I think the best answer would be that it's just the body's ability of the muscles around the trunk, the hips, the pelvis and the lower back to really stabilise the spine, which is where most of the tension has gone, but it's also to be able to generate power to produce efficient movements, so sports and everyday living tasks without causing injuries. So it's kind of a big umbrella term for core strength. Welcome to the Effortless Swimming Podcast to show that help swimmers and triathletes love the water, become a better swimmer and live a better life. Here's your host, Brenton Ford. I still remember watching a swimmer at our last clinic lean so hard into sucking her tummy in that a stroke felt stiff and awkward, like she'd forgotten how to swim from the inside out. Today, Carl, our go-to strength and conditioning guru, joins us again to finally demystify core engagement for swimmers. We're unpacking the Pilates-inspired hollowing technique versus Stuart McGill's bracing method and revealing simple land drills, think step ups, carries and hip rotations that make your core switch on automatically once you hit the water. Carl will share why loosening your hips could be the missing link in your freestyle, how to balance front, back and side core work and one posture tweak that instantly transforms your catch. If you've ever felt your hips sink or your kicks play or your back start to ache mid-set, this episode is for you. Grab your goggles and maybe a chair because by the end of this, you'll know exactly how

to build a swimming core that's strong, supple and effortless. Let's get into the podcast. Welcome to the Effortless Swimming Podcast. My guest today is Carl Reader, who has been on multiple times and you're our guru, strength and conditioning sort of expert on the show, Carl. So welcome back to the podcast. Oh, Brenton. Always good to be here. Thanks for having me back. So today I want to jump into core strength, something that I get asked a lot from some of these, how do I engage my core? What does it mean to suck your tummy in? How do we use our core when we swim? And one thing that I got taught from an early age was you've got to swim from the inside out. So it's got to start from the core and the center of your body. And then we can deliver that power to the extremities from there. So let's just start with what is core strength? What should we think of as core strength? Sure. I think the best answer would be that it's just the body's ability of the muscles around the trunk, the hips, the pelvis and the lower back to really stabilize the spine, which is where most of the tension has gone, but it's also to be able to generate power to produce efficient movements, so sports and everyday living tasks without causing injuries. So it's kind of a big umbrella term for core strength. And in terms of how we, I guess, use it or don't use it throughout the day or through different activities, what are maybe some of the common mistakes that you might see people making with their core control and their core strength? I think before we go there, Brendan, we get us to just touch base of what are the two

common techniques people use to engage the core, which is really important. So you've got this idea of what they call the hollowing effect, which is what you talked about that sucking in. And this was really pioneered but sort of developed more by the Pilates industry where they talked about the core being this like an onion, so like an onion. If you think about an onion, you cut up, it's got all those rings inside. So your muscles, your core trunk is like an onion ring. And so they were talking about stabilizing these or engaging these deep muscles, often referred to the TVA, the transvestite dominance. And then you have the other side is the sort of which has been pioneered and developed by Stuart McGill. A lot of this is what we're familiar with him and he's done a lot of great work on lower back pain and had some amazing results. But he talks about this bracing concept. So it's that, and both those are a function of core work out or the system of the core system. But what's important and I want to share on this and propose to the listeners is that the core should actually automatically engage. So what they've used these two techniques to do is to try to help people to engage them. But the key is really to that. How do I engage them without actually trying to think about it? And I think that's where we want to get into that. Think about if you think about like surfing or like even swimming or golf, you it's difficult to really be thinking about how much you're engaging your core and you're about to take off on a wave or like playing hitting a golf shot. You want it to be get there naturally. And so, you know, we can unpack that. But that's really, really important that they know that there's two different ways. Now, which is the best way, which is the correct way that's debatable.

