Core strength and body flexibility represent two of the key elements of fitness (others being cardio capacity, balance and overall strength). People usually understand importance of these two areas of fitness for health and well-being, nevertheless building them takes time and effort.

Core muscles – those around back, abdominals and pelvic floor – act as stabilizers for the whole body and most importantly the spine. We use them in almost every movement.

In the new video, you will learn how to build core strength and body flexibility and why they are important for healthy life and optimal body posture.

Better body flexibility with stretching exercises

Stretching exercises to achieve better body flexibility have various options, experts are more less aligned that including warm-up and stretches before any physical activity is beneficial to every athlete (including us, who don’t consider ourselves athletes ;)). The most powerful seems to be a combination of static and dynamic stretching exercises, however from my view the key is repetition and everyone has to find out for themselves what works and what perhaps doesn’t.

How to improve core strength and what are the benefits for healthy body posture

Core strength is another part of healthy and fit body. Core muscles consist of a group of abdominal muscles, pelvic floor and muscles around our spine. Core strength should not be an objective in itself, rather a way to improve our body posture, stabilize our back and pelvis and thus help alleviate negative effects of usual prolonged sitting – namely the most common lumbar spine issues. There is a long way from strong core to a 6-pack, nevertheless a solid core strengthening workout is the first step here.  Strong and stable core makes life easier as we use core muscles in almost any body activity during the day. Exercises for core activation and strengthening are often included in the back-related physiotherapy routines.

An example of the program that focuses on core strength and body flexibility

The ExFitt Fitness Program is a 4-weeks course where we teach how to warm-up and stretch, how to include regular physical activity in our busy schedule, how to build core strength and body flexibility through the ExFitt Sequence^TM. In its full length it takes around 40-45 minutes nevertheless has been built in such way that you can pick & choose, shorten the workout to 10, 20 or 30 minutes depending on your time availability in a particular day. As a flow of carefully selected exercises from yoga and Pilates, the ExFitt Sequence^TM builds on proven physical education systems. We also included a couple of exercises learnt from the top physiotherapists, especially focusing on spine mobility.

You can try a sample program for free simply via registering your email on the ExFitt website. Enjoy your exercise, enjoy doing something positive for your body and have a great day.

Key points of the video are:

• Why are core strength and body flexibility two of the key fitness pillars
• Core strength – the way to improve body posture
• Body flexibility and stretching exercises
• Benefits of the ExFitt Sequence^TM

How do you build and keep your fitness level? Share, comment, ask me any questions. If you enjoyed this video, have a look at some more here, give me a like or share with your friends – whoever you feel might benefit.

Resources:

Harvard Health Publishing: Understanding and improving core strength
Wikipedia: Core stability
Dan Frolec: How to get flexible body with stretching exercises
ExFitt: Learn how to stay fit and healthy after 40