Strengthen Your Core

Strengthen Your Core
Several years ago I decided to change my physical condition. I had gained a lot of weight over the years and confronted it one Christmas visiting my brother -- and his bathroom scale ... ugh.

I took on a program of running and weight-lifting and changed my eating. However, after a year and a half of that, I had only managed to lose about fifteen pounds. I was healthier, sure -- probably gained more muscle weight and lost some fat -- but I was still frustrated at not being able to get to where I wanted to be.

Then ... my back went out on me like a faithless lover. I felt so betrayed. It was the first time anything that debilitating had ever happened to me. I couldn't move at all.

When I went to the doctor, he told me I had to do something like yoga or pilates (similar to yoga). I laughed to myself -- the last thing that I wanted to do was bend like that!! So, I ignored him.

Throughout the following year I was still unable to to break my plateau, but during that time I did a lot of reading on the subject from professional fitness experts. One of the key points that kept coming up was the concept of 'Core Strength'. Your core is the center of your body and the primary muscle groups there are the abdominals, back, butt and hips. The minor sit-ups I had been doing just weren't addressing that fundamental core.

One day, I was walking past a pile of DVD's on sale and one particular exercise video grabbed my attention. I had remembered my doctor's words -- "pilates". "Worth a try," I thought. Well, that step changed everything! Within mere months I had lost thirty-five more pounds. My speed and agility at running increased even! I finally had gained real control and capability with my body -- for the first time in my life.

I'm sure you are now asking "Um, Robin … what does pilates have to do with photography or art?!!"

STRENGTHEN YOUR CORE.

The Internet is a vast resource of tutorials for photography and art. As well, you probably already have applications loaded onto your systems that are applicable to your current goals, or you can get some for free or at low cost. Learn them! Learn the core of your tools and those applications. It's not the plug-ins and fancy new gadgets that will be there for you when the next 'newest, latest, greatest' hits the market. What will be there for you when the 'gotta have it' fades is your ability to work with the basic fundamentals of the tools and applications you use -- and your ability to grow and adapt, when the market need fluctuates.

If you are having difficulty fully grasping how the processes work and feel you need an add-on or fancy gadget to get a quality result, remember that the fundamentals of the tools that you are using are not unknowable. Do what you need to do to learn them thoroughly. Break out a dictionary and find out what the words mean, first in your own language, and then in the language of the application or the analog operations it represents. Experiment a bit with what is in front of you. Finally learn what all the dials on your camera are for. Then, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. (Read that as, PLAY, PLAY, PLAY ... ;o))

Strengthen your core -- and watch your speed and agility soar!


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