And we can, you know, we can unpack that as well. That it's with a lot of the things that we want to do in swimming, whether it's engaging or switching on your core. Or if we're thinking about the kick, which is another sort of big issue that people run into, if they're thinking too much about it, they're probably not doing it in the right way because it doesn't lead to this natural use or natural engagement of it. So let's get in. Let's dig into that about some strategies that people can apply to be able to do this naturally, ultimately without having to think about it. And it's just there in the background. So the what just before you guys get there is that that hollowing effects when you talk about the hollowing is is very linked to also it's a stress response. So you find people who struggle with anxiety or worry a lot or overwhelmed. They kind of hold in and suck in their tummy. So it's it's it's this is actually creates like I want to say it creates a stress response, but it's actually the bodies we're holding. The other thing is we see with that is that they struggle to breathe. So especially and I'm generalizing it with men, but if you're awesome to hold down there and pull the pelvic floor muscles up and breathe and swim becomes a bit like too much to think about. But like you say, but the kicking the biggest thing is posture. And I mean, we talked about this on the podcast. And I know you've had a lot of guest speakers as well. And you talk a lot about, you know, getting the right posture. And that is actually the key is to position your body correctly. So the core works automatically. So if you've got poor swimming posture or if you've got poor posture in general, it's going to affect how that core works automatically. And a good example. We've done this before, but I don't know if you remember like a long ago

when we first met, we talked about like if you sit at your desk and you put your fist and for those who are new members or new listeners, if you just sit very upright with the chest up and tall and you push into the desk, you'll feel the back muscles working in the and the triceps. And if you just relax the posture and then you push down, you'll feel the core automatically kicks in if you can feel that. Yes. So, so again, when you push harder into the desk, you don't have to think about, do I have to brace to do that? So if you just put, say you're pushing like really gently, then you're pushing harder and harder and harder. As you push harder and harder and harder, the core automatically activates. You see, you don't have to think about, I need to now brace and suck in. It just, it just happens. So that's, that's the, that's one of the key things.

And so with this, with this swimming rinse, I think it's also key is that a lot of people, they're in what we call the sagittal, sagittal front and back plane. So like swimming in the front, front muscles, back muscles kicking. So that cause generally like gets well trained in the pool. And if you look at the, I mean, I've got now here, the top 32 men's health core exercises I've written more down. And I would say like 90% of them are all frontal, like working like, so it may be like, you know, planks or it's a leg lifts or hanging on a bar, lifting the legs up, all those kinds of, so it's a lot of it's moving away. It's not, there's not enough side core workouts or rotational core. Now in the crawl and freestyle, you've got rotation, but this is something that's important. We can also unpack is to, is to balance the core. Yeah. So not, not just working in that crunch type of motion and just working in the different directions. Yeah. So. Oh, so I was going to say with the, I like that exercise pushing on the desk or the, or the table there because to me that relates so much to, to swimming when someone tries to intentionally brace the core and then they're trying to extend their sort of, their shorter through here. And they do tend to, to muscle it through the back and the shoulders. Whereas when they just, they sort of soften, they just relax and they've got that, that suppleness to them with, with just generally good posture. The shoulders move freely. The core can be used just, just naturally. That to me has got such a good correlation to how we want to swim

and the mistakes that people make when they try too hard to engage the core. So I think that's a, that's a really good one. And, and what you just brought up there is that, is being mindful of the core and every single exercise you do. So I always said to my clients, like every exercise you do is a core exercise because we have this mindset of like, I'm going to do my core exercises, then I'm going to do my arm exercises, I'm going to do my leg exercises. But actually the core should be engaging with the leg exercises and the upper body exercises as well. So for me, that's where we can go into all this, like how your posture plays an important role. And we know that most people are, especially they're behind the desk all day, is that the nerves of the core are in the middle back. So that if you, so if you're stiff, which we know from swimmers and just in general, like aging population, they tend to get really stiff in that thoracic spine. And again, that's not saying new to listeners, but it's if you can mobilize that thoracic spine and really improve that mobility, especially extension. And it's extension, it's a little bit lower down. So often when people think about their middle back, they tend to want to extend up through the top, through the middle part of the blades, the wings. But it's actually that where we, where we compromise with the body and the spine is actually lower down. So if you watch me here slouching, it's actually happening, kind of happens like the top of the lumbar spine bottom. So that's where it's really important. Is that swimming exercise you guys do that when you kind of like, you know, lying your stomach and your legs up and up and down like that? That's a good exercise because it kind of gets into that,

that middle to lower back exercise and mobilization.

