Insides on Core Fitness Trainings. How it works!

If you own any kind of gym or fitness center chances are pretty good you are dealing with some hard-core fitness training.  If you watch any health style infomercial or television show it is almost impossible to do without some reference to core strength.  For the past few years core fitness training has been on the tips of tongues from fitness trainers, rehab therapists to your own doctor.  The words sound simple, however to fully comprehend what core fitness training is and which muscles are involved is a little complex.

Many clients tell their professional trainer they want to work on their core and point to their stomach.  While many of the core muscles lie in that area there are other muscles involved in making up the core.  The muscles can be divided into two categories – deep muscles and superficial muscles.

• Deep Core Muscles – These muscles function to stabilize the pelvis and muscles close to the spine.  For the health fanatics that includes the multifidu, the traverse abdominus, the internal oblique, diaphragm, spinal erectos, and muscle of the pelvic floor.
• Superficial Core Muscles – These muscles work in conjunction with the deep muscles to support movement of the pelvis and spine.  These include the lats, hip flexors, hamstrings, gluteus minimus and maximus, rectus abdominus and the external oblique.

The reason we need a strong core is because it helps you experience improved balance and stability, better posture, less back pain and more every day functional strength.  Core fitness and strength is critical for improving sports performance, anything from tennis to football or swimming the edge over your competitor can come down to your core strength.  The best way to visualize it is by thinking of a corset for women.  The idea was to tighten everything up and hold it in place while creating a small waist.  Now picture your muscles as a corset of strength that helps to protect your organs, supports your trunk and pelvis and stabilizes your hips and spine.

Any type of movement that requires your muscles to work hard in order to achieve balance of the body or stabilizes the spine, challenges the musculature of the core.  As a result there are a variety of programs and equipment on the market designed to work the core.  Knowing where to start can be daunting and a little over whelming.  Working with a professional trainer at your local gym to develop your core fitness is the ideal way to make sure you are using the right equipment and exercises.  However, whether you use a professional trainer or not, the number one rule when developing a core fitness training program is to make sure you are consistent and focused.

Adding some type of core fitness training to your regular workouts twice a week should be sufficient to begin seeing an improvement in core strength.  Like anything else, the more time you put into it the greater the results.