Are you working your core in every workout, but you still can’t seem to see or feel results? Luckily, it's easy to strengthen your core muscles, since we're almost always using them. Here are some tips that can get you feeling those muscles faster.
- Get a core workout anywhere. You can get a core workout at work, while watching TV, or even during your commute just by sitting up straight and engaging your core muscles. Not only that, but engaging your core during these activities will help your posture.
- Train every part of your core. If you’re just doing crunches, you’re not going to see results. Make sure you’re doing things like planks, side planks, bridges, and weight training to see the most out of your core workout. That way you’re not just hitting your abs, but your obliques, glutes, back, and pectorals, too.
- Take breaks. Your core muscles need to recover, just like any other muscle group you work during your workout.
- Test your balance. Your core is a stabilizer, first and foremost. Doing planks on a stability ball or just trying to balance on one leg can be great for getting all of those core muscles to work together. For advanced work, try calf raises on one leg.
If you want to see that core, as in, see that line that means there’s just muscle there, you’re looking at a combination of regular strength training, cardio (preferably HIIT) workouts two to three tmes a week, and eating healthy and clean.
But ultimately, your goal should be to feel it. There’s a huge difference between a half an hour jog with an engaged core and the same jog without one. Everything you do feels easier and more stable, and no one will be able to knock you over.