And in terms of other exercises that would be helpful for swimming, what are some of those other core exercises that you think would be key? Yeah. So the lateral, so the lateral side, the lateral core, which is your, basically your obliques, your obliques are primary function is obviously rotation, but they play a major role in like the lateral side of the body. So what you see a lot of people doing things like side planks, which is where that's why that's important. There's the Copenhagen, I don't know if you know the Copenhagen plank where you put your leg up on a bench and you lift the other leg up. And it's, so it's all trying to strengthen those side muscles. And so one of the ones that I love the most is the pharma carries, where you're walking with the heavy weights on both sides of the body. You can do it on one side of the body if you want to challenge the side. But my favorite is stepping up on a bench or a box with the weights, so with a single hand, because that really challenges that whole side core. And especially for swimmers, because again, we've talked about, they've got the rotational, they've got the frontal and back, but they often lack that side horse stability. And with the step up holding the weight, would you alternate arms? So let's say you're stepping up with your left leg. Would you hold it in your left arm for some of it and then in your right arm for others? Or is it better to do one side the whole time? It's a great question. So if you're stepping up on the left leg and you have the weight on the right side, then your left stabilizes because the weight's pulling you down on the right is going to work really, really well.

And so that's a great exercise here. And if you want to target the glutes and the hamstrings, then you would put the weight on the left hand side with the left leg, which will then challenge much more low abdominals on the left side, again, stabilization. So it's a really, really simple exercise and something the guys can do, but it's super effective. And in terms of what you've seen with some of the people that you work with, because you work with a lot of people online for multiple different things, but you've worked with a lot of our swimmers, whether they've had injuries or they just feel like they're not moving well. What are some of the things that you've seen with how they might come to you? How are they currently using their core? And then what sort of process have you taken them through to get them to the other end, where they're starting to use it better, which can obviously help their swimming a lot? Yeah, so the big thing, Brenton, is just getting them in tune with their bodies. So often I'll explain, I've got this thing called the core quadrants. So they kind of like draw like a, you know, just imagine you're like a, pouring a quadrants on your lower abdominals and upper abdominals. And then I asked them, are you able to actively contract that quadrants? Like if you put your hand on below your belly button to the right, can you squeeze and activate there? And then the left, can you squeeze and act? And often with the members, I've seen quite a few be like, oh, this is really easy, but I don't even feel like I've got anything happening on the left or I don't feel like nothing's happening on the right. So it's just drawing attention to those areas. And then I'll mindfully like guide them through, okay, let's try to now lift the right leg slowly up in the air,

but just use the right side. And they'll say, I can't. And so there we go. So we have to then mobilize the spine a bit. Once they've got that contraction, then we take them onto things like step ups. So without the weight, we're just going up and then asking them to, as you push up, can you feel that core engaging? Yes, or doing single leg like balance work. So that's just building up that awareness is so important. At Effortless Swimming, our mission is simple. Make swimming more enjoyable. Whether you're training for your next race, swimming for fitness, or just love being in the water, we're here to help you swim faster, smoother, and with more confidence. And one thing that can make or break a swim is your goggles. If you've ever struggled with foggy lenses mid-session, you know how frustrating it can be. That's why we created the Effortless Swimming Hydro Clear Anti-Fog Goggles for long lasting crystal clear vision. I've been using them myself, and the difference is night and day. And I'm not the only one. Deborah swam 36 kilometers down the Derwent River and the entire time her vision stayed crystal clear. No fog, no frustration, just an uninterrupted swim. So what makes the Hydro Clear Goggles different? It's all in the technology. Unlike ordinary anti-fog coatings that wear off over time, Hydro Clear Super Hydrophilic Technology is built into the lens material itself. Here's how it works. Instead of fog forming as tiny droplets, water spreads evenly across the lens, creating a thin film that prevents fog from even starting.

