When you think about training your core, you’re probably thinking about finally getting that six pack you have always dreamed about. In reality, the core is about more than washboard abs. The muscles in that part of your body control and stabilize most of your movements. Though your core plays such a vital role your everyday movements, a lot of people don’t know a lot about it. 

What is the core?

“Core” isn’t really a well defined term and it isn’t one muscle. It refers to all of the muscles in your abdomen, but not all fitness professionals agree on what muscles should be included in the definition. 

How should you train your core?

Since you aren’t going to find the core labeled in an anatomy textbook, how you train this area of the body depends on what you are trying to achieve performance or mobility wise. By discussing these goals with a trainer, you can identify what kind of exercises you need to do to strengthen or condition the individual muscles that make up the core. 

An important aspect of any workout that involves the core is learning how to stabilize your movements. While you may just want a six pack, balance and stability are great ways to strengthen the trunk of your body and improve your performance. 

We don’t add weight to most training for core muscles. Instead, we build upon the stability aspect. As you can remain stable through different movements and positions, we work on harder ones to stabilize. That is why so many yoga practitioners have a great core. They focus on the balance and stability in movement. 

As you train your body in other movements like squats or pushups, it is important to focus on how stable you are in those movements. Can you maintain your balance and feel secure throughout the movement? If the answer is yes, your core is doing its job and keeping up with your workout. If the answer is no, or someone tells you your core is weak, then you need to look into stability training. 

At the end of the day, a good core workout is focused on stability. If you would like to learn more about stability and your core, listen to episode 26 of the Training Room Talk podcast or shoot us an email! We are happy to answer any questions you have and would love to hear from you.