You’re halfway through a Pilates class when your instructor says:
“Engage your core.”
You nod as though this makes perfect sense.
Meanwhile, you’re wondering:
Do I suck my stomach in?
Brace it?
Pull my belly button toward my spine?
Squeeze everything?
And am I somehow supposed to keep breathing while I do it?
Here’s the good news: engaging your core shouldn’t mean sucking your stomach in as hard as possible, holding your breath or keeping your abdominals rigid for an entire Pilates class.
Your “core” isn’t one muscle with a simple on/off switch.
It’s a coordinated system of muscles around your trunk, and the way those muscles work changes depending on what you’re asking your body to do.
So if you’ve never been completely sure what “engage your core” is supposed to mean — you’re certainly not the only one.
Let’s make it considerably less mysterious.
What Does “Engage Your Core” Actually Mean?
In simple terms, engaging your core means using the muscles around your trunk to create the amount of support, control and force required for the movement you’re performing.
The important words there are:
the amount required.
Your core doesn’t need to work at maximum effort during every movement.
The muscular demand of lying on your back and slowly moving one leg is very different from holding a plank, performing a challenging Reformer exercise, lifting a heavy object or trying to resist rotation.
Your body can adjust its muscular strategy according to the task.
That’s a much more useful way to think about core engagement than imagining there is one perfect contraction you need to find and hold all day.
What Does Engaging Your Core Feel Like?
This is the question most people actually want answered.
Core engagement may feel like a gentle-to-firm tension developing around your middle while you’re still able to breathe and perform the movement.
Depending on the exercise, you may notice tension through the front, sides or deeper layers of your abdomen rather than feeling as though you’re simply pulling your stomach inward.
During a relatively easy Pilates exercise, that tension might feel quite subtle.
During a demanding plank or loaded movement, it may feel considerably stronger.
There isn’t one sensation that every person must feel during every exercise.
That’s because core engagement is task-dependent.
What Muscles Are Actually Part of Your Core?
Your core is much more than your “abs.”
The abdominal wall includes muscles such as the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and transversus abdominis.
Muscles around your spine and pelvis also contribute to trunk control.
Your diaphragm and pelvic floor interact with this system as part of breathing and pressure management.
And depending on the movement, muscles around your hips, back and shoulders can contribute to the overall task as well.
So when someone says “use your core,” imagining one tiny abdominal muscle switching on doesn’t really capture what your body is doing.
Movement is coordinated.
Is Your Transversus Abdominis Your “Deep Core”?
The transversus abdominis — often shortened to TrA or TVA — is a deep abdominal muscle that wraps around the trunk.
It gets a lot of attention in Pilates.
Sometimes so much attention that you could be forgiven for thinking the rest of your abdominal muscles are merely spectators.
They’re not.
The transversus abdominis can contribute to trunk control, but your body doesn’t rely on one muscle to stabilise every movement.
Different tasks require different patterns of muscular activity.
This is one reason modern discussions around core training are more nuanced than simply trying to isolate one “magic” stabilising muscle.
Should You Pull Your Belly Button Toward Your Spine?
You may have heard the cue:
“Pull your belly button toward your spine.”
For some people and some exercises, a cue like this can help them understand a gentle abdominal drawing-in action.
But it isn’t the universal definition of core engagement.
Drawing the abdominal wall inward is commonly described in research as abdominal hollowing or an abdominal drawing-in manoeuvre.
It is one strategy.
It isn’t the only strategy.
A 2024 scoping review examining 22 randomised controlled trials found that abdominal hollowing and abdominal bracing can both have applications in trunk stability and rehabilitation. Hollowing tends to emphasise more selective activation of muscles such as the transversus abdominis, while bracing involves broader co-contraction of trunk muscles.
Read the research: Abdominal Hollowing vs. Abdominal Bracing — A Scoping Review of Clinical Trials
The important takeaway?
There isn’t convincing evidence that one strategy needs to replace every other way your trunk produces stability.
What Is Abdominal Bracing?
Bracing is slightly different from deliberately drawing your abdomen inward.
Think about preparing your trunk to resist movement.
You may feel tension developing more broadly around your middle rather than trying to make your stomach as small as possible.
Bracing generally involves co-contraction of multiple trunk muscles.
You might naturally use a stronger bracing strategy when the task becomes more demanding.
Again, context matters.
The amount of trunk tension appropriate for a heavy lift isn’t necessarily what you need while performing a gentle beginner Pilates exercise.