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Yeah, absolutely. And then some of the notes we've got here, you've got bracing versus automatic core in swimming. Could you talk to that a little bit? So it's back to that whole thing, it's like when you're swimming, are you consciously tensing the core while you swim? Or are you actually, like you said, like you just, as you perform in the stroke, it just feels like the core is engaging appropriately. And that's the key word, is it doing enough? Have you got enough stability? The work that you do outside the pool plays a huge role. And this is where the coaching and where the work outside pool workouts makes a big difference. So are you able to do it in the pool? You've got to be able to do it outside the pool. Does that make sense? And that's like a logical thing. But I find that what happens is that a lot of the workouts the guys are doing, and we cover this in my course as well, it's just how do you position people in the doing the exercises to get the core to function automatically? That when they get back in the pool, as soon as they start swimming and kicking, they go, it's doing it already. I don't have to think about it. And that's kind of, that was that difference. Yeah. It's not like, of course it's not wrong to brace while you swim. It's just, it's just a challenge because especially people struggle to do multiple things. Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly right. And I once like looking at the, or thinking of the swimmers that we, we say at clinics. So a few things that I think can help them just in terms of technically, with making sure that course switched on, like number one, it would just be head position. Make sure you're looking zero to 45, kind of lengthening through the neck. Again, not too much,

being overly tense and stiff with it. Because most people look too far forwards. And so when they're up like this, they just can't, they can't use the core correctly because they've got too much of this lower back arch. And then second thing would be posture. And we referenced this earlier where posture, like tall, tall and proud, but not too much. Not too much there where you're stiff and rigid through there. You have to have that length through the body, but just kind of letting the shoulders move freely. And then I also think the other part of that can just be how you're using and how you're moving your legs in the kick. A lot of people tend to kick like they're kicking a soccer ball and there's too much hip and too much knee bend. So just keeping the thighs, the top of your legs, just kind of moving back and forth slightly, which creates a good size kick out behind you. But any more than that, and then you tend to kind of lose that ability to hold your core well. Great. So I think those things go hand in hand. It's like good technique and also the ability to control this outside the pool. And if you can't control it on land where you've got this stable surface, you're going to find it very difficult in the water to be able to do it. So you've given all those great tips on how to position the body to do this. So I'm just going to share some of the positions on the land, which we talk about in the course as well. And one of them is head position. Exactly what you're talking about. It's often like where you're looking is so key, especially for things like squats. So even like if you're doing a shoulder press, as you press up, you want to look up slightly. If you're looking straight ahead, it puts pressure on the neck

and it doesn't engage the core as effectively. But here's the big one, and it's as you've got to loosen the hips. I don't know if you, so my kids do karate and if you watch karate guys or golfers, even surfing, it's all in the hips. So they'll often say, you know, like you're not using your hips, you're not using your hips in many different sports. And so that thrusting, that pushing, and the reason that it's not that the hips generate the power, which is where they say it comes from, is that when you release the hips, the core activates. So that you're getting power to the hips. And that's, so a perfect example would be like if you did a shoulder press, for example, if you just stand and do a normal shoulder press, the average person will just say, I feel my delts, I can feel my traps, I feel a little bit of like, you know, the shoulders working. And you say that I just soften the knees and relax the hips. And as they press, I go, oh gosh, I can feel my core now. So all you've done is put the body in a good position. It's the same with the squats. And often are we spoken about this, if you squat correctly, it's a fantastic core exercise. But the average person who squats goes, I don't know what you're talking about, I don't feel my core at all. And that's because they often stiffen the hips, which we know is a big, big issue. All their technique is, in my opinion, not efficient. There's a lot of, just on that whole note, quickly for those who do that squatting, you know, like there's a whole draft towards the knees going too far forwards. I don't know if you've heard of that sort of a knee over toes. It's a new approach now where the guys are squatting and the knees are going like wave forward. It builds the knee muscles like tremendous, tremendously.

