With one of our goals on building abs for strength, stability and longevity here within the G-Fit Community, we think it’s time to focus on the importance of why we incorporate so much core during our workouts.
Understanding the muscles you’re targeting is essential for effective ab development and long-term wellness. When you consciously connect with the muscles you’re working, you can maximize your results, improve core strength, and enhance overall fitness longevity.
Do you even know them? You need to know what muscles you are working so you can connect to them…
When you think of abs, you think of a 6-pack. A set of well-developed muscles that are visible to the eye. Those are called your Rectus Abdominus muscles. But… did you know they are only one part of your abs?
Let’s get to know what else lies behind the walls of that 6-pack 🤸🏻♂️
There are so many muscles that make up your core. While they are all separate, the work together. Together the are stronger. Stronger = Overall Results. Core exercises leads to overall better balance and stability.
✴︎✴︎This is why ☝🏻 we created the 31 Day Ab Challenge. To ensure we are working all parts of your abs. We want to create balance to obtain stability for when we need to tap into those muscles for our longevity goals.
Checkout Your Core Anatomy
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(If you are visual like us, it helps to see the muscles you will be working and identify with the different parts of your core…)
Ab Anatomy 101
1. External Obliques: The external obliques are one of the outermost abdominal muscles. They run diagonally downward from the lower portion of the ribs down to the pelvis. These muscles allow you to stabilize your core, rotate your trunk, and bend your body from side to side.
2. Internal Obliques: Just under the external obliques, lies your internal obliques which run diagonally up your sides from the pelvis to the lower ribs. Like the external obliques, the internal obliques also allow you to rotate your trunk and bend your body from side to side.
3. Rectus Abdominis: The rectus abdominis is the one you are most familiar with, the visual 6-pack. It is composed of paired sheets of long, straight muscles that are located in the middle of the abdomen, from the ribs to the pelvis. These are the muscles that you use to flex yourself forward, think a regular crunch.
4. Transversus Abdominis: This is the deepest muscle of the abs. It wraps around the waist to support the spine. This muscle is at work when you compress your stomach toward your spine. In addition, this important core muscle helps prevent instability and supports the lower back. This muscle is the hardest to work because it requires a lot of mind-muscle connection to contract. Think tiny movements vs. bigger movements working the rectus abdominus.
❌ We cannot just work one muscle, aka crunch all day.
✅ We have to work multiple muscles as they all provide the stability that protects our back and provides the foundation for your entire body.
Good News! 👍🏻
We have strategically put together all the exercises in our 31 Day Ab Challenge to work the entire core and all muscles involved to ensure the best results for overall strength. Not just for looks!
But…there’s a catch!
Follow must follow along each day, with the variation listed. This will guarantee you to strengthen your core and work your entire core cavity.
Achy back? Say hello to relief! If you’re dealing with lower back pain, simply focusing on your core (reminder: the muscles that surround your abdomen and support your spine) make the difference.
Strengthen your core = Strengthen your back
“Holy Smokes, I had no idea I had some of those muscles. I have always done variations of crunches and standard planks so most of these ab exercises were new to me.
I am so grateful I said yes to this challenge as I feel so much stronger in my core! It is easy to get stuck doing the same thing and working the same muscles so this challenge was so fun to inspire me to try new variations!
Every time I do this challenge, I feel like I can connect even more! Thank you Gina for such another awesome challenge!”
