Core Values: How Building a Strong Torso Speeds Weight Loss

Exercise is a necessary part of health and weight loss and yet, when many people begin exercising they lack a holistic understanding of how the body is made, how the muscles of the body work together for support and strength. Often we focus most of our energy on what we want to tone or get rid of and fail to see ourselves as a whole. This is one reason many women give up on exercise so quickly–they start building muscle and not burning as much fat as they wish in areas such as their legs and bellies and so feel bigger than when they weren’t exercising. Another common experience is injuring yourself just when you begin to really feel good about your fitness routine.

One of the best ways to circumvent these experiences lies in understanding a part of the body that is essential to healthy and safety–the core:

Core Values: We’ve all heard or read about how important it is to have a strong core, but we are often confused about why this is so and what our ‘core’ actually is–many of us associate it only with our abdominal muscles. Actually, the core, or torso, of our body is made up of several different groups of muscles, each of which plays a part in helping our body move and protecting the spine against injury. These muscle groups also improve posture, balance, and agility while making other types of exercise–such as running, cycling, and swimming easier. These kinds of exercises make the core stronger in turn and lead to a sleeker, less bulky physique. The core muscles include:

The major muscles of your core include:

* The Transverse Abdominis (TVA)-The deepest of the abdominal muscles, this lies under the obliques (muscles of your waist). It acts like a weight belt, wrapping around your spine for protection and stability. Best exercise to improve your TVA? The Plank–A yoga pose that is easy to do and incredibly effective.
* External Obliques-These muscles are on the side and front of the abdomen, around your waist.Target Exercise for strengthening your external obliques is the Arm Sweep
* Internal Obliques-These muscles lie unde r the external obliques, running in the opposite direction. The Crossover Crunch is a great exercise to really work the internal obliques.
* Rectus Abdominis-The Rectus Abdominis is a long muscle that extends along the front of the abdomen. This is the ’six-pack’ part of the abs that becomes visible with reduced body fat. Plain ol’ Crunches work the best for achieving those abs.
* Erector Spinae -The erector spinae is actually a collection of three muscles along your neck to your lower back. Back extensions are a good way to really work out this group of muscles.

Paying attention to building a strong core is a great way of ensuring that your body builds strength and grace naturally and safely. Our core is the root of our body, its foundation. If you have a good foundation, you can build a beautiful body.

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