We consulted personal trainers and fitness experts to help answer these questions before your next workout.
What does it mean to activate or engage your core?
Activating or engaging the core means you’re tightening all of those muscles at once.
What are the benefits of engaging your core?
Engaging your core is important while working out but also during everyday activities.
Doing so “helps you become more stable and gives the spine support.”
That said, walking around with your core engaged 24/7 is not necessary.
How do you know if you’re doing it properly?
Understanding what it means to engage your core and actually knowing how to do it are totally different.
So, what does it feel like?
“It will feel like an elongation in the spine.”
He says to think about stretching from the pelvis all the way to the top of the head.
After the lift comes a zip and then a tightening, Arrington says.
It’s not just sucking in the belly.
Breathing can also play a critical role in engaging the core.
Try thesefive core-strengthening exercisesto put your new knowledge to the test.
