Written by Danielle Mudry, Raleigh Personal Trainer, O2 Fitness Falls/540
For those of you looking to tone those abdominals, the NC personal trainers at O2
Fitness have one word for you, tranverse.
What does this mean? Well, lets break it down (your stomach that is)...
Your stomach has 4 muscles, the tranverse abdominals (the deepest layer
of your stomach), the rectus abdominals (which sit right under your skin)
and the internal and external obliques (the abdominal muscles on your sides).
Most people work the top layer of their abs (rectus) and never work
the layer underneath(transverse).... why? Because the only way you can
work that deep muscle tissue is by breathing deeply, stimulating your
diaphragm and exhaling pulling your belly button in and up. If you
only work the top layer of your abs and never work the deep muscle
underneath, your abdominals are only strengthened on the very top layer.
We commonly know this area as your CORE. That words gets used
frequently, but until now, were you really sure what it meant? Your
tranverse is your core, your trunk, your stabilization mechanism.
When your body moves, ideally your core tightens first to stabilize
and balance the body, when it's weak the part of your body that moves
first tries to stabilize your body and throws off your kinetic chain.
So how do we strengthen our core? One way is to try Pilates (check out
o2fitnessclubs.com for a schedule), or if you are currently working with one
of our awesome trainers, ask them. If you are not working with a NC personal trainer,
set up an assessment with one at the front desk!
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