Should You Suck Your Stomach In During Pilates?
No — not as a general rule.
Sucking your stomach in as hard as possible isn’t the same thing as effectively controlling your trunk.
And Pilates shouldn’t become a 50-minute competition to see who can make their waist look smallest.
Your abdomen needs to participate in movement and breathing.
Depending on the exercise and breathing pattern, you’ll naturally see and feel movement around the abdominal wall and rib cage.
Trying to permanently hold your stomach flat can create unnecessary tension and make breathing considerably less comfortable.
Your stomach doesn’t need to look flat every second for your core to be working.
Should Your Core Feel Hard When It’s Engaged?
Sometimes you’ll feel obvious muscular tension.
Sometimes the contraction will be subtler.
Again, it depends on the task.
If you’re holding a challenging plank, your trunk will probably feel considerably firmer than it does during a gentle breathing exercise.
That’s normal.
The goal isn’t to make your stomach rock-hard during every Pilates movement.
The goal is to produce enough muscular activity to meet the demands of what you’re doing.
Should You Brace Like Someone Is About to Punch You?
This is another common cue.
It can be useful for helping someone understand what a stronger abdominal brace feels like.
But imagine actually preparing for a punch.
You’d probably create quite a lot of tension.
That’s more tension than many low-load Pilates exercises require.
So the cue can help demonstrate the idea of bracing, but you don’t necessarily need to maintain that intensity throughout your entire class.
Your core has a volume dial, not just an on/off switch.
Can You Engage Your Core and Still Breathe?
Yes — and this is an important one.
If “engaging your core” immediately makes you hold your breath, you’re probably creating more tension than you need for many Pilates exercises.
Breathing and trunk control aren’t completely separate systems.
Your diaphragm is your primary breathing muscle, while the abdominal wall and pelvic floor interact with changes in pressure within the trunk.
That means breathing naturally creates movement.
Your ribs move.
Your abdomen can move.
Your pelvic floor responds to changes in pressure.
You don’t need to freeze all of that movement to have an active core.
Why Is Breathing Such a Big Part of Pilates?
Pilates instructors often cue breathing alongside movement because breath can help with rhythm, coordination and awareness.
Breathing also changes the mechanics and pressure within your trunk.
But this doesn’t mean there is one magical breathing pattern that must be perfectly performed for every repetition to “count.”
If you’re new to Pilates, coordinating the movement itself may already require plenty of concentration.
Then someone asks you to think about your ribs, pelvis, shoulders, core and breathing simultaneously.
It’s understandable if your brain needs a moment.
Breathing and movement coordination can improve with practice.
What Does Your Pelvic Floor Have to Do With Your Core?
Your pelvic floor forms part of the muscular system at the base of the pelvis and interacts with breathing and changes in intra-abdominal pressure.
It doesn’t need to be squeezed as hard as possible throughout every exercise.
And “engage your core” shouldn’t automatically translate to:
hold your stomach in + squeeze your pelvic floor + don’t let anything move.
That isn’t a particularly sophisticated model of human movement.
Muscles need to generate tension when appropriate, but they also need to be able to change tension as the task changes.
If you have pelvic floor symptoms, pain, pressure, heaviness or other concerns, individual advice from an appropriately qualified pelvic health professional is more useful than trying to solve the problem through generic Pilates cues.
Should Your Core Stay Engaged All the Time?
No.
You do not need to walk around all day consciously holding your stomach tight.
Nor do you need to maintain one deliberate abdominal contraction from the beginning of a Pilates class until the end.
Your trunk muscles already respond to movement and changes in demand.
A functional core isn’t one that is permanently rigid.
It’s one that can produce and adjust tension appropriately.
Strong when it needs to be.
Responsive when it needs to be.
And able to relax when it doesn’t need to work so hard.
Can You Engage Your Core Too Much?
You can certainly create more tension than a particular movement requires.
Some people approach every Pilates exercise by gripping everything they can find.
Abs tight.
Glutes squeezed.
Shoulders tense.
Jaw clenched for moral support.
Technically, a lot of muscles are working.
But more muscular tension isn’t automatically better movement.
Sometimes the skill is learning to use enough effort without turning every exercise into a full-body battle.
Control doesn’t have to mean rigidity.
Why Do I Feel Pilates in My Neck or Hip Flexors Instead of My Core?
This is extremely common.
