Core Fitness: What Is Your Core?

Core fitness is far more than having an amazing six-pack. Your "core" is a large and very important body part. It's best to think of it as a cylinder. It's where we generate our power and get our stability.

Core fitness is an important factor in overall health and well-being. Yet many people need help understanding exactly what is their core or how to maintain and strengthen it effectively. We all know the importance of staying healthy and fit, but what exactly does it mean to have a strong core? In this article, we'll look at exactly what constitutes your core, the benefits of having a strong core, and the exercises you can do to strengthen your core muscles.

What is your core

Overall core fitness is essential for any athlete or fitness enthusiast, as well as for general health. Many people think of the abdominals when discussing the core. However, this area is just one element.

Your core involves 35 total muscle groups! To put it simply, at the top is your diaphragm. The bottom is your pelvic floor. The sides are your back extensors, obliques and abdominals. Bone-wise, your core involves your hips, pelvis and spine.

Each of these elements is essential in keeping us functioning properly daily.

Regarding fitness, the core is an important area of focus. We often focus directly on the abdominals for core strength, but there are certain structures we should pay equal attention to. The diaphragm is one of them. Studies have shown that people with back pain have associated dysfunction at their diaphragm. People afflicted with this can resolve this with hands-on therapy and exercises that involve core control with diaphragmatic breathing.

Benefits of having a strong core

Core fitness and strength are essential to physical fitness and can benefit overall health and well-being.

A strong core can improve posture, balance, and coordination and support movements, such as lifting and bending. It is also important for providing stability to the spine and preventing back pain.

Additionally, having a strong core can help with everyday activities, such as carrying groceries or other daily activities that require a person to exert themselves physically. Finally, strengthening the body's midsection can be beneficial in sports and other physical activities.

A strong core benefits everyone, regardless of age or gender, who exercises routinely or wants to stay in shape. The core comprises stabilizing muscles that connect the upper and lower body, and by building strength in these muscles, you can dramatically improve your physical capabilities.

How to increase your core fitness

There are many ways to train your core but some are better than others. It is also important to have variety in your training, including the type of training and the target muscles. It's best to start with simple movements to ensure you're connecting and activating your core correctly. It's then important to include both functional and dynamic activities with core activation because this is what you do in your daily life.

Core fitness is an important part of any workout regimen. Training your core can be simple and require inexpensive equipment. You can use basic exercises such as planks, crunches and leg raise to target the main muscle groups in your abdomen and lower back.

The following is a simple workout program to get you started:

• Begin with a warm-up that includes shoulder rolls and arm circles to increase flexibility in the spine.
• Once the body is warm and loose, you can start activating the abs by doing planks for 30 seconds with 30-second breaks between sets.
• You can then move on to full-body or bicycle crunches, focusing on engaging your abdominal muscles throughout each repetition.

Use this basic program as a basis and change it by increasing repetitions or lengthening the time to give yourself more of a challenge if it gets too easy.

Improving your core strength is much more than just slimming down the tummy. Improving your core will enable better posture, strength in arms and legs and more power in dynamic movements. Workout programs, such as our Pilates classes, should include core strength in all training, whether for an everyday person or an elite athlete.

Suppose you need any advice or an assessment of your core strength, book in to see one of our Physiotherapists. They could provide a training program to target any areas that you may be struggling with.

We are even currently running online Pilates classes! Call us on 97839990 to enquire.

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