you can without losing control of your pelvis.
Slide your heel back toward your starting position and repeat on the other side.
What to focus on: Avoid allowing your lower back to excessively arch as your leg moves away. Keep breathing and maintain control throughout the movement.
3. Dead Bug Progression
Start lying on your back with your knees bent and feet lifted into a tabletop position, if comfortable.
Gently engage your abdominal muscles. Slowly lower one heel toward the floor and return to the starting position. Alternate sides.
As you get stronger, you can progress by reaching the opposite arm overhead or extending the opposite arm and leg together.
What to focus on: Only lower your limbs as far as you can maintain good control. If your back starts arching, your abdomen starts bulging, or you find yourself holding your breath, make the movement smaller.
4. Bird Dog
Start on your hands and knees with your hands underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips.
Gently engage your abdominal muscles. Slowly extend one leg behind you while reaching the opposite arm forward. Return to the starting position and switch sides.
What to focus on: Avoid rotating your pelvis or letting your lower back dip as your arm and leg move. Keep breathing and focus on maintaining a stable trunk.
You can start with just the leg movement if extending both your arm and leg feels too challenging.
A Few Things to Remember When Training Your Core
You don’t need to suck your stomach in the entire time. Your abdominal muscles need to work, but they also need to allow your abdomen and rib cage to move naturally as you breathe.
Don’t hold your breath. Your breathing and abdominal muscles should work together. Exhaling during the more challenging portion of an exercise can help you coordinate your effort, but you should still be able to breathe comfortably throughout the movement.
More tension doesn’t always mean better strength. You don’t need to brace as hard as possible for every exercise. Start with a gentle abdominal contraction and increase the effort as the movement requires.
Progress gradually. If you can perform an exercise with good control and comfortable breathing, you can gradually increase the range of motion, repetitions, or difficulty.
And remember, an exercise should not cause pelvic heaviness, pain, urinary leakage, or other pelvic floor symptoms. If it does, that may be a sign that the exercise needs to be modified or that your pelvic floor and core coordination should be assessed.
The Bottom Line
Your lower abdominal muscles do a lot more than help create a toned stomach. They contribute to core stability, pressure management, and coordination with your pelvic floor during everyday activities and exercise.
Building abdominal strength is important, but so is knowing how to use those muscles without holding your breath, bearing down, or creating unnecessary tension.
And if you’re struggling to strengthen your core, experiencing urinary leakage, pelvic pressure, or discomfort during exercise, pelvic floor physical therapy can help identify what’s going on and develop an exercise program that meets your needs.
Because a strong core isn’t just about how your stomach looks. It’s about how well your body works.
Looking to optimize your well being with pelvic floor physical therapy? Reach out to us at Pelvic Health Center in Madison, NJ to set up an evaluation and treatment! Feel free to call us at 908-443-9880 or email us at [email protected]. We are in-network with several insurance plans and can help you confirm your benefits before your evaluation.
