15 Strong Core Health Benefits | Why Core Strength Is Crucial

If you’re looking for an effective way to improve your health, fitness, and quality of life, you should focus on strengthening your core. In this article, I will explore how having a strong core can have a major impact on your overall health.

Medical disclosure: The Fit Yourself Barre content is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of a physician. You should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.

What Is The Core?

The core is at the center of the upper body and is a group of muscles found between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor. The core muscles work together in harmony to support and protect the spine. The main parts that form the core are the back, spine, glutes, obliques, abdominals, the pelvic and diaphragm muscles.

Often, we mistake our box-shaped core or trunk for our abs while stomach muscles are just one part of our core.

Why Building A Strong Core Is Important?

Most people think of a strong core as six-pack abs. But a strong core is so much more than that! Your core includes all the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, and abdomen. Besides, these muscles work together to stabilize your spine, help you maintain good posture, and protect your lower back from injury. Strengthening your core can help you avoid back pain, improve your balance and stability, and make everyday activities like reaching, bending, and lifting easier.

There are several more essential reasons why you should work on building a stronger core. Read on!

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Here are 15 Benefits Of Having A Strong Core

1. Improve Your Balance And Increase Your Stability

Strong core muscles allow for better body balance and core stability. While steadiness helps you stay on your two feet, having a good balance especially as you age, makes you more independent and improves your quality of life. In fact, when your core is steady, it is easier to find your balance on unstable ground and avoid falling. Also, good body equilibrium helps you do your daily physical activities effectively. It helps you stay coordinated in your movements; and enables you to carry heavy objects and climb stairs. Finally, most sports require a good balance and rely on stabilizing the trunk muscles for optimum performance.

2. Stand-Up Straighter

When you engage your core by squeezing your belly button towards your spine, you instantly stand a little straighter, don’t you? That is because when you activate your abdominal muscles, it forces your spine to straighten up. The stronger your inner deep core muscles around your spine and back, the better to keep yourself upright with proper posture.

Slouching at your desk or on your couch for extended periods of time weakens your core musculature leading to poor posture, and back, neck, and shoulder pain. Make sure to get up, walk, and stretch regularly.

3. A Strong Core Makes You More Functional In Your Daily Life

Having a strong trunk makes your daily life easier. From bending down to clean your floor to throwing a ball, a solid core is a stable base that helps you execute your everyday household chores and physical activities.

Moreover, once you know how to activate and stabilize your core muscles the right way through better posture and breathing correctly, you are less prone to hurt your back when bending or lifting, for instance. That is because you know how to ground your movements from your core.

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4. Reach Your Fitness Goals, Target Every Muscle In Your Body

By adding core strength exercises to your cardio and weight-lifting training, you have a well-rounded fitness program that triggers every muscle group. This way, you make sure to reach all your fitness goals, strengthening your entire body even from deep within!

5. A Strong Core Supports Better Exercise Form

Working from a solid base also sustains your workout form. A strong torso core improves how you execute each movement. In other words, it provides a firm sturdy foundation for you to rely on while working out.

6. Reinforce Your Strength Training

Having a reliable strong center also leads to the ability to lift heavier weights because strong lifts demand greater core force and stabilization to pull against with good form.

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7. Make It Easier When You Run

A small recent study shows how an 8-week core strength training helped college athletes economize their running energy levels and how it improved their endurance as well.

When you run, you fire up all your core muscles (hip, lower back, abdominals, and glutes), therefore working your core in various ways can only make your running form, persistence, and breathing better!

8. A strong Core Protects Your Internal Organs

Since your core muscles wrap around your trunk, they form an abdominal wall that naturally protects your spinal cord and vital internal organs like your liver. Thanks to this shield, your central nervous system is also safer and the more muscular your core is, the better it insulates from outside harsh impact.

9. Reduce or Prevent Pain

In the past, when you suffered from back pain or sciatica, the doctors advised complete rest and immobility. Today, it is highly recommended to keep on moving. In fact, science revealed that there was a correlation between lower back pain and weak deep trunk muscles. While stronger core muscles help maintain your back, the benefits of an improved balance and posture that core work brings can also aid in preventing or reducing chronic pain intensity.

One other great bonus is that you can do core strengthening exercises easily at home because no special equipment is needed. Core training like balance exercises is safer than resistance training like push-ups or squats.

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10. Boost Your Power

Not only does a stable torso help you bear heavier weights with proper form, but it also boosts your performance. Building core strength enhances all your body movements, giving you more power to hit or kick a ball.

11. A Strong Core Helps You Age Better

Over time, weak core muscles can cause chronic back pain, mobility problems, and injuries due to a lack of deep muscle strength, balance, and poor posture. Core strength improves your well-being and helps you age well by keeping you active.

12. Increase Your Core Flexibility

Core strengthening makes your core more flexible to adjust to sudden perturbations like losing your balance. Posture control helps you react more rapidly before a fall.

Related article “Why Is Stretching So Important?”

13. A Strong Core Prevents Lower Body Injuries

Core stability is one of the keys to reducing hip, leg, and foot injuries. That is why today both professional and amateur athletes prioritize core strength training. A stable core allows for “optimal production, transfer, and control of force and motion, which is transferred throughout the kinetic chain during functional movement.” explains research from 2018.

Also, having a solid core strength particularly benefits adults aged 65 years, whose risk of falling is increased.

14. Lower The Risk Of Complications Like Hernias

I used to have the most common type of hernia; the inguinal hernia. It happens when the intestines push through a weak spot in the lower abdomen wall. My daughter had an ovarian hernia and had to get surgery when she was only 3 months old. She almost lost her ovary. Strengthening the core reinforces those weak gaps that let organs or fatty tissue squeeze through surrounding muscles.

Why do bodybuilders get hernias?

While a strong core helps prevent hernias, on the other hand, bodybuilders get hernias because when lifting super heavy weights, they increase the pressure within the abdominal belt which can cause a tear in the muscles. A hernia then can develop in that weakened area.

15. Boost Your Digestion

One other benefit of a strong core is that it helps regulate bowel movements which facilitates digestion. A regular core workout speeds up digestion. As a result, you will experience fewer stomach aches, less bloating, and better nutrient absorption.

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What Are The Best Core Activation Exercises You Can Do At Home?

A 2017 study shows how yogic postures are very effective in activating the core. That makes yoga practice one of the best forms of workout for engaging the trunk as a whole. Besides, both pilates and barre fitness include some yoga-inspired movements as well.

Here are 3 GREAT core loading movements

• PLANKS

• BRIDGES

• STANDING ABS

Though the plank and bridge exercises are on their own moves that target the entire core, you can blend and switch between those exercises for a blasting complete core work!

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Bottom Line

Total core strength provides many health advantages that you can’t ignore, from improving your posture to reducing your risk of injury, there are plenty of reasons why strengthening your core is crucial. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!

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