What comes to mind when you think about exercising your core? Does it make you think about a flat stomach, chiseled abs, and lots of crunches?
Although sit-ups and crunches are an easy go-to for core workouts, they are some of the most ineffective exercises for strengthening your core. They strengthen only a few muscles and even while doing these properly, they pose safety risks and can lead to more back pain.
Engaging the core muscle groups with the right exercises stabilizes your body and improves your balance, and keeps your foundation strong.
We often put emphasis on the abdominal muscles when talking about the core, but it’s much more than that. The core is made up of a whole group of muscles that include the abdominals, obliques, back muscles, and glutes —all working together to provide support for your body and daily physical activities.
By properly and safely working out your core, you’ll:
Go ahead and do a victory dance with us —no crunches for you! Your core exercises should train multiple muscle groups at the same time to see the best results, and crunches just won’t cut it.
The following are the 3 best core strengthening exercises for safely working out your core, without needing fancy gym equipment:
Bridges target the glutes, hamstrings, and stabilizing back muscles (erector spinae). Your spine also benefits from these exercises as the engaged muscles support good posture.
Planks focus on the muscles running vertically on either side of your abdomen (rectus abdominis) and the depper abdominal muscles (transverse abdominis), but you will also be working your glutes, quads, spine, upper back, and shoulders.
Leg raises target the upper and lower core muscles, including building stability in your legs. These are perfect if you suffer from tightness in the hip flexors or lack core balance and strength.
A strong core helps with simple daily activities like getting up out of bed, going for a walk, or even carrying your groceries. Talk to your Luna PT to get started building your core strength, so you can improve your balance, wellness, and regain your independence.