But when you do that technique, you kind of switch off the core. Because you're not all in a, which I, in my opinion, biomechanically, you're not in the right position. So you've got a lot of load going into the knee and there's not a load going into the hips and that low and then into the core muscles. So how you squat plays a big, big role as well.

And for those that are listening, we did a podcast. Well, I'll find it and we'll put it in the show notes, but we've done several podcasts. One of those was on some of the nuances for how you should squat to be able to use the core. And one of the things I remember you saying, and anytime someone mentions squat, I remember this is like, you say that squats can be one of the best, or is the best core exercise, which was, which was new to, like certainly new to me at the time. And yeah, I think I'd certainly agree with you, having them kind of learned from you with that and then just having done a quite a bit more gym work in the last two years or so. So we'll make sure to link to that in the show notes for anyone who's interested in some of the nuances of the squat. And you also obviously cover that in your functional movement course as well, which we'll put in the show notes as well. And so Carl, anything else you'd like to sort of cover here for actually, before we go into that, talking about the hips, it's, that made me think of, again, something we cover in clinics is, when it comes to rotation through the hips and torso, we need to rotate enough firstly, so that our arm can come out of the water comfortably. This is in freestyle. And then enough on the side in the water so that we can get into a strong catch position. And if someone's swimming flat, then it's very much like doing a shoulder press without having rotation is it's just, it's all arms, it's all legs, but there's they just miss out on so much power there.

But as soon as they get the hips and shoulders, like it's a bit of a swivel through the hips. And if you're coming forward, it's we're not tipping onto our side. We're just sort of swivelling or rocking onto the side there. Then you get all those muscles through the middle of your body working. And it just makes those movements that we've got to go through 10 times easier because then we get the core and the hips, the hips into it. So again, yeah, again, another good, I guess, analogy or something that I can see just has great correlation to what we need when we swim. To the swimming. Yeah. And just, and remember, we talked about as well, the electrical lines, you know, the body, their muscles, but they're actually battery packs. They produce electricity. That's what gives you the power, its voltage. So you've got the front line and you've got the back line. You've got different lines, but these are your major lines. So when these core muscles are engaging, and remember when you engage the core, the back muscles also engage. So they work, they co-contract, but it's all got to do electricity. So you've got a free flow of electricity. You don't have any sort of impedance or blockages. And you don't have to work hard. That's where the word efficiency comes from. Otherwise, you just, it's like, you know, inefficiency and electricity produces heat where like inefficiency in them in the body is just like just wasted energy, just having to breathe and work harder. I just want to just touch base on this as well. Those who are lifting heavy weights, you know, it's important to brace. And if your body lift bodybuilder, then you must use the same technique that you've been taught. But like that bracing before you do things, if you've got to lift a heavy box out of a trunk

or move something, it's important to first brace. You don't want to kind of like try to figure it out on the way as you're starting to lift, because that's where you do the damage. So like there's a place for that. It's like real gripping, stiffening, tensing the muscles. But that's how in terms of sport, like you want to, like we talked about that earlier, you don't want to get inside grippy feeling it. It's got to be like an automatic course. I think it's a good way to describe it. Yeah. And using it, I would say appropriately was, yeah, a good way to think of it. It's like just, yeah, using it enough so that it's switched on, but we don't need, we don't need more than that either.

And then your other one, sorry, your shoulder exercises, you know, like the guys do a lot of those push and pull in the gym with the cables. We often see them in a very staggered stance. If you just get more like into a wider staggered stance, so it's not like, you know, too far, then you lose the stability. So the core systems are really affected. But just with that, with the training course, like often people say, what are the best core exercises? It's important for you to work with a coach or to assess where you are, you know, look at the core exercise you're doing and saying, hang on, I'm doing all, most of my core exercises are working that frontal and back. There's not enough on the side. There's not enough rotations. So it's to really just to work out where you, which we call core balance, balancing your core exercises. And then, yeah, that's, that's pretty, I think for swimmers that that will be where I spend a lot of my time is balancing their core.

