The Importance Of Core In Training

When we work out, there are many aspects to keeping our bodies safe and preventing injury. Core and the stability of it is a huge part of keeping your whole body safe. Having the ability to brace your core when working out can keep your spine from moving, keeping your body balanced and can extend the longevity and overall lifespan of any movement. This doesn’t just apply to our training at the gym, but our overall mobility in everyday tasks. As we get older, movement tends to get more difficult. Simple movements such as standing up and sitting down can become hard for some people. Now is the time to work on movements that strengthen the muscles we need in order to go about our everyday lives with stability and mobility!

More Than Just A Six Pack

Nowadays, many people just want to lose weight and have the “six pack” that everyone strives for. While having ab definition can be a confidence booster, if those muscles aren’t strong and stable then what is the point of having them? The goal with abs is to have the strength, while also having the aesthetic. Core work is also vital to athletes in that there is a lot of rotation in each and every sport.

How To Train The Core

Stability movements are crucial to making the core strong for everyday life. This may be an isolation hold such as a plank hold, hollow hold, or superman hold to help those muscles better support the midline.

Unilateral movements and single sided exercises can also really challenge the body to brace the core which gives people the best opportunity to strengthen it. Any lunge variation, cossack squat, or a half kneeling single arm DB Press can help build midline support. These movements can really help both athletes and everyday individuals become well-balanced and potentially save their body from injury.

Breathing & Bracing

Breathing is a key component when working on both strength and power. Allowing oxygen to flow in and out of our bodies at a controlled rate is optimal for lifting heavier and staying safer. Not allowing oxygen to enter the body while exercising leads to possible lightheadedness, hernias, and muscle spasms. This also leads to our muscles working at an optimal capacity.. Most importantly, when you breathe using your diaphragm, you brace your core muscles which primes your body to lift heavier weights properly. Next time you’re about to lift something heavy, follow this steps:

1. Take a big belly breath, forcing air into the lower part of the abdomen

2. Think about pushing the air out into every direction (front abdomen, obliques, and low back)

3. Hold that big diaphragmatic breath until you’ve completed your lift

More Than Just “Ab Work”

People tend to associate sit ups, Russian twists and planks as the only ways to work on strengthening the core. This is completely false! Every single movement that we make both inside the gym and in our everyday life actually engages the core…we just don’t often notice that it does. Simple things such as carrying your groceries and standing up from the couch to more difficult movements like heavy squatting and deadlifting all engage our core. Think about bracing in every way you move and reap the benefits of a strong, stable body. Keep working that stability and check out our Tuesday 5:30pm SGT Core class as well as our Arms & Abs class on Thursdays at 8:30am on the turf! Ask a trainer if you have questions or need some help!