3 Facts You May Have Not Known About Your Core
Are you interested in strengthening your core? What comes to mind when you imagine your “core”? Did you know that there’s more to it than just abs? A strong core is so important for your all around health and well-being.
Your core helps you move throughout the day.
What's your "core" and why is building core strength so important?
Since we've been talking about the importance of social connections this week, we thought we'd focus on the muscle group that connects and influences both the upper body and the lower body.
Want to be able to play with your kids without pain? Want to unload the dishwasher and all those other household chores with ease? Well, even though we may not want to do those chores, having a strong core can help prevent injuries, improve balance and keep us strong and pain free as we age.
Here are 3 Facts You May Not Have Known About Your Core
1. It's more than just your abs! We like to think about the core like a box. It includes not only your ab muscles, but your inner abdominal muscles, your back muscles, your oblique, pelvic floor muscles and more. If you want a stronger core, you need to work them all! The core is your center of gravity and where all movement begins.
Test your core strength with a plank test. Get down on the ground in a plank position or top of a pushup with your forearms on the ground. Be sure to have a straight line from the back of your head down to your heels. Maintain this position for 60 seconds. If you feel your hips dip or lift up, drop down. You want to maintain that straight line. You can test your oblique strength holding a side plank for 60 seconds as well. You also want to maintain that straight line.
2. A strong core doesn't necessarily mean a flat stomach. Doing a bunch of ab exercises over and over again may get you strong abdominals, but without a well-rounded fitness program, including a mix of cardio and strength training and healthy diet you not have enough fat burning exercises including in your routine to truly see any definition.
Grab your one-on-one with our registered dietitian Nicole AND
Be sure to book your VIP call with Mary Cate and Tricia to discuss your goals and how to plan out your well-rounded fitness routine.
3. Strengthening your core muscles requires variety! Remember when we mentioned all the muscles that are included in your core? When you just focus on doing the same exercise over and over again, you won't see the results you want. Instead, we must train our core in a variety of different ways that can include cardio, high intensity interval training, pilates and more! Good thing we're all about mixing it up ;)
By the way, for more core workouts and exercise tips, be sure to follow us over on our Youtube channel.
