Core Strengthening Exercises

The abdominal core muscles play an important part in carrying out certain body functions. Strong abdominal muscles mean a strong digestive system and improved metabolism. The name of these muscles i.e. 'core' itself an indicator of how important this muscles group is, for the overall health of our body. Let us understand how to train these muscles with the help of the exercises presented below. These core exercises can easily be performed at home. One should perform them on a regular basis to maintain a good health.

Core Strengthening Exercises and Workouts

The exercises used for core strengthening prove to be useful not only for laymen, but also for professional athletes. There are many different forms of core strengthening exercises for runners and other athletes mentioned (and explained) below.

Crunches
The crunches are one of the best core strengthening exercises for men as well as women. The abdominal crunches can be performed in different ways and also by making use of the exercise ball. The two types of crunches are the normal/regular ones and the reverse crunches. The procedure to perform core strengthening workouts including crunches is given below.

• Regular Crunches: In this core exercise, one has to first lie on the back. The hands (palms) need to be placed behind the head. Legs have to bent at the knees. The procedure is very simple to understand; upper body should be lifted off the ground and then brought towards bent knees. As the body is raised upwards, the chest touches the thighs; it also contracts the abdominal muscles simultaneously. The body should again be taken back and head rested back on the ground.
• Reverse Crunches: In reverse crunches, instead of lifting the upper body, one has to lift the legs (thighs) from their knee-bent position. Thighs have to be brought back to the original position by taking knees away from the chest.
• Exercise-ball Crunches: The exercise ball proves to be a great tool in performing workouts like the crunches. One has to lie with his/her back on the exercise ball. The procedure to perform this type of abdominal exercise is similar to the earlier ones. The difference however, is that upper body should be curled (as it is a bit difficult to directly 'lift') towards hip region. This activity helps in strengthening the core abdominal muscles.

Plank Exercises
There are core strengthening yoga exercises that one can perform in keeping abdominal muscles in a healthy condition. The plank exercise is performed in kind of a yoga pose. It is an easy perform workout and therefore, one of the core strengthening exercises suited for seniors. To perform the plank, one should start off in a position where the body rests on hands and knees. In this core exercise palm should be placed in a manner that the fingers point forward. Knees should then be lifted above and entire length of the body from heels to the neck should be aligned in a straight line. The body now rests on toes and palms. Head has to be positioned in a manner that it is maintained in a forward-facing position. In this core exercise one should hold on to this position for a while and then get back to the position where he/she rests on the knees.

Back Extensions with Ball
To perform the back extensions with ball, one has to first lie with the head facing downwards. The exercise ball should be positioned beneath the body (hips). In this core exercise with ball, one has to lift the torso upwards. While the body is being lifted upwards, the hands need to straighten out at sides. It gives a good exercise to the abdominal muscles.

The different core strengthening exercises mentioned in this article enable the stretching and conditioning of abdominal muscles in different ways. The details pertaining to core strengthening workouts provided in the article should be helpful for readers.