Enjoy stability and proper posture It depends largely on essencea term that includes Muscles located in the middle of the body, including the abdominal muscles, lower back, and pelvic muscles. There is no doubt that strengthening these muscles helps improve physical fitness at any age, but As we age, maintaining their strength becomes key..
It is very important to keep your abdominal, lower back and pelvic muscles strong Harvard Medical School They maintain that Core-working exercises should be part of any physical exercise programWhether to improve athletic performance, prevent back pain, or simply feel more comfortable and agile when performing any household task, from getting out of a chair or bending down to pick something up from the floor to doing manual labor or gardening.
This becomes especially important as we enter middle age, because Muscle weakness essence It leads to further loss of balance and muscle pain. This is because, explains Marty Baum, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “the core muscles provide stability to the moving parts of the torso below and above: the middle back, rib cage, spine, and hips.”
But not just any exercise works. Harvard also talked about which exercises are good and which exercises are bad for core work. Some exercises that are commonly used to strengthen the core, especially the abdominal area, can be counterproductive.
Here we will tell you what exercises you should avoid, and the three most recommended exercises by Harvard University experts to maintain the strength of your core, especially after fifty.
Strengthen the heart but also make it more flexible!
The muscles essence, Like the trunk of a tree, it must be strong and flexible at the same time, maintained by Harvard University. Otherwise, the arms and legs cannot work with the strength they need to move well.
“The movement of our arms and legs It starts in the middle of the body, “That’s why the abdominal muscles are so important, and that’s why they should be flexible and not rigid,” explains physiotherapist and athlete Bibiana Badinis. “The concept of the center or essence It’s functional, not anatomical: When the center is stable, our arms and legs feel supported.
Disciplines such as Pilates or yoga give great importance to strengthening the trunk muscles through exercises that take this aspect into account and do not seek only to build muscles and sculpt the body.
The worst exercises to strengthen the abdomen
the Squatting And the Crunches, which have been suggested for many years as the most effective exercises for strengthening the abdominal muscles, are not as recommended as Harvard experts believe. They only strengthen certain muscles, and may pose more risks than benefits for middle-aged people.
“They are dangerous because… They pull the neck“Explains Marty Baum of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. They do not work the core, but the hip flexor muscles. When these muscles become too strong, they pull the lower back and Increasing back pain“.
This is important, because with insufficient exercise, on the one hand, we create conditions that enhance pain, and on the other hand, we miss the benefits of having essence Powerful in order to prevent back pain.
The best exercises to strengthen the core according to Harvard University
According to Bohm, there is a more effective approach when trying to promote essence He is Work several muscle groups at the same timeIt also happens when you perform normal movements such as lifting weights or climbing a wall.
So, The Harvard expert recommends three specific exercises Which we can find in the Pilates method and in yoga. recommend Start little by little, increasing the number of repetitions As the exercise is mastered and the muscles become stronger.
Before starting It is recommended to warm up the muscles at a minimumHe runs a little and moves his arms, Finally, the muscles stretch To ensure that in addition to strengthening the muscles, we also make them more flexible:
