The ultimate athletic state of being integrated is not something to be achieved by "trying hard" or "effort". Instead, it is the result. The result of either having moved perfectly since birth. Or the result of having clearly understood why one cannot.
For the latter case, it must be so because without such understanding or intent, any "effort" or the "trying hard" will actually move one farther away from such a prospect.
And finally, any such quest or diagnosis to understand one's limitations has to begin at the core and then branched out to the extremities. Because more often than not...
The "problem" or the root cause exists at the core, it does not matter if the symptoms are noticed elsewhere, say at the nearby joints or at the extremities.
Seeing into the black-box
For folks used to treating their core as a black-box, this blueprint of their deeper core is like the light that shines an escape route away from their arduous training and constant-maintenance cues.
However, to be able to proceed on this route, one has to go beyond just the intellectual understanding and use it to really see* into their black-box.
Because every time a new intellectual understanding is reached, an experiential understanding is the shortest path to the next level. A level not reachable otherwise.
An experiential understanding of something makes it a knowing which is a superior way of doing anything instead of following instructions or ten part isolated cues like these throughout one's career.
The desire to know
What makes reaching such an experiential understanding possible, however, is something that very few posses. And that is, the desire to know. Not mere curiosity, but a sincere, burning desire to know.
Know what? Know the feeling. The feeling of being in 100% control of one's entire musculature and as a consequence, their body and of their movement patterns. Be it sitting, running, jumping, snatching etc.
The remainder of the article is only for those individuals. Without such sincerity, the content below will ready very much like "3 step method to fix your core and back problems!". And it is far from that.
Perceive, Control, Integrate
To be able to tap into the potential of the true core, one must journey inwards. One must first perceive these muscles. Which is another way of saying that the brain has to know that the muscle exists!
The ability to surrender (i.e. relax) is crucial to be able to perceive. Being able to relax the well used, superficial muscles will allow the CNS to tap into motor units that aren't used to be being signaled.
The next step would be to control them. Controlling needs to happen through a "cue"**. A personal cue that either the individual or their therapist can help in figuring out.
Perceive and control Pelvic Floor muscles
Perceive and control Transversus Abdominis muscle
Perceive and control Multifidus muscle
The waking up of these three muscle groups can be done in any order. But if (and when) done "right", the individual will be able to realize a single cue to activate them all.
This cue will vary from person to person and depend on their limitations and level of activity. And will very much feel like a "switch" initially. Visual inspection of one's posture and torso shape while cueing may be helpful.
Once the cue has been realized, the third step is to integrate the recruitment of these muscles in day-to-day activities (e.g. sitting, walking, bending etc).
Integrating the cue in one's training can either be done simultaneously on the side (if their limitations still allow them to train) or after simpler movement patterns like above have been habituated to use the cue.
The fork in the road
I realize a choice is being put forward ...
The choice between being able to train pain-free and progress exponentially vs training with pain and progressing like a snail.
The choice between reaching your ultimate vs reaching <70%.
The truly determined and serious however, don't even see a choice. They see a way.
A way towards otherworldly body control ...
And endless possibilities ...
Concluded in part-10
Footnotes & References
*Being able to "see" into the core equips one with true control of its entirety. And only when one has control, can the body be used in the way nature intended for it to be used.
**Such a cue is very different than popular movement cues, which I stress against relying on as much as possible.
Training for the deep muscles of the core, Diane Lee