360 Core Movement with KI-RO

Throughout the month of May Think Fit. Be Fit. went on a deep dive of the core.  This is the 6th episode in that series. 

Here’s the summary of May’s core-centric episodes:

• An episode all about Pilates;  why it’s a full body exercise modality and not purely abdominal focused. Link
• Learning motion intrinsically with the creator of the Core Restore training system. Link
• An expert guest, academically rooted with 35 years of experience at the highest level of kinesiology and professional sports, weighs in on the core craze. Link
• A Physical Therapist explains the diaphragm from her perspective and why she calls it the ‘core of the core.’ Link

All of these episodes are my attempt to think independently about exercise so that I can make the best decisions for myself, athletes and clients. There is a sad movement in fitness in which education is barely emphasized and the industry is full of time-wasting (and possibly dangerous)  fluff.  The final episode of May’s core focused episodes is a conversation on challenging the body with a tool that can give us a spectrum of resistance around the body, the KI-RO Core Trainer.

Meet my esteemed colleague and friend, Kika Mela, Co-Owner of Mela Therapeutics, Inc. and the creator of the Ki-RO Core Trainer. She is a Master Level MAT Specialist, MAT Rx Specialist, and has been a Licensed Massage Therapist for 25 yrs. She has worked extensively with professional and elite athletes and is a contributor to the training process at Bommarito Performance Systems as part of their medical team.

Kika and I discuss a number of things related to athletic performance, muscles and movements, how her invention the KiRo helps address the flaws in training this part of the body. 

Topics that we cover:

• How the KI-RO was developed and how it helps Kika’s clients who are almost exclusively professional athletes.
• A discussion on a universal definition of ‘the core’. 
• How athletes can benefit from this device
• Exercises that are more precise than crunches or swinging our legs 
• How this part of the body is related to movement and athletic performance
• Getting specific with exercises using the KI-RO Core Trainer
• Pelvic motion and hamstrings in relation to the core. 

Grab your device and your thinking cap as we get real and open - not only discussing issues we see in fitness, but offering safe but awesome solutions as well. 

Links of interest:

Find Kika and her work at

https://www.melatherapeutics.com/page/page/6405961.htm

https://www.kiroconcepts.com/

discount code for 15% off: TFBF15 

https://www.instagram.com/kirocore/

Hamstring blog from KI-RO

https://www.kiroconcepts.com/post/tight-hamstrings-maybe-not

Silfies SP, Ebaugh D, Pontillo M, Butowicz CM. Critical review of the impact of core stability on upper extremity athletic injury and performance.  Braz J Phys Ther. 2015;19(5):360‐368. doi:10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0108

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4647147/

Hamstring episodes from September