BUILD A STRONG CORE

Having a strong core is important to your everyday life. It can help us have a better posture, eliminate lower back pain, and help prevent injuries. Here is the 411 on the basics of building a strong core.

The core is group of muscles that make up our mid-section, which consist of the abdominals, oblique’s and lower back. The core is responsible for stabilizing everything we do and for our posture. Having a weak core can have the reverse effect. It can contribute to a poor posture, which is the cause of lower back pain and muscle injuries. Living a sedentary lifestyle can also cause us to walk around with a weak core due to sitting at a computer desk all day hunched over in the same position for hours. This causes your body to form the hunched-over look and slouching which can cause damage to the spine.

To prevent these problems, begin by working your core once or twice a week. Here is the basic when doing a core workout.

Beginners: 2 sets of 10 reps

Intermediates: 3 sets of 15 reps

Advanced: 4 sets of 20 reps

On planks: Hold for as long as you can until you can no longer hold yourself up. Every time you do planks, time yourself and try to beat your personal record.

Basic crunches

Crunches with feet in air

Bicycles

Lower leg lifts

Quadriplex

Side planks (Hold for as long as you can)

Plank on forearms (Hold for as long as you can)

Supermans

XOXO

Marzia