And it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing everything wrong.
Many Pilates exercises involve several muscle groups working together.
For example, lifting your legs requires muscles around the hips as well as muscular activity through your trunk.
Curling your upper body requires abdominal effort, but your neck muscles also have a job to do because they’re supporting your head.
If one area feels excessively strained, however, the exercise may need adjusting.
Your instructor might change your position, range, lever length, resistance or exercise variation.
You don’t get extra Pilates points for suffering through an exercise that feels wrong.
How Do You Know if You’re Engaging Your Core Correctly?
Rather than searching for one perfect sensation, look at the entire movement.
Can you perform the exercise with reasonable control?
Can you breathe?
Can you maintain the position the exercise requires without creating unnecessary tension elsewhere?
Can you adjust when the movement becomes more demanding?
Those questions are often more useful than obsessing over whether you can feel one specific deep abdominal muscle.
If you’re new to Pilates, your instructor can also give you feedback and help you explore different cues.
One cue won’t necessarily work equally well for everybody.
Why Does My Stomach Sometimes Push Out During Core Exercises?
This question worries a lot of women unnecessarily.
Your abdomen isn’t supposed to remain visually flat during every movement and every breath.
Breathing changes pressure inside your trunk.
Your abdominal wall can change shape as you move.
Your body position changes what you see.
And abdominal muscles can be producing force without your stomach appearing perfectly flat.
How your abdomen looks during one moment of an exercise isn’t a reliable test of whether your core is working.
If you’re experiencing pain, unusual bulging that concerns you, pelvic floor symptoms or you’re returning to exercise after pregnancy or abdominal surgery, that’s a different situation and individual professional assessment may be appropriate.
Does Engaging Your Core Make Your Waist Smaller?
Not in the way social media sometimes suggests.
Learning to use your trunk muscles can improve your strength, control and movement ability.
But repeatedly “engaging your core” doesn’t selectively burn abdominal fat.
And holding your stomach in isn’t the same thing as changing body composition.
If changing your waistline or body composition is one of your goals, we’ve covered the evidence in our guide to whether Pilates can help with belly fat and your waistline.
Does Pilates Actually Strengthen Your Core?
There is evidence that Pilates can challenge and improve aspects of trunk muscle function.
A systematic review examining Pilates and core muscle activation included eight randomised controlled trials. The authors found emerging evidence that Pilates can positively affect core muscle strength and activation, although the studies used different interventions and measurements and the evidence shouldn’t be interpreted as proving that Pilates uniquely outperforms other appropriately dosed exercise.
Read the research: Pilates to Improve Core Muscle Activation — A Systematic Review
That’s an important distinction.
Pilates can be a very effective way to challenge your trunk.
We don’t need to claim it’s the only way to build a strong core for it to be valuable.
How Does Core Engagement Change on the Reformer?
The Reformer adds another interesting element: the equipment itself.
The moving carriage, springs, straps and your position can all change the demands of an exercise.
Sometimes the springs provide resistance.
Sometimes they provide assistance.
Sometimes changing the spring tension alters how much control is required to manage the carriage.
That means your trunk doesn’t encounter exactly the same challenge in every Reformer exercise.
You may be resisting movement.
Creating movement.
Controlling the return of the carriage.
Maintaining your position while your arms or legs move.
Or doing several of those things at once.
Your core response changes with the task.
If you’re curious about the equipment itself, our complete guide to Reformer Pilates explains how the carriage, springs, straps and footbar actually work.
Why Does My Core Shake During Pilates?
Sometimes, once you’ve finally worked out how to engage everything, it starts shaking.
That’s another experience that can surprise beginners.
Muscle trembling can become noticeable when an exercise is challenging or fatigue develops, but it doesn’t automatically mean you’re weak — and shaking isn’t something you need to chase.
We’ve gone into the physiology in much more detail in our guide to why your muscles shake during Pilates.
Do You Need a Strong Core Before Starting Pilates?
Absolutely not.
You don’t need to develop a Pilates body before you’re allowed to do Pilates.
That’s rather like deciding you need to get fit before you’re allowed to exercise.
You start where you are.
Exercises can be modified.
Your understanding can develop.
Your capacity can build.
And instructions that initially sound like another language start making considerably more sense with practice.
If you’re considering your first class, our Pilates for Beginners guide walks you through what to expect.
How Can Beginners Practise Engaging Their Core?
You don’t need a complicated ten-step activation ritual.
