Core Strength: 6 Reasons It's More than a 6 Pack

After your 50th crunch, you flop back on the mat and tell yourself it will all be worth it once those abs get sculpted. But a strong core is more than a flat belly -- it promotes overall well being. The core is made up of three layers of muscles surrounding your whole torso: the upper abs, the side obliques, and a non-visible deep layer. Here are six reasons the strength of those groups gives you more than a six pack:
1.Posture:The deep muscles of your core surround your spine.  The stronger those are, the tighter they wrap around your spine making it more natural to sit and stand with ballerina-like posture.
2. Movement:Your core is, well, the core of all movement. If the base of all action is strong, those everyday movements from getting out of bed to a night jog will be improved. The better you execute those moves, the stronger your core gets!
3. Balance: The core is the stabilization station of your body. Lean one way now lean the other… feel those oblique’s contracting? The balance created by those contracted muscles will improve your workout as well at the outcome.
4. Power: If you have ever been to any fitness class, someone has probably told you to “engage that core."  The core is the puzzle piece connecting your muscles.
5. Prevention: If the muscle center of your body is strong, your risk for injuries (especially in your back) pretty much disappears.
6.  Flat Belly: The whole core adds to the
sculpting of those front abs. Oh, just a little added bonus!

Ditch the basic crunches and focus on ways to improve your core inside and out. Take your normal moves, but do them on a medicine ball. Roll over and hold a push-up plank, or roll out that mat in a yoga class. The bonus of that six pack will pop up in no time.
What are your favorite core strengtheners?