Good core strength is essential for agility, athletic pursuits of any kind and basic health. Whether you want to improve your balance or develop killer abdominal muscles, core strength training is your ticket to a stronger you.
When you're talking about your core muscles, you're thinking of your abdominal, oblique, lower back muscles and your gluts. A daily fifteen minutes of core strength work will improve your stance, your appearance, and your ability to participate in other physical activities. Try the following suggestions to improve your core strength:
Replace your office chair with a stability ball
Just by balancing on the ball as you work you'll improve your posture and strengthen all the core muscles in your body all without realizing you're working out.
Suck in your stomach whenever you think of it
You might laugh at this, but try it and you'll feel the difference. Check your posture throughout the day. Are you hunching over your computer? Straighten up and suck in your stomach. Feel the difference? Try that all day long and you'll improve your core muscle strength - and your appearance.
Practice being Superman
Lie on your stomach on the floor. Now lift your left arm and your right leg just enough to feel the pull in your back. Hold for 15 seconds. Release and lift your right arm and your left leg. Hold again for 15 seconds, then release. Now lift both arms and both legs-not a lit, just enough to feel that pull-and hold the pose for 15 seconds. It's a relatively painless exercise that will significantly improve your lower back muscle strength.
Crunch those abs
Commit to a daily round of abdominal crunches. Lie on the floor on your back and bend your knees. Cross your arms over your chest. Engage your stomach muscles and lift your head and upper body off the floor. Repeat until you feel the burn. Take a rest, then do another set.
Do the Twist
This exercise will work your oblique muscles, those muscles that run along the sides of your trunk. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Place your hands on your hips. Now twist your upper body back and forth, feeling the pull on your oblique muscles, making sure to keep your hips still.
Be the Plank
You can work all your core muscles at once by posing in a push-up position with your back straight as a board. Start out on your stomach. Place your hands under your shoulders, engage all your core muscles and lift up until your body resembles a plank or a slanting table. Hold this position for 30 seconds, taking care not to let your back sink.
Be sure to stretch before and after any exercise session to prevent injury.
 | Building strength with core workouts stabilizes your torso, protects your spine, improves your balance and reduces the risk of lower back injury. |
 | An exercise ball workout forces you to engage multiple muscles in your core at once, increasing the effectiveness of your workout while decreasing the amount of time you need to work out if you targeted each core muscle independently. |
Core training is the latest rage in the fitness industry, but not many people really understand what it is. There are many misconceptions about what it is and how it works. People know that core training is smarter training, but they may not realize why that is. |
Exercise equipment comes in a large range of pieces for individuals to choose from. However, one of the most useful pieces of exercise equipment, the "exercise ball" is also one of the most simple. First introduced by a group of medical therapists who practiced in Switzerland, exercise balls, like other exercise equipment, are available in different sizes and a number of eye-catching colors. |
You don't need fancy equipment to build strength in your abdominals and lower back. Instead, try these five core exercises that do not require fitness equipment. |