Yeah, well, I've noticed a lot in the last two years or so. There's a gym locally and I've got some, they've got some other gyms around in the state that I'm, I mean, and there's, there's a couple of machines that I use that over the last two years I've noticed building up the strength through these movements has made a massive difference for me. So one is it's you seated and then you kind of got your arms in the machine and you basically just like rotating from here into the center. So you turn the body, but the hips stay still and you're kind of rotating across. So, and you do that in both directions. That, I hate that machine, but it's, it's such, and I think anything that you tend to hate, it's like with drills, any drills you hate is probably because you suck at them and you, yeah, you don't enjoy it because you're not very good at it. So I, you know, I've been working on building that up. That's helped a lot. Another one is actually, is that a gain resistance? Is that a gain resistance? Is there a resistance there? Correct. Yeah. So it's a weight check machine. So you've got the weight going in towards the center. And then another one is a back machine where you start almost sort of hunched over and you're pressing against it. So it's almost like a reverse punch in a way. Yeah, very good. And just like it really loads up the lower back and I've built up this my strength in that probably double to what I was when I first started. And then obviously like just another core one, just it's almost like a weighted crunch in a way lying on your side. But those three just movements and directions have like, I just, I get injured a lot less and just really notice a difference when it comes to my, my swimming, my whole connection feels a lot better. And like you're, you're, you're probably, sorry.

No, sorry, go ahead. So I think I've answered, because you know the 80, 20 principle, like the Pareta principle, if you look at what's giving you the biggest bang for your back there is those back extensions. So like a lot of people are scared to, scared is the wrong word. I understand if you've had back pain, I hesitant to work lower back muscles, but that, that extension machine, I use a lot and also, so I use it more just, and that's, and the squat, by the way, is in that position when you're holding weights in the squat position, you're actually really working those lower back muscles. So it's really, really important to strengthen the back and it's, it's taken a mind shift because we, we all want to protect the back. But I mean, if you look at those muscles, some of the biggest muscles in the body, if not, like it, you have to strengthen your back. And so swimming naturally does that. That's why it's one of the, it's another wonderful sport to do for back. But I love, I love what you're saying. And it's, it's so, so it's.

Oh, it was, yeah, such a, not a revelation for me, but just having never done any exercises that actually build that and always protecting the back and like just being really careful about it. But when those muscles are weak, you, like you're going to get injured a lot more. So you, you can do exercises that maybe look or seem like they could be dangerous in a way. But if you do them correctly, you, you will find that you, that, that strength just stops you from getting these really common injuries or at least makes it happen a lot, a lot less. And like these machines are fairly, some of these are not that widely available, but there's other exercises you can do if you don't have these machines that, that I'm using at the gym that I'm going to. So, yeah, and obviously you would know a lot of variations or ways that people can, can adapt for this. So for those that are listening, if they would like to get in touch with you, we'll put your, your details in the show notes because you've worked with a lot of our swimmers and our members and have helped them either with injury or just developing strength. And we've also got the, your functional movement course available too, which again, we'll put in the show notes. Carl, appreciate it once again. I think you're the most, probably the fifth time or sixth time, which is probably a record. So I really appreciate you jumping on the podcast again. No, thanks, Brent. And then that's always good to share the new insights, it's a continuous learning process. Yeah, that's, that's exactly right. Now, the way that I sort of see it is very much like what we do in our clinics and coaching,

it's like, it's the same, it's the same sort of fundamentals, but what I'm learning is just different ways to approach it that might work for different people. And it's, from my end, it seems like you're kind of doing that. You're working with a wide range of people and so you've got this real, really wide level of experience and you can then prescribe what will help get someone from where they are to where they want to be in hopefully the shortest possible time if they follow the exercises and so on. Yeah, it's, it exercises a tool and that's like any, it's a skill. Great. Well, well, until next time.

Yeah. Thanks, Kyle. Thanks for listening to the Effortless Swimming Podcast. If you'd like us to help you become a faster, more efficient swimmer, go to www.effortlesswimming.com.