Mystery of the core

A flat tummy is one of those universally admired and desired features on a body. And as Murphy’s law would have it, it is also one of the hardest things to achieve. Most of us have typed in “how to get a toned tummy (fast)” in our google search engines, because no number of sit-ups will help. Engaging the core is a recurring theme that seems to loom in between the multiple answers given by google. We assume that it is a fancy reference to ab workouts, but is there more to it?

The core is made up of three layers of muscles. You have the upper abs, the obliques. which are on the sides and a deeper set of muscle. Core training’s focus is on the deeper muscles as well as the muscles connected to your spine and your legs. Core training delivers results a lot faster, because it works a system of muscles instead of merely engaging the abdominal muscles. You can imagine that this cannot be too easy.

But, no pain, no gain. Engaging the deeper muscles also trains your back, your glutes and the whole area connected to your spinal cord. Your spine becomes more able to support your body and before you know it, you will notice better posture, a toned tummy and you might even feel slightly less clumsy.

The million-rand question remains. How does one strengthen these hidden muscles? The answer is quite simple. The rectus abdominis (the six pack muscles we all desire) needs to join in with all the other muscles of the core to keep your body steady in all kinds of different positions. Your core will then be engaged and each muscle contracted, providing resistance for another muscle. Before you know it, you are left with a rock-solid core.

You never know how long a minute can be, until you do a plank and there is a good reason for it. Planks are much better for your core than the usual crunches. Done properly, a plank works all your core muscles at once, including your arms and legs.

Now that the truth is out, you can start by swapping those tiresome crunches for all the different kinds of planks. Side planks, one arm planks, full planks and half planks. Plank-a-way!