Start somewhere comfortable where you can breathe normally.
Notice your ribs and abdomen move as you breathe.
Then try gently increasing the tension around your middle without holding your breath.
Relax it again.
Try a slightly firmer brace.
Relax again.
Notice that you can create different amounts of tension.
That’s useful.
You’re beginning to understand that core engagement isn’t one position you need to find.
It’s something you can adjust.
Once movement is added, the challenge becomes maintaining enough control for the task while continuing to breathe and move.
That’s a skill.
And skills improve through practice.
What if You Still Can’t “Feel” Your Core?
Don’t panic.
You don’t need an extraordinary mind-muscle connection before an exercise can be useful.
And you don’t need to spend an entire class internally analysing every muscle fibre.
Sometimes a different cue helps.
Sometimes changing the exercise helps.
Sometimes you simply need more practice.
A good instructor can use different explanations, positions and movements to help you understand what you’re trying to achieve.
Pilates is something you learn — not something you’re expected to instinctively know.
What Does the Research Actually Say About Core Engagement?
The research is much more nuanced than many fitness cues suggest.
A 2024 scoping review synthesised 22 randomised controlled trials investigating abdominal hollowing and abdominal bracing.
Both strategies demonstrated potential benefits across outcomes including trunk stability, muscle thickness, balance and gait, although there was limited research directly comparing the two approaches.
The review describes abdominal hollowing as tending toward more selective activation of deep muscles such as the transversus abdominis, while abdominal bracing produces broader co-contraction of trunk musculature.
Read the review: Abdominal Hollowing vs. Abdominal Bracing
Pilates-specific evidence is also developing.
A systematic review of eight randomised controlled trials examining Pilates and core muscle activation found emerging evidence for improvements in core muscle strength and activation. However, the interventions and measurement methods varied, and Pilates wasn’t shown to be universally superior to equivalently dosed exercise.
Read the systematic review: Pilates to Improve Core Muscle Activation
For someone attending a Pilates class, the practical takeaway is refreshingly simple:
Your core is a system, not a switch.
Different movements can require different levels and patterns of muscular activity.
You don’t need to spend your entire workout desperately trying to isolate one muscle.
The Good News About Engaging Your Core
If you’ve spent years wondering whether you’ve been “doing it wrong,” you can probably give yourself a little more credit.
Your body already knows how to recruit muscles around your trunk.
Pilates can help you become more aware of that process and progressively challenge your ability to control movement.
You don’t need to suck your stomach in.
You don’t need to hold your breath.
You don’t need to maintain maximum tension.
And you don’t need to perfectly feel every individual abdominal muscle.
Engage enough for the movement in front of you.
Breathe.
Move.
Adjust.
And let your understanding develop with practice.
What We Teach at Bodi Boutique
At Bodi Boutique, we want Pilates to make more sense as you practise it — not become an endless collection of rules you worry about getting wrong.
We teach movement progressively, giving you time to understand the exercises, develop control and build confidence in what your body can do.
Some movements require subtle control.
Others require considerably more effort.
Learning the difference is part of becoming better at Pilates.
And if your instructor says “engage your core” and you’re not sure what she means?
Ask.
A useful cue should help you understand the movement — not leave you wondering whether you’re supposed to stop breathing for the next eight repetitions.
Ready to Understand Your Pilates — Not Just Follow It?
You don’t need to arrive at Pilates already knowing how to engage your core, position your pelvis or understand a Reformer.
That’s what learning is for.
At Bodi Boutique, our small-group Pilates and Reformer Pilates classes in Millmerran are designed to help women learn movement, build confidence and progressively develop strength and control.
Explore Pilates & Reformer Pilates at Bodi Boutique
You May Also Like
Why Do Your Muscles Shake During Pilates? Is It Normal?
Pilates for Beginners: What to Expect From Your First Class
What Is Reformer Pilates? How It Works, Benefits & What to Expect
Mat Pilates vs Reformer Pilates: Which Is Better for You?
How Often Should You Do Pilates to See Results?
About the Author
Jazz — Bodi Boutique
Jazz is a qualified fitness and Pilates instructor and the owner of Bodi Boutique, a small-group fitness, Pilates, Reformer Pilates and wellness studio in Millmerran, Queensland.
Through Bodi Boutique, Jazz works with women across different ages, fitness levels and exercise backgrounds, with a focus on making movement approachable, progressive and enjoyable.
