How Important Is Your Core Muscle & How to Strengthen It?

Thinking about having a solid core may conjure up images of people with chiseled, rock-hard abs. While this can be a motivating goal, having a solid core goes deeper. After all, your core is much more beyond your abs. A weak core affects your balance, posture, and stability. You can have strong core muscles without ever building six-pack abs; much of that has to do with your dietary habits and your training in the best fitness gym in Kalamunda.

Understanding Your Core Muscles

The core isn't one muscle on its own but rather a combination of different muscles, namely:

Internal and external obliques

Your internal and external obliques play critical roles in trunk rotation and bending. The internal obliques also play a crucial role in breathing and building intra-abdominal pressure.

Rectus abdominis

This muscle makes up the bumps at the front of your abdomen you often associate with six-pack abs. In addition, your rectus abdominis is crucial in curving and tilting your spine and pelvis.

Erector spinae

This vital muscle group travels along the length of the spine. The erector spine plays a crucial role in enabling good posture and allows for proper flexion in the spine.

Transverse abdominis

The transverse abdominis covers vertically by the side of your abdomen and plays a crucial role in protecting your internal organs and stabilizing your spine and the pelvis during the movement through core activation.

Why is it Necessary to have a Strong Core?

Your body's core strength is critical in various aspects of your daily life, whether sitting at your desk, trying to squat at the gym, or doing household chores around the house. The best fitness gym in Kalamunda can help you develop this strength. Some of the benefits of core strength are:

Reducing back pain

Low back pain may often seem like one of the inevitable downfalls of aging, but it's something of an epidemic. According to studies, 80% of adults will experience significant lower back pain at some time in their lives.

Injury prevention

Your core muscles support your spine, build good posture, and help you breathe and keep you safe. On the one hand, they also protect your internal organs and provide stability and support necessary for your spine to stay healthy, especially during load-bearing exercises.

Proper Breathing

A strong core will permit you to breathe properly, especially during training. Taking deep breaths provides more oxygen to your tired muscles, aiding recovery, endurance, and cardiovascular health.

Gaining strength and confidence

When you have a powerful core, you start to feel better. Then, you can build upon a solid foundation to become faster, stronger, and more confident.

Exercises for core strength and stability

Building a strong core is crucial in exercising, daily living, and better posture, as it ensures enhanced balance and support. Multiple effective exercises can help you develop your core strength in a short amount of time. And guess what? Crunches didn't make the list. Some of the best core strength training exercises include:

• Planks
• Beast Crawls
• Supermans

While there are many other core exercises, these three are tried and true favourites of many fitness enthusiasts here at Gym Tonic. So find out how to incorporate them into your regular training sessions with the help of our experts.