Core strength
By Cindy Joiner, published in Highly Acclaimed Magazine
Core strength is the key to injury prevention, excelling in your sport or activity of choice and overall functional mobility. The muscles of the abdomen, back, pelvis, and hips form your core.
Strengthening these muscles will improve your balance and keep your trunk stable and aligned while your limbs are active. Our core comes into play in everything we do…standing, sitting, bending over, walking and more. The torso is the body's center of power, so the stronger you are in that area, the easier your sport, activity and life will be. If the core muscles are weak, your body doesn't work as effectively or efficiently and other muscles have to pick up the slack. When this happens, our body has a tendency to get out of alignment which causes nagging aches and pains and even injury. To prevent all this it is important to perform core strengthening exercises.
A few of the more popular core exercises are :
THE PLANK: Start by lying face down on the ground. Place your elbows and forearms underneath your chest. Prop yourself up to form a bridge using your toes and forearms. Be sure your elbows are directly beneath your shoulders and your body forms a straight line from head to foot. Be sure to maintain a flat back…your butt should not sag towards the ground or stick up in the air. Now squeeze your abs and glutes (butt muscles) as hard as you can and hold for at least 30 secs. while maintaining proper form.
SIDE PLANKS: Lie on side on mat. Place forearm on mat under shoulder perpendicular to body, place your other hand on your hip. Place upper leg directly on top of lower leg and straighten knees and hips. Lift hips and knees so you form a straight line. Now squeeze you abs and glutes as hard as you can and hold for at least 30 secs. while maintaining proper form. Repeat on other side. If this is too hard you can keep your knees bent at a 90 degree angle so you only lift your hips.
ALTERNATING ARM AND LEG RAISE: Lie on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you (think superman). Keeping your abs tight raise your right arm and left leg simultaneously. Return to floor and raise your left arm and right leg simultaneously. Continue alternating for a count of 10 each. As you become more proficient gradually add more repetitions and speed.
There are many different exercises, as well as many variations of the ones listed above, that work the core. Any exercise that requires balance will bring the core muscles into play. That is why the stability ball and BOSU ball are so popular. It doesn’t matter which ones you do as long as you incorporate some core work into your routine. Remember to always use proper form, as improper form will diminish the effectiveness of the exercises and may cause injury
Core strength is the key to injury prevention, excelling in your sport or activity of choice and overall functional mobility. The muscles of the abdomen, back, pelvis, and hips form your core.
Strengthening these muscles will improve your balance and keep your trunk stable and aligned while your limbs are active. Our core comes into play in everything we do…standing, sitting, bending over, walking and more. The torso is the body's center of power, so the stronger you are in that area, the easier your sport, activity and life will be. If the core muscles are weak, your body doesn't work as effectively or efficiently and other muscles have to pick up the slack. When this happens, our body has a tendency to get out of alignment which causes nagging aches and pains and even injury. To prevent all this it is important to perform core strengthening exercises.
A few of the more popular core exercises are :
THE PLANK: Start by lying face down on the ground. Place your elbows and forearms underneath your chest. Prop yourself up to form a bridge using your toes and forearms. Be sure your elbows are directly beneath your shoulders and your body forms a straight line from head to foot. Be sure to maintain a flat back…your butt should not sag towards the ground or stick up in the air. Now squeeze your abs and glutes (butt muscles) as hard as you can and hold for at least 30 secs. while maintaining proper form.
SIDE PLANKS: Lie on side on mat. Place forearm on mat under shoulder perpendicular to body, place your other hand on your hip. Place upper leg directly on top of lower leg and straighten knees and hips. Lift hips and knees so you form a straight line. Now squeeze you abs and glutes as hard as you can and hold for at least 30 secs. while maintaining proper form. Repeat on other side. If this is too hard you can keep your knees bent at a 90 degree angle so you only lift your hips.
ALTERNATING ARM AND LEG RAISE: Lie on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you (think superman). Keeping your abs tight raise your right arm and left leg simultaneously. Return to floor and raise your left arm and right leg simultaneously. Continue alternating for a count of 10 each. As you become more proficient gradually add more repetitions and speed.
There are many different exercises, as well as many variations of the ones listed above, that work the core. Any exercise that requires balance will bring the core muscles into play. That is why the stability ball and BOSU ball are so popular. It doesn’t matter which ones you do as long as you incorporate some core work into your routine. Remember to always use proper form, as improper form will diminish the effectiveness of the exercises and may cause injury