Lifestyle / Stop Sitting Around And Get Your Core Engaged With Our Tips

Stop Sitting Around And Get Your Core Engaged With Our Tips

Lifestyle May 09, 2018

by Nadine Afari

Did you know that sitting is the new smoking? We relish in “arm day” and “leg day” when we work out but you can’t overlook the importance in activating your core. So stop sitting around and get your core engaged with our tips!

Summer is just around the corner! Some of my favourite summer time activities include: Weddings, BBQs, family get-togethers, pool parties, beach time, vacations overseas, and just spending some time out in the sun.

We all see our favourite Bollywood stars and athletes in top shape. Starlets such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Malaika Arora Khan, and Priyanka Chopra for example are all known for their strong cores. Superstar badminton player Saina Nehwal is known for her core strength.

**Get Your Core Engaged With Our Tips: Kareena Kapoor’s workout regime is well documented on instagram.** Photo Credit: NDTV

One of the easiest places to see fast changes and results in your body is to focus on your core stability and core strength.

What’s the “Core”?

The area of the body, which is commonly referred to as the core, is your midsection and it involves all the muscles in that area including the front, back and sides. Our core has three-dimensional depth and functional movement in all three planes of motion — the horizontal muscles, the vertical muscles and the muscles that enable us to rotate our mid section.

The Core Muscle group includes: Rectus abdominis (1)

External oblique (2)

Internal oblique (3)

Transverse abdominis (4)

The stabilizer muscles of the spine, which include the back (erector spinae) group of muscles:

Iliocostalis (5)

Longissimus (5)

Spinalis (5)

Why Should We Focus On The Core?

We are all getting more and more sedentary. Many people have office jobs and sit for up to eight hours a day. Add another hour of driving/commuting time on top of that and it adds up to a whole lot of sitting. Prolonged sitting weakens the core muscles of the midsection. Building lean muscle, shedding fat, and toning up takes time, but there are some things you can do to peak your physique and lose that last bit of stubborn belly weight, shed some fat, and kick your leanness up a notch.

A strong core enhances balances & stability which can help prevent falls and injury, prevents lower back pain and lessens the wear and tear on your spine. Keeping these core muscles strong can do wonders for your posture and help give you more strength in other exercises like walking, running, cycling and dancing.

Three Key Ways To Build Up Your Core

Tip One:

Did you read the latest study proclaiming that pasta is good for you and for weight loss? Yes, carbs definitely provide a readily available source of fuel your body can use as energy for everything it does! Good carbs also aid in digestion and promote healthy cholesterol levels. Carbs get a bad rap, they’re easily stored as fat when you consume more of them than your body can burn. So reduce your daily carb intake. We eat rice with many of our foods, start with eating half the amount you normally would at every meal.

Tip Two:

Many people eat processed, packaged, and canned foods, many of which are packed with sodium. Too much sodium (salt) causes fluid retention which leads to problems such as high blood pressure and can cause water retention, making you look puffy and your belly less toned. Reduce salt when cooking.

Tip Three:

When exercising breathe deeply and focus on keeping your midsection tight. Many workouts usually have a core-focused exercise routine as part of it. Crunches, sit-ups, yoga and pilates as well as full core workouts like bridge or plank are great way to strengthen the muscles. When the belly fat is reduced these muscles will appear.

So with these tips get ready to give your core a good workout it needs and deserves!

Main Image Photo Credit: www.collectiveevolution.com

Nadine Afari

Author

Our Guest Fitness Expert, Nadine Afari (@fitthoney) received her Masters in Science degree from The University of Toronto then relocated to sunny California to accept a job as a health researcher for The University of Southern California. She has been studying health and medicine for 15 years at som...

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Stop Sitting Around And Get Your Core Engaged With Our Tips

by Nadine Afari

Nadine Afari

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