Core Strength – Why Is It Important?

When you think of your core, what comes to mind? Many people think of it as having a 6-pack of abs, but it really goes much further than that says a Jamison Chiropractor . Your “core”, as its commonly called, is composed of muscles in your torso not just in the front, but the back and sides as well…your erector spinae, the bottom of your lats, your obliques, and the transverse abdominus, just to name a few! Think of it in terms of a corset – it wraps all the way around the body, and so do your core muscles. So why are your core muscles so important?

The muscles in and around your torso are essentially stabilizing your entire body. According to the best local chiropractor, keeping those muscles strengthened not only helps to improve posture, but they also help with balance as well. From the playing fields to doing regular household chores, having a strong core will reduce the risk of injury and help maintain flexibility.

Bending, rotating, lifting, and walking/running are all examples of activities that can be made easier by having a strong core, and incorporating exercises into your fitness routine can optimize those strength gains and reduce the chance of injury – especially to your lower back! According to a Warrington chiropractor, specific core exercises are often overlooked when it comes to developing a fitness program, so ensure that you are training your core as well as upper and lower body.

Since everything in the body is connected, think of your core as the chain in the middle – if that chain is weak, it’s going to eventually affect the arms and legs as well. For overall performance improvement, including improved balance, stability, and posture, remember to incorporate core strengthening exercises into your workout routine!

Strength Training Benefits

For most folks, if you mention lifting weights, they probably imagine someone doing massive amounts of bicep curls in the gym; let’s get this this image of what weight lifting might look like out of here! Multiple studies talked about by the best local Jamison chiropractor show just how beneficial resistance training can be, for both men and women. Sure, we can build muscle and strength with lifting those dumbbells…but how else can we benefit?

Putting a load on our muscles, joints, and bones is imperative for our overall health and wellness, especially as we get older; as we age, we lose bone mass, and that can lead to issues like osteoporosis, back pain and postural issues. By adding weight training into our workout programs, we can slow the process, and maintain strength in our bones! We also start to lose our lean muscle mass as we age, and strength training can minimize the losses that are inevitable.

Lifting weights also has another benefit – not only does it help maintain a healthy body weight, but muscle also needs energy, so it uses blood sugar! This is helpful, especially those folks that are at a greater risk for diseases like diabetes, as well as high blood pressure.

If you’re still iffy about weight training, don’t be! You don’t have to lift massive amounts of weight in order to see these benefits, and we are able to see improvements in strength across all ages when incorporated as part of a healthy lifestyle with your favorite local chiropractor. And even better? You can use your own body weight as resistance, so get started on some squats, pushups, and planks, and start building up those muscles!