What the Heck Is a "Core" Muscle?
The famous "Core" muscle has been talked about in the fitness industry a lot lately and for good reason.
Have you ever wondered why you may have lower back problems? Or had issues with stability? Maybe you just want to increase your performance in a sport.
You probably never noticed it but any type of movement you make whether your throwing a punch or just picking up something off the floor, your core muscles are the first to activate.
Let's first breakdown what a core muscle is and what does it do? The right term for the Core is the "Transverse Abdominus".
You have 4 basic stomach muscles, The Rectus Abdominus (Your 6 pack), Internal & External obliques and the Transverse Abdominus.
The Transverse Abdominus, is like a belt that goes around your stomach area.
It is the deepest stomach muscle and the only stomach muscle that connects directly to the spine.
It protects the spine especially the lower back.
You can now see, if you have a weak core, you can have potential back problems.
You don't have to have 6 pack abs to have a strong core.
For example, some olympic weightlifters are big with big stomaches but have extremely strong cores to help them lift and hold that heavy weight.
For athletes, having a strong core is very important.
It improves your power, speed, agility and total body strength.
Any type of exercise that forces you to tighten up your stomach area will help with strengthening your Transverse Abdominus.
Some of the exercises you can do are Planks, Exercises with a stability ball, Flutter kicks, 6 inches, Russian Twist, and Squats.
The plank position is a perfect exercise to increase core strength for beginners.
You can do front planks for the front of the core, side planks for the side and back planks for the back.
Try holding the plank position for 20 seconds, then slowly increasing to 30 seconds and so on until you can hold a plank position for a full minute.
For those of you that are professionals with the plank exercises, you can increase the difficulty by doing a front plank with your feet on a chair and your arms on a stability ball.
*Warning* This exercise can cause injury if your not experienced at doing planks and have a weak core.
The Transverse Abdominus, also known as the "Core" is one of the most important muscles in your body.
Other muscles such as the muscles around the pelvic area and up the spine help to assist the core.
So the next time your in the gym working on your Rectus Abdominus, or should I say "6 pack", make sure you also focus on your core muscles.
Have you ever wondered why you may have lower back problems? Or had issues with stability? Maybe you just want to increase your performance in a sport.
You probably never noticed it but any type of movement you make whether your throwing a punch or just picking up something off the floor, your core muscles are the first to activate.
Let's first breakdown what a core muscle is and what does it do? The right term for the Core is the "Transverse Abdominus".
You have 4 basic stomach muscles, The Rectus Abdominus (Your 6 pack), Internal & External obliques and the Transverse Abdominus.
The Transverse Abdominus, is like a belt that goes around your stomach area.
It is the deepest stomach muscle and the only stomach muscle that connects directly to the spine.
It protects the spine especially the lower back.
You can now see, if you have a weak core, you can have potential back problems.
You don't have to have 6 pack abs to have a strong core.
For example, some olympic weightlifters are big with big stomaches but have extremely strong cores to help them lift and hold that heavy weight.
For athletes, having a strong core is very important.
It improves your power, speed, agility and total body strength.
Any type of exercise that forces you to tighten up your stomach area will help with strengthening your Transverse Abdominus.
Some of the exercises you can do are Planks, Exercises with a stability ball, Flutter kicks, 6 inches, Russian Twist, and Squats.
The plank position is a perfect exercise to increase core strength for beginners.
You can do front planks for the front of the core, side planks for the side and back planks for the back.
Try holding the plank position for 20 seconds, then slowly increasing to 30 seconds and so on until you can hold a plank position for a full minute.
For those of you that are professionals with the plank exercises, you can increase the difficulty by doing a front plank with your feet on a chair and your arms on a stability ball.
*Warning* This exercise can cause injury if your not experienced at doing planks and have a weak core.
The Transverse Abdominus, also known as the "Core" is one of the most important muscles in your body.
Other muscles such as the muscles around the pelvic area and up the spine help to assist the core.
So the next time your in the gym working on your Rectus Abdominus, or should I say "6 pack", make sure you also focus on your core muscles.