Posts Tagged ‘Obliques’
Your body’s core is the midsection, from your groin to your shoulders. The core includes the pelvis, abs, back and chest muscles. It is this core that offers stability, balance and flexibility. If the core is not properly conditioned it will limit your physical abilities. Core training supplies a solid base for strength, stamina, correct posture and top form in most sports. Simply put, core training strengthens the muscles of the torso, pelvis, and back, allowing them to work together creating a strong physical foundation. From the power of that centre, the arms and legs can move fully and freely without additional strain. That’s core strength.
The muscles involved start with the abdominals: the rectus abdominis—the “six pack”; the obliques—running diagonally toward the pubic bone; and the transverse abdominis—deep below the six-pack.
The back contains a crucial stabilizing musculature: the spinal erectors—dual muscular columns on either side of the spine; the trapezius and rhomboids—to stabilize the shoulder blades; and the latissimus dorsi—“lats” to you—which involve arm movement.
In the pelvic area, there are the hip flexors that allow you to raise your leg, as well as hip rotators. The hamstrings, abductors, and adductors provide an important pelvic-leg connection. And finally, there are the gluteals, which allow for powerful backward kicking—and much, much more. The saying you are only as strong as your weakest link holds true in the case of your core.
Abdominals get all the credit for protecting the back and being the foundation of strength, but they are only a small part of what makes up the core. In fact, it is weak and unbalanced core muscles that are linked to low back pain. Weak core muscles result in a loss of the appropriate lumbar curve and a swayback posture. Stronger, balanced core muscles help maintain appropriate posture and reduce strain on the spine. Training the muscles of the core also corrects postural imbalances that can lead to injuries.
There are a variety of exercises and equipment available for core training. The most important exercises—in my opinion—are body-weight exercises. They are very effective for developing core strength, and can be done anywhere.
Bridges are a great example of a perfect core exercise. Here are three examples to try on a floor mat:
Prone bridge: In a prone position—face down—balance on the tips of the toes and elbows and maintain a straight line from your head to your feet. This makes the front and back muscles of the trunk work together.
Lateral bridge: In a sideways position, balance on one elbow and the side of one foot. This requires a co-ordination of the abs and the pelvis.
Supine bridge: Lying face up, raise the hips so that only the head, shoulders, and feet touch the mat. This strengthens the glutes.
Push ups, squats, hip lifts, lunges and back extensions are all great exercises to help develop a strong core.
Using Equipment
A variety of exercise equipment is available that can be used to train the core. Some of the best products for developing core strength include medicine balls, kettle bells, stability balls, bosu balls, balance boards and dumbbells. These types of fitness equipment create instability needed to engage the core muscles to maintain balance. They are challenging, fun but gentle. You will be amazed at how quickly you feel the muscles being used.
Pilates and yoga are two forms of exercise that will help develop core strength. The biggest benefit of core training is to develop functional fitness—that is, fitness that is essential to both daily living and regular activities.
Good core strength is important at every age and fitness level. Whatever your goals, find a way to incorporate body-core conditioning into your routine to reduce fatigue, avoid muscle strain and improve your strength and mobility.
Guelph-Based Personal Trainer Marla Arndt Owns and Operates Frameworks Fitness Studio. She Can Be Reached Via Her Website at Www.Frameworksfitness.Com. Her Column Appears Every Other Week.
The wonderful thing about these muscles is that they are placed so closely together and some of them are even placed one behind the other in a layered fashion. When all these are worked on properly with the right exercise program you will get an amazing core. No doubt about it. But the question is when?
Unlike most so called “core” fitness workouts that are now so prevalent, the best core exercises are the ones that work on everyone of these muscles and collectively build the entire core of the body.
Avoiding your upper, middle and lower core – the love handles – the obliques – the lower and mid back areas will not only make it impossible for you to get killer abs, but also can lead to serious injury. And you think these injuries are rare? People get injured everyday because of the lack of proper guidance when it comes to workout, and that’s one reason why physio-therapists are so busy nowadays.
The best core workouts don’t even require a single machine or some silly but expensive gadgets.
But the only thing these exercises need is our body, our natural movement patterns and how your muscles work in real world gravity. In other words, ideal core workouts can be done anywhere, anytime.
One of the biggest mistakes folk like me make is that they try to mimic the technique of body builders and power lifters. The fact that most people don’t realize is that they are not bodybuilders or power lifters. In the process they tend to over train themselves leading to a lot of wasted time and injuries that are serious and injuries that sometimes even last for a long time.
A proper abs workout should be able to most effectively work out the entire mid-section and core, in minimal amount of time with no risk of injuries. Finding such an exercise is very difficult but here are some things you should focus on when planning your core workout.
1. Choose a collection of core workouts that will work on your entire midsection. These exercises should provide you with proper stimulus to become lean, defined, flat, strong and solid.
2. There a certain exercises that are specifically responsible for creating those lines that give the abs that “six pack” look.
3. There are several functional moves that create the small diagonal muscles on the sides of the ribcage.
4. Exercises that target the love handles, those that reduce them to zero or at least firm them up.
5. Any time, anywhere Core workouts.
6. Exercises those are appropriate for both men and women.
7. The core exercises should be workable on behalf of the person doing it. Many trainers and fitness freaks misinterpret the word ‘killer’ as in ‘killer ab workout’. A truly effective core workout should not kill the person doing it. No injuries, no six days worth of soreness.
8. Choose a blend of exercises that will build you in a balanced way, on every side of your abs.
9. Choose specific exercises that are derived from injury rehab programs. These exercises should be able to strengthen and tone the deepest layers of the ab, the core and the most sensitive muscles of the lower back region.
By: mikejan635
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mikejan635
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