About 10 years I was snowboarding in Switzerland when I took a typical newbie fall on my coccyx. It took a few months to get better.
At the time I was doing a lot of running, having “retired” from competitive cycling in the mid-nineties and having looked for a while for something to fill the physical gap, as surfing wasn’t enough.
Like many cyclists I initially hated running. I wasn’t a great runner but after a few years I did find that mental space that many runners find and began to enjoy it.

However , a few years later I had another accident in Switzerland, this time also involving snow and ice, but also an inflatable tube and a high-speed launch into mid-air ending up landing in the middle of a mountain road on my back.
(I have a weakness for throwing myself off things, I can’t explain it). 😀
This time my back took longer to heal, required physiotherapy and left me with a weaker lower back. Standing or sitting straight up became difficult, and I finally developed a respect for those people with back problems.
I continued running for about a year, until one day about 4 miles out I felt what seemed like my spine “contract”, like it had suddenly been compressed and had to walk home slowly in agony.
I went back to various exercises but the one that helped me mostly recover was the ““. (Mostly because I wasn’t able to go back to running completely. Too much remaining lower back problems). Hence taking up swimming.

Anyone who watched much of the swimming during the last Olympics may recall many of the swimmers mentioning that they added Cores exercises to their training.
My experience of doing some Pilates a year ago was how impossible they seemed at first, and yet how quickly the benefits were felt.

Of course, I didn’t stick to doing them. 😦

Next, I’ll update with the Core Exercises Coach Eilish gave us.