When we think of fitness and health, one of the typical images that comes to mind is a six-pack abs. Many people believe that this is the ultimate fitness goal. Sure, having 6-pack abs might be an excellent goal for your fitness journey, but the story behind 6-pack abs goes deeper than aesthetics.
When we talk about core exercise training, we’re not just talking about those positive abs. We are talking about all the muscles that make up the torso or abdomen. All of our moves come from this area, so while keeping it strong it might earn you the coveted six-pack ab, train it to do more, more.
Why is it so important to build a core capacity? Read on to find out.
Balance Improvements
Our sense of balance resides in our inner ear, but our ability to maintain that sense of balance requires our core muscles. Whether you’ve noticed it or not, the simple act of standing up straight is rooted in the core. How else do we maintain balance on a surface area as small as a foot?
When we have a strong core as well as a strong support system with a sense of balance, we are able to perform any activity without fear of falling. This becomes even more important as we are more prone to falls as we age, so it’s important to train your core at all stages of life.
Easy to Move
If there’s anything you’ve learned from this article, it’s this: Core strength training has made it easy for us to get around the world.
When our core is strong, our limbs are easier to use, and as we said, we are better at maintaining balance. If we train our core, we can bend, throw, climb, and twist and prepare ourselves for these movements. With a strong torso, simple things like getting up from a chair, picking up a shopping bag, or turning from one road to another become as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Postural Support
Good posture has many benefits, from better breathing to improved concentration.
When we train our core muscle groups, our spine is surrounded by a beautiful structure (literally). Having strong core muscles helps us keep our backs straight without thinking, and that’s what fitness training is all about: making your body function so well that you don’t need to think about it.
Athletic Performance
If you’re an athlete, you’ve probably done enough hard core strengthening exercises to know how important it is to maintain a strong torso. But if you want to improve your sport – whether you’re an Olympic gymnast or you’re considering joining a intramural sports team or club – core strength is crucial.
Think of any action in any sport. Handstands, swinging golf clubs, throwing a basketball into the hoop, scrubbing the ice floor to move the stone towards a target – anything you can think of – all of these movements use the muscles of the abs, sides, and back to achieve the goal.
Exercising your core muscle strength will improve your athletic performance.
Injury Prevention
Another fantastic side effect of core training is that it prevents injury. This goes hand in hand with the light movement that we mentioned: having a strong core allows us to carry out our daily activities with more support for our bones, muscles and joints.
This way, when we slip, we are better able to hold ourselves before we fall, and when we bend down to pick up the box, we don’t hurt any muscles in our back.
