After giving birth to a healthy baby, your body and mind may feel exhausted, but the last thing you should do is give up your time at the gym. Sticking to your workouts will elevate your mood, re-energize your body, and ensure you get back in shape faster.
How to Squeeze in a Workout
The first few months after your baby is born, it can be easy to neglect your health, as you’ll inevitably be starved for time and sleep. However, the healthier you are, the easier it is to take care of your little one. It’s still essential to work out a schedule where you can have time for yourself. This is crucial to balancing a new lifestyle and guaranteeing that your self-value is still strongly upheld, so don’t let any myths about women’s exercise and strength training keep you from getting up and moving.
Why Concentrate on the Core?
The word “core” most likely comes from the Latin cor meaning “heart,” but don’t let that confuse you. The core, or the torso, is also home to the lungs, stomach, liver, intestines, and kidneys—in other words, most of the critical organs in your body! As these organs are delicate and need protecting, keeping the muscles around your organs strong, active, and healthy is crucial to energizing your whole body and getting the most out of any workout.
While the core is commonly considered to be the abs, it contains much more than a set of abdominal muscles. Having defined abs isn’t the same thing as having a healthy core. Some of the best workouts for your core include deadlifting, high-intensity boxing training, and performance dancing. Surprisingly, many of the best ab workouts are full-body exercises. Maintaining a powerful core provides more than just powerful support, it is proven to widen your range of movement, expand your flexibility, and increase your resistance to movement.
Healthy Core, Healthy Back
Back pain can be debilitating, and it’s something that millions of Americans suffer from on a regular basis. While back pain may occur for many reasons, one of the best ways to fight back problems and relieve pain is with a strong core. Most abdominal workouts not only take the pressure off your back but work some of the posture muscles as well.
A healthy back helps you to maintain balance and stability throughout your workouts and other daily activities. In addition to doing muscle-building core exercises, you can work on your core throughout the day when you’re not at the gym. Concentrating on maintaining good posture while you’re at work is a subtle means of strengthening your core.
Avoid Workout Injuries
The worst thing that can happen while you’re trying to get in shape is a debilitating injury. The majority of exercise injuries happen because of a weak or underdeveloped core. The stronger your core, the safer it becomes to take on challenging exercises.
Most movements begin deep in the core and surge outward, which is why having a strong center enables easier movement. Weak or inflexible core muscles can impair the movement and function of the arms and legs. To avoid hampered movements, it’s important to build stability before working on strength. Be careful not to overwork your core when beginning a new workout regimen; instead, add reps to your core exercises gradually as you feel those muscles begin to adjust.
Improve Your Quality of Life
While looking good in a swimsuit is a powerful motivation to work out, consider a healthy body beyond just shedding a few pounds for the summer. Strengthening your core is the best way to improve your health and shape for the rest of your life and it doesn’t have to be boring. There are a lot of fun ways to get active and exercise. Emphasize your posture and health when engaging in your core workouts and you’ll be rewarded with more than just weight loss.
