Strengthening your core is not done merely for vanity purposes, as it’s also a necessity that can improve your quality of life and overall wellness. Many people think of six-pack abs when core strengthening is mentioned. Strengthening your core, however, is about more important things than that. Building a strong core helps keep your spine in alignment, maintaining the integrity of your back. A strong core also keeps you safe from injuries, helps you improve your posture, and more.
Strengthening your core is more than just strengthening your abdominal muscles, so just doing sit-ups will not suffice. Your core is composed of a group of approximately 29 muscles from the bottom of your rib cage to your hamstrings, along with everything in between. This includes the core muscles of the back, obliques, pelvis, and glutes. This central part of your body holds the crucial job of connecting your upper and lower body. Your core allows your whole body to move as one fluid and integrated unit.
Many of your daily movements begin and move through your core. Whether you’re sitting at your desk, doing yoga, or sweeping your home, you engage your core muscles. You use this muscle group for daily life, and the stronger your core, the more stability you have. As a result, you’ll also have better mobility.
Fortunately, many core strengthening exercises can be done from the comfort of your home. Complete core training circuits can be done from home, which includes exercises such as mountain climbers, planks, abdominal crunches, burpees and more.
To give you some motivation to start strengthening your core more, let’s review the benefits of strengthening your core:
Strengthening Your Core Improves Your Balance
Many of your daily movements require you to use your core muscles, whether it’s walking, running, cooking, or playing sports. When you change your activity, you typically activate your core muscles. If this area of your body is strong, you are more stable and can accommodate the swift changes. And as a result, you reduce the risk of falling. This matters a lot, especially as you age when bone density loss makes you more prone to fractures. In addition, muscle loss can impede movement, affecting your mobility.
When you do core training and start strengthening your core, however, you will notice more fluid movement and much better balance. This will allow you to do more of the things you enjoy, assuring you live a full, happy life.
A Strong Core Facilitates Good Posture
Many health benefits are associated with having good posture, including better breathing, more oxygen supply to your brain, less back pain and improved digestion. A weak core will inevitably lead to poor posture and slouching. Poor posture tips the body forward, perpetuating an imbalance that can result in falls, while also causing back pain and digestion issues. Imagine people sitting on their office chairs with slouched shoulders and rounded backs. Imagine them slumping akin to a hunchback. Poor posture will result in pain in your back, neck, and even shoulders. Remember, good posture helps you because it can do the following:
- Good posture helps you project confidence and make a good impression
- Helps your brain get more oxygen supply
- Assures less wear and tear on your spine
- Reduces back pain
- Improves digestion
- Improves breathing
Strengthening your core will help you establish better posture because these core muscles support the spine, trunk, and skull. With better postural control, you can break muscle weakness resulting from lack of use. Besides, standing straight and tall improves breathing and opens up your airways, making it easier to inhale and exhale. As you can see, posture doesn’t just look good, but it makes you feel good, too.
A Stronger Core Can Help Alleviate Back Pain
When you have strong core muscles, it stabilizes that body and can help alleviate back pain. Unfortunately, this issue can be very debilitating. When you strengthen the muscles that support your spine, you take pressure off your back.
Again, if you want to maintain good posture and a healthy back that’s free from pain, core work is the answer. Build up your core muscles and maintain them. In fact, many physical rehabilitation treatments suggest working on core exercises as a way to combat back pain.
You’ll More Easily Accomplish Daily Activities
Since many of the activities that we do on a daily basis engage our core muscles, we need to work on strengthening them. For example, when you pick up your book bag, carry your baby, do loads of laundry, gardening, play with your kids, or simply sit on your chair, you utilize your core. Just imagine sitting on the floor and getting up from the ground level. All of that relies on a healthy core. So if you want to keep doing your routine without any issues, it is high time to beef up your core strength.
Most of the above-mentioned activities may feel boring and mundane. Often, these daily tasks become almost mechanical, and you don’t even think about them. However, when it becomes hard and painful for you to do them because of back pain, sore shoulders, or neck strain, that’s when it becomes unbearable. But don’t wait to reach this stage before you do something. Instead, work on strengthening your core to ascertain that you can do your everyday life tasks without any issues.
Mitigate Injuries
Weakened muscles mean they are less efficient, causing more injuries. And the more inefficient they are, the more energy you need to move, resulting in even more strain. It becomes a vicious cycle that’s hard to break. Thus, core strength is critical because it maintains your balance and stability, assuring you perform daily tasks easily.
For instance, when you pick up your toddler from the floor with poor core muscles, it can result in chronic back pain. This will make it harder for you to do other things. Keep in mind, when your core is strong, you can easily lift with your legs, abs, and glutes, protecting your back. Besides, when you don’t have mobility issues, you mitigate injuries as well.
Better Physical Performance
When you look at athletes, you will notice that the majority of them have firm muscles, especially in the abdomen and back. That’s because keeping that area strong improves their performance. After all, hitting a baseball, throwing a football, or doing gymnastic flips all require the upper and lower body muscles to work in harmony. The motions the body flows through the core, and the stronger it is, the better the output.
Hence, whether you’re a professional athlete or an average joe, building and maintaining a solid core with a workout such as pilates will improve your performance and productivity. Whether you need to lift books, rock your baby to sleep, or assist an ageing parent in walking, strong core muscles allow you to do an exemplary job without feeling the strain.
Want to Start Strengthening Your Core?
If you want to build a solid core, do more than the usual abdominal crunches and sit-ups. You should also do planks, lunges, squats, stand ab workouts, etc.
A strong core foundation is more than picture-perfect, chiselled abs. You need to train other muscles in the area, too. Besides, firm abs are also made in the kitchen, so you must watch your diet as well. The best approach is to create a balanced training and nutrition program when strengthening your core. As with any new workout, seek medical advice before implementing a different training regiment to make sure your body can cope with the intense activity. It would also help to take an at-home DNA like CircleDNA. Results from your CircleDNA test will reveal the most suitable diet and fitness routine for you, based on your genetics.
