The hype about the core🧐

First of all,

(little intermission)

I hope that the concept that I am trying to post after is clear

(I'm saying trying, because it doesn't always exactly, 100 % work out that way, but I'm working on a predictable blog-posting schedule)

I said in one of my first blogs, that I would post Mondays and Thursdays

(which I'm pretty good at keeping up with) and that the blogs would alternate between a blog about 🌱sustainability/environment🌿

and about something 🤸🏼‍♂️physical/mental health👩🏾‍🤝‍👩🏼 related.

I hope that you are not getting confused about the different posts and topics

and this is the end of my little clarification paragraph.

👀Cue actual blog...

Now, I want to ask you, what do you think of when you hear the word: core?

Think…

Okay, now I will explain some stuff for anybody who does or does not already know these things.

Our core is actually a very important, powerful structure that can do amazing things for our posture, health, protection against injuries and feeling stable and strong in our own skin.

Because the abdominal wall has no skeletal structure to support it, it relies on the muscles around it for support.

It is our center of gravity and helps protect our spine by aiding in shock absorption and supporting healthy movement patterns.

🏃🏼‍♀️🏌🏼‍♂️🚣🏼‍♀️Most of our movements involve the utilization of our core muscles.

One thing that a lot of people don’t know which are all of the muscles that actually make up the core.

The term “core” generally refers to the muscles of the lumbo-pelvic region, hips, abdomen and lower back.

The muscles of the innermost layer consist of

vertebral bones and disks,

spinal ligaments running along the front, sides and back of the spinal column

and small muscles that only span single vertebrae.

The middle layer consists of muscles and fasciae

that encircle the lower regions of the spine.

These muscles include the

transverse abdominis, multifidi, quadratus lumborum, deep fibers of the

internal obliques, diaphragm, pelvic floor musculature and the adjoining fasciae.

The outermost layer consists of muscles like

the rectus abdominis, erector spinae, external and internal obliques, iliopsoas and latissimus dorsi.

(I couldn't find any good license free pictures, so at this point

you should really look up some images of the anatomy of the core

in order to connect each named muscle to a visual image and understand the concept better)

You can see now that the core is a rather complex and important

(some might even say interesting😋)

structure that is about lots more than “abs”.

🏋🏼‍♂️Having a strong core can prevent injuries and really aid in performing pain free, seamless movement in many ways.

Core strength and stability is emphasized in almost every sport, form of movement and physical activity,

🏂🏼🏇🏼💃🏼

ranging from horse-riding, yoga or even skateboarding to football, baseball or ballet.

📚Some of you may have enjoyed this, some of you may not be reading this anymore,

but nonetheless I think this is good stuff to know and I am an advocate for good core strength . . .

for this reason I have put up a little 6-move core circuit on my instagram

@thrive-bynature, that is suitable for a home-workout or advanced athletic endeavors.

It is slow paced and not intense with a focus on really feeling those muscles contract.

Hope you try it!

There'll be more videos like this soon to come.

See ya next blog💚👋🏼

Xx Stella