Powerhouse: Pilates for the abdomen

What is the Powerhouse or energy centre in Pilates?

Although the entire musculature of the body can be strengthened and stretched, Joseph Pilates felt that more emphasis should be placed on the core musculature of the body and devised his method, establishing the concept of the “Powerhouse” or “energy centre”, referring to the group of muscles that surrounds the centre of gravity of our body.

The Powerhouse stretches from the lower rib line to the lower hip line as an active girdle, as a three-dimensional area bounded by muscles that work in a coordinated way to stabilise the lumbar, abdominal and pelvic area.

Here we find muscles that envelop the entire abdominal region (diaphragm, transverse, internal and external oblique and rectus abdominis muscles) up to the lumbar vertebrae (deep lumbar musculature), including the musculature that encompasses the hips (gluteus, psoas, hip rotators) and the pelvis with the pelvic floor as a base.

It is the area responsible for maintaining balance and posture for any action and movement, together with the spine. The strength to move will come from this musculature, which is why it is a key component in achieving a strong and healthy body.

Function of the Powerhouse

A strong core provides a stable pelvis that will support a well-aligned spine. The lower part of the back will be more protected; abdominal and pelvic floor muscles will be more toned; and physical strength, balance and coordination will increase.

The musculature of the Powerhouse is also responsible for posture and for ensuring the stability of the spine and pelvis during its movements, for the generation and transfer of force and power from the most central part of the body (where its centre of gravity is located) to the rest of the peripheral muscle groups in more distant areas, the extremities, and these carry out their actions thanks to it.

This concept of «centring» is not only about creating a strong, but also a flexible powerhouse structure. With a strong and flexible Powerhouse the body's functioning is improved in all its integrity and the ability to move and function throughout all activities of daily life is optimised.

The importance of strengthening the abdomen with the Pilates Method

With the practice of Pilates method and Powerhouse training, we are helping our body to create a muscular balance that will provide joint stability and fluidity, safety and efficiency in its movement, and, among other things, specifically provokes:

1. Postural changes in the pelvis which, in turn and immediately, and since they are close, are also produced in the lumbar region, achieving greater lumbopelvic stability, thus improving the balance of forces and loads.
2. Specific work on the spine itself, both strengthening and stretching and lengthening.
3. A complete work on the structure and tone of the entire abdominal and pelvic cavity as a whole. With a strong and stable core, energy will be generated and distributed much more effectively.
4. A correct transfer and control of the forces and movement of our body towards more distant segments of our organism, improving their biomechanics and function.

How does it apply to everyday life?

By strengthening the core, we will gain stability, strength, balance, control and good alignment, which will favour better posture and absorb impacts or overloads more effectively, reducing their effects on bones and joints, in order to avoid injuries or pains as common as lumbago.

If you spend many hours a day sitting in front of a computer, or even standing, or with repetitive and asymmetrical gestures, muscular decompensations will appear that will generate discomfort and will end, in many cases, in injury, due to a lack of strength in these muscles.

With the Pilates method training, we obtain maximum control of our centre which, when worked with breathing and concentration, we achieve precision and greater fluidity of movement without the risk of injury.

Although we may not think that everyday movements are related to this area, we must get into the habit of keeping this area strong and resilient. At first it will be difficult to always think about it, but with practice and regular exercise, it will become natural and automatic, and can be transferred to everyday activities.

Pilates for abdomen and correct technique during the exercises

To activate the Powerhouse or energy centre, we will contract our internal muscles of the abdomen, bringing the navel inwards, towards the spine, and at the same time upwards, towards the rib cage. In doing so we will observe a sinking of the abdominal wall.

We will do this by breathing normally, by doing an intercostal breath. Do not hold your breath. When inhaling deeply through the nose, you should feel how the ribs separate and the rib cage expands. When you exhale, you will notice how, at first, the ribs relax and the powerhouse contracts, giving you the sensation of sticking your navel to your spine, together with the contraction of the pelvic floor. To this, we will add the contraction of the muscles of the hips, which will help to stabilise the pelvis with respect to the lumbar spine.

This musculature must be toned, always looking for quality in the execution and control of movement, which causes an important development of proprioception or, what is the same, of the awareness of our body position in space, re-educating the body in healthy postural habits..

Pilates exercises are always controlled and short, which minimises the risk of injury. A lot of control and strength is required to perform the movements correctly, which means that there are various levels of intensity in the exercises.

Consequences of a weak Powerhouse

It is recognised that there must be prior activation of the muscle groups that make up the Powerhouse, prior to movement of any part of the body and/or limb and it is the lack or imbalance in that activation that causes instability and, as a consequence, pain or, in the long term, injury.

When the Powerhouse does not work correctly, there will be a deficit of neuromuscular control in the stability of this area and as a result of this, the organism can start to develop different problems. The most common pathologies have to do with the stability of the lower back: lumbago and sciatica, hernias, protrusions, discopathies, nerve impingement, or the pelvic floor: incontinence, prolapse.

It is also associated with a loss of strength and a delay in the response of the trunk musculature, which has a negative impact on the functionality of the rib cage towards the upper limbs. This lack of central stability would also cause imbalances in muscle chains towards the lower limbs, affecting structures that could become misaligned and lose their function, such as the hips, knees or ankles.

Involvement of the Powerhouse in injury recovery.

If we already have ailments or injuries to rehabilitate, for example, lower back pain, neck pain or any joint in the limbs, the work from the strength of the energy centre will help us to gain tone in the deep and more static muscles, which will stabilise the joints by removing pressure and balancing the forces necessary to improve the injured structure. This strength will be transmitted to the superficial musculature, which is more dynamic and in charge of carrying out the complete and wide movement.

In our spine, by strengthening the deep musculature that joins and stabilises our vertebrae, we will be able to maintain a correct posture that will allow us to better resist muscle fatigue, avoiding neck, back and other joint pain.

In terms of limb injuries, by working from a correct alignment, better muscle tone and proper movement of the joints, we correct the imbalance, misalignment or imbalance in the muscle chain of the limb that is causing an injury to it.

Work with an injury of this type must be controlled, progressive and adapted to the abilities and strength that is gradually achieved, starting from the strength of the “centre of energy” from where the movement starts and from there to the rest of the limbs where less pressure will be applied.

Be consistent and follow a regular training routine

In Pilates sessions, one of the main objectives is to strengthen the energy centre, and thanks to the exercise programme established by Joseph Pilates, the body is re-educated towards a correct posture, adapting habits to it, eliminating all pain and achieving a great feeling of wellbeing.

The regular practice of the Pilates method keeps the whole body toned and flexible, with a strong and resistant energy centre, and a correct alignment of its structures that allows better postures to be achieved, improving overall functionality.

We can therefore say that it is one of the key and most important factors in the prevention and treatment of these afflictions. However, individualised and personalised work is recommended to improve these injuries or ailments, taking into account the characteristics and needs of each person, as well as regular and constant training to maintain the benefits of the method.

Conclusions

The Pilates method combines a wide variety of exercises either with our own body or with specific apparatus with resistances and springs, in which we work starting from the most important focus which will be that energy centre or “powerhouse”, its strength will go from here to the more distal parts of the body and extremities in a global and functional way.

With the Pilates method, the work of the energy centre makes us more responsive and better coordinate any movement and is considered the best method to improve the functionality of injured or weak structures and reduce their pain. And it is not only effective as a rehabilitation treatment but also as physical preparation and prevention.

It will allow us to guarantee a safe function between the forces that make our muscle chains work and that we will unconsciously apply to our daily and even sporting tasks, with less effort and greater efficiency.