Your core is not just the pretty muscles in the front! The core is designed to stabilize the spine. When you think about it this way, you can imagine a 360 approach with muscles working from all sides of the spine. Here are some common myths I’ve heard about the core:

Myth #1 - Crunches are bad for you

Crunches aren’t bad for you, bad form is bad for you! People often crank their neck instead of engaging the core muscles. You can avoid this by pressing your lower back into the floor, widening through your collar bones and elbows, and gazing up instead of forward. Exhale when you lift, inhale as you lower. Can you choose a more effective exercise for the core? Sure. But crunches aren’t bad for you in and of themselves.

Myth #2 - You don’t need to train the core

Sure technically you don’t need to, but why wouldn’t you? The spine protects our internal organs so why wouldn’t you want to strengthen the muscles that support and stabilize it?

Myth #3 - Holding plank for as long as you can is the best way to test core strength

But are you actually engaged though? I see people who can hang out in plank for minutes on end, but they’re not even engaging the core! Are you flaring your ribs? Are your hips in line with the rest of your body? Are you actively pulling your elbows toward your feet and feet toward the elbows to create tension? Plank is EXTREMELY active!! It’s much more effective to have a shorter but actually engaged plank than one that lasts until the end of time and you’re just chillin’