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When Should You Train Core?
Plus 9 Core Stability Exercises for a Stronger Core!
The million-dollar question... Should you train abs before or after your workout? Since your core is responsible for trunk stability, posture control, and enhancing stronger lifts, core training is an essential component to your workouts! If you're getting sick of all the crunches and sit-ups saved for after your workout, this blog post is for you!
Good news! Today's blog post dives deep into when you should train abs and how often! Keep reading to learn more!
If you're anything like me, the thought of doing an entire ab workout at the end of your workout almost seems dreadful. All the crunches and sit-ups just don't seem very appealing after a long intense lift. Many of you may be questioning when you should train abs: before or after your workout and how often throughout the week.
The core, otherwise referred to as the abdominal, is a very important muscle group in your body. It is responsible for stability and helps maintain postural control. Just as any other muscle, core muscles should be trained frequently to ensure this stability and maintain trunk support for daily movements and athletic performance. This will not only give you a core made of steel, but also enhance your lifts by providing the stability and support to your spine during compound and heavy lifts.
The Core Anatomy
The core is the center of our body and is responsible for stabilizing our trunk during any functional movements of our arms and legs. Think movements such as running, squatting, swinging, and even putting on a seatbelt!
The core is made up of a set of 7 muscles: the rectus abdominis, the external obliques, the internal obliques, the transversus abdominis, the multifidus, the quadratus lumborum and the lumbar erector spinae. While each of these muscles have their own functions and responsibilities, we're going to stay focused on the functions of the core as a whole.
Now that we know having a strong core is important for daily movements, physical activity, and athletic performance, let's dive a little deeper on when and howoftento train your core!
Core 101: When should you train your core?
Before or after my workout?
The question you have been waiting for... Should you train core before or after your workout?
While most core movements are accessory work, saved for the end of your workout, it's important to stay intentional with your core training whether it's before or after your lift.
As we know, having a strong core will enhance and help stabilize your lifts. Activating your abdominal muscles before training is essential since your core is involved in all movements such as squatting, deadlifts, shoulder press, etc.
Think of it this way... When you're shoulder pressing heavy dumbbells, what is keeping your body upright to maintain posture? Or how about when you're squatting, what muscles prevent your back from overextension and causing injury? Your core!
So why is it important to train core before your lift?
Solely because you are now activating and warming up the core muscles to prepare for your workout. Needless to say, an entire 15 minute ab workout before a a major lift is going to exhaust you, but a good 3-5 simple ab movements before is going to be ideal. Think plank, bird dogs, dead bugs, etc..
How many times a week?
For many of us, getting in a good ab workout might be out of the blue or even non-existent, but like any other muscle group abs are essential to keep strong!
Since we know that 6-pack abs are the result of the combination of a clean cut diet and intense ab workouts, the entire core muscle group is what we're dialed in on. So, how often should you be training abs?
The muscles of the abdomen should be treated like any other muscle group. Think progressive overload, training frequency, and mind to muscle activation. If you're strength training, bodybuilding, or participating in any other resistance workouts, you would likely be training each muscle group between 1 to 3 times a week. Use this as guidance for how often to train abs. If you're having long, intense ab workouts, you need a good 1-2 days in between to give your ab muscles time to grow and recover.
Now, if you're beginning your workout with core, it's okay to train them before every lift. However, make sure you aren't overdoing it or doing any exercises that will fatigue you before your lift.
Another option for longer and more intense core training is to use it as active recovery on your off days or to add at the end of a more moderate training session!
Weighted or body weight?
Now that we know when and how often to train our core, we may be wondering what is more effective: weighted or body weight ab workouts?
Like any muscle, muscle mass is created by the overload of the rate of muscles protein synthesis to the rate of muscle protein breakdown. During recovery, the muscle repair themselves by fusing muscle fibers together, creating larger and stronger muscle mass.
Going back to your ab muscles, training with weights is going to be beneficial in increasing strength and muscle mass/definition.
However, body weight ab core exercises are just as effective in creating stability and strength to your core. Body weight ab exercises are a great style of functional training, limit injury, and are great for beginners!
Keep scrolling to learn 9 core stability exercises that are body weight and weighted for a stronger core!
9 Core Stability Exercises for a Stronger Core!
1. Elbow Plank
2. Stability Ball Dead Bugs
3. Bird Dogs
4. Stability Ball Stir The Pot
5. Spider Plank
6. Palof Press (cable machine)
7. Single Side Weighted March
8. Bear Plank Shoulder Taps
9. Side Plank With Torso Rotation
Bottom line:
Although ab exercises are not the most appealing for before or after training, it is important to keep in mind all the important functions of the core. Having a strong core will lead you to better lifts, better posture, and stabilization in everyday movements!
Training abs can be done in various ways and can be done before or after your workout. A few simple core movements before your lift is going to be ideal to activate your trunk and get the core ready for heavy lifts. On the other hand, longer and more intense ab workouts can be saved for off days or even after a less intense workout!
Whether you're activating your core muscles with body weight or weighted ab workouts, both are effective to creating a stronger, stabilized core!
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Forty-three percent of women say hormones have negatively affected their overall well-being, according to new research. The survey of 2,000 American women, also found that nearly half (47 percent) have experienced the symptoms of a hormonal imbalance.
KSM-66® Clinically shown to relieve stress, improve brain health, as well as decrease body fat in conjunction with resistance training.
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7-Keto-DHEA speeds up the metabolism and heat production to promote weight loss. 7-Keto-DHEA is also used to improve lean body mass and build muscle, increase the activity of the thyroid gland, boost the immune system, enhance memory, and slow aging.
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