Why your core is important

When most people think about core strength, they might think about a ‘six pack’ – while a six pack may look nice, it’s not the same as a stable core core.

So what is your core, anyway? And why is it so important if we want to be healthy, strong and independent?

The core is the center of all our movements. It includes our abdominal muscles as well as other midsection muscles like the obliques, lower back, hips and pelvis. The core keeps us stable and erect, lets us rotate from side to side, and improves performance of daily activities – like climbing stairs and carrying the shopping – as well as sports – from golf to swimming and beyond. It’s also what helps us get on and off the floor, stand up from a chair, sit comfortably at a desk, do the vacuuming or gardening without pain.

Core strength is less about power and more about being able to maintain the body in ideal postures — to unload the joints and promote ease of movement.

The core also includes the pelvic floor muscles, so maintaining your core strength for women is especially important after having kids and as we get older to help prevent certain kinds of incontinence.

As we age, our bone and cartilage can start to suffer wear and tear, this often happens in the spine – having a strong core can help to control and eliminate problems that arise from this wear and tear. Strong and stable postural muscles help to suspend the bones, allowing them to move better.

Keeping our core in balance is important to reduce problems all over our body; sometimes when people who do a lot of running develop neck or back pain, it’s because their core isn’t as strong and balanced as it needs to be, similarly, knee pain can be due to the pelvis not being stable enough.

Having a strong core helps alleviates lower back pain, improves posture and mobility, and helps prevent falls.

People with good core strength have learnt to identify and activate the muscles needed to accomplish a task or movement. Learning to activate the core does need concentration but it also leads to being more in tune with your body – it helps you develop healthier movement patterns that will improve your mobility and independence at any age.

In other words, everyone can – and should – do core work of some kind, regardless of age, level of fitness, or physical limitation.

Pilates is a fantastic way of getting in touch with your core and understanding how to activate it and control it properly, it’s also a great way to relax and de-stress!

Your core will thank you.