Your core is commonly defined as the muscles of your deep muscular corset, which includes all the muscles between your hips and your shoulders. “The “core” includes the muscles from around the cervical spine to those moving deep through the transverse abdominis, diaphragm and multifidus, down below the hip girdle to the pelvic floor.” Says Aimee Nicotera, MS, a Health Coach and Virtual Studio Owner. Having a strong core is essential for having good posture and protecting your back from injury, so exercising those muscles regularly is important. However, there are lots of common misconceptions on how to strengthen those muscles.
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“Core strength is important, because it provides stability for the spine. The core connects our upper body and lower body, and allows for the transfer of power and force between the two.
In addition, a strong and stable core facilitates the generation of power. There is a popular saying in the fitness world, and I’m not sure who said it first, but it illustrates this point clearly. You can’t fire a cannon from a rowboat.” Your core is at the center of bodily movement, literally and figuratively.
While there are lots of ways to target your core through exercise, some are more effective. One of those exercises, surprisingly, is crunches. “Classic abdominal crunches are favorites, because they quickly elicit a “feel the burn” effect. Unfortunately, we rarely mimic that motion in daily life or sport,” Nicotera says, “In addition, viewing “the core” as just our “abs” is incorrect. If your goal is to create support for the spine, improve your base to express power and maintain a healthy back, you need to be thinking about the complete trunk and building strength at every angle in various planes of motion.”
What are some exercises you can do instead that will get you the most benefit and show results faster? “The best exercises for building a strong core include the shoulder girdle and hips. Planks are great, because not only do they require strength from the back and abdominals, but they also require stability from the shoulder girdle and pelvic girdle,” Nicotera says, “Standing exercises that require trunk stability and coordination throughout movement patterns are great too. Examples include basic farmer carries, reverse lunges with overhead reaches, Pallof presses, hinging patterns, windmills and various med ball throwing drills.”
Because the core is so complex and includes many muscles, doing a variety of exercises is essential. “Being sure to perform movements in a sideways position, prone and supine is also important. So mixing in dead bugs, side planks, low bear crawls and similar exercises is very beneficial.” Nicotera adds. Consistently targeting your core by trying exercises like these is one way that you can not only build your strength, but also protect yourself from bad posture and, as a result, injury.
