Beth Skwarecki Beth Skwarecki Senior Health Editor Experience Beth Skwarecki is Lifehacker’s Senior Health Editor, and holds certifications as a personal trainer and weightlifting coach. She has been writing about health for over 10 years. Read Full Bio April 20, 2026 Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google Credit: fizkes - Shutterstock Table of Contents When we lift weights, do yoga, or perform exercises of any kind, there’s often an instructor chiming in to tell us to “engage our core.” But what does that really mean? It turns out there are two different ways of doing it  and they produce opposite results, so it’s important to know which one you need to work on to accomplish your fitness goals. Here are the two ways, why they're different, and how to know which one you should do. Method 1: Pull your belly button to your spine This one is probably familiar if you’ve ever done pilates or physical therapy.…