Strengething Your Core with the Three F's

At Core Vitality, the mission is to improve overall health and fitness with a “Three F Philosophy.” The three F's refer to fix, foundation and fun, according to Clinical Director Meghan Bubnis, DPT.

“When someone has an injury, for example low back pain, it is not in his best interest to partake in an exercise program that will aggravate the pain,” Bubnis explains. “Rather, the person would best seek the aid of a medical professional (such as physical therapist, in my case) to 'fix' the issue of low back pain.”

Once injuries are “fixed,” participants can move on to building a better foundation, Bubnis continues.

“In this stage the person will work on improving his foundations. That is, a skilled instructor will be able to identify movement patterns, muscle imbalances or postural deficits that may have been contributing to the low back pain.

“Once identified, the instructor is able to work with the client to improve these deficits. With focused mind-body exercises as well as hands-on instruction and feedback, the person is able to retrain his muscles and movements to promote more efficient movement patterns or stronger foundations,” she says.

And of course, that leads to “fun.”

“Once the person has developed strong foundations, he may then move on to the third 'F' which is fun. Fun activities may involve simple daily activities such as doing the laundry, carrying groceries, or lifting a child or maybe more recreational activities such as going for a walk, playing tennis, or running a marathon.

“No matter what your fun activities are, you need strong foundations in order to participate in the fun activities without getting injured,” Bubnis says.

At Core Vitality, building the foundation is accomplished through Pilates exercise or other forms of core exercises. There are reformers for traditional Pilates work, lying down and working on resistance with springs; or Pilates mat work, exercise that is done on mats with body weight and gravity as resistance. Core Vitality is also one of the few places on the East Coast offering CoreAlign, which is a series of exercises done in an upright position.

“CoreAlign is more functional since most of our daily and recreational activities are performed in an upright, weight-bearing position,” Bubnis says. “Standing on unstable surfaces provides balance challenge and core stabilization with every exercise. It’s a full body workout that works multiple muscle groups at one time. It can also have a cardiovascular component to it at times depending on exercise selection and pace.” 

Bubnis recently completed the CoreAlign instructor training with master trainer Jonathan Hoffman, the creator of CoreAlign and says CoreVitality is the only location in the Delaware Valley to offer the CoreAlign training. A physical therapist by training, Bubnis and her husband Brian opened CoreVitality on Young Avenue in the Moorestown Commons last October. Currently, Bubnis is out on maternity leave and other CoreVitality instructors are leading classes. She expects to return in late May.

 “We offer small class sizes, which is of utmost importance when it comes to foundation training. Our mat classes are limited to eight participants and our equipment classes are limited to six participants. Our instructors are there to provide hands on instruction and constant feedback to the participant with regard to body alignment, proper muscle recruitment and form,” Bubnis says. “Each of our instructors has completed a comprehensive training program requiring hundreds of hours of self practice, observation, apprentice teaching as well as practical and written exams.”

Both individual and group classes are available. Class schedules and pricing are available at corevitalitypilates.com.