the importance of core strength

One of the supposed pinnacles of fitness is to have 6 pack abs or a lean stomach, and to do that you gotta do a million a half sit ups or something crazy. (you don’t). having abs is GREAT but it is not the point or end all be all of fitness.

this is not a post about how to get abs, cause to be quite honest, I don’t have a 6 pack or any version of one. 6 packs are largely genetic and then come from a low amount of bodyfat (which means a pretty strict diet). And since I don’t have the abs like that I’m not gonna write about it.

this post is about is having a strong core… which you can have without a 6 pack and it is definitely something everyone should strive for. 

So what is core strength?

It is the strength of the underlying muscles of the torso. That is your stomach area muscles and your back muscles. Basically…the entire middle of your body is your core.

Why is core strength important?

SO MANY REASONS!

let me layout a few:

1.    helps prevents injuries – core strength creates core stability which means you’ll be safer moving throughout your workouts and life.
2.  protects your internal organs and nervous system – if you have a weak core, your body is more susceptible to harm, and one of the biggest part of your body is your spine and spinal cord. leaving the muscles that surround that highly important part of your body leaves it open for injury
3.   prevents back pain – legitimately the largest reason why I do so much core workouts. i injured my back a lot throughout middle school up through college playing goalkeeper in college which has definitely led to more back issues in my adult life. i threw my back out entirely… to the point that I was limping around work when I was TWENTY-FOUR. after that I did core strengthening workouts 2-4 times a week and I have not had any back pain since incorporating that into my training routine.
4.   helps posture – if you strengthen the entire middle of your body, you’ll be sitting up much stronger and taller.
5. improve your balance – as you build your core strength and your posture, you’ll be able to move easier throughout life and be able to stand up strong and fall over as easy as you would with no core strength.
6. perform life easier – you probably don’t realize that you use your core very often in your day to day… let me inform you that you do. you are (or at least should be) using your core muscles throughout your entire day and when you have a strong core your life will be easier.
7.  perform sports at a higher level – your core is where your power comes from. so it makes sense that as you strengthen those core muscles, you’ll be able to run faster, punch harder, and kick stronger.

okay! how do I get a stronger core??

good news! it’s not a bunch of sit ups. actually, I never do regular sit ups because they aren’t that great for you and also they hurt my lower back.

here are some exercises you should be incorporating into your workouts:

•   russian twist
•  plank
  • and plank variations
• heel taps
•  mountain climbers
• jack knives
•  toe taps
•  suitcase crunch
•  leg lifts
•  bird dogs
•  cable twists
•   glute bridges
•   turkish get ups

just to name a few 😊

need some help getting started? Follow me on Instagram and facebook where I post workouts and health and fitness articles every day!

want some more personalized training? Contact me at tiffnessfitness@gmail.com or on my Instagram and facebook pages.

Any questions? Leave a comment below or send me a message on any of my pages!

WHAT IS: overtraining?

working out is great. obviously. but you can have too much of a good thing and that's where overtraining comes in. 

overtraining is basically working out too hard for too long. 

sometimes once people start working out they're afraid that if they stop... they won't start again. or sometimes it's just wanting to workout and lift everyday. or sometimes it's just people not realizing that you do actually need some sort of rest period. 

so let's start with the first thing- fear of stopping (and never starting back again). 

look, if you've started this working out process and you're committed to it...  you can take a day off. this will stop you from burning out of your exercise routine. burn out is when you have a mental and/or physical collapse due to overwork. it doesn't just effect your workouts, it can effect your life. and if you are noticing that you don't feel good after your workouts regularly, you may be at risk for burning out. and once you burnout, that's when it's harder to come back and get back on your training routine, because you'll eventually have to stop (because you hurt yourself or just life or whatever) and then you won't have the positive feelings regarding working out because you burned out.

enjoying lifting and/or working out everyday is a different kind of overtraining horse to tackle. cause yes, lifting is awesome. but also, if you want to get better and stronger you have to let you muscles recover. if your muscles never recover then you'll be more likely to hurt yourself. and you are less likely to be able to progress to heavy weights because your muscles are never getting the chance to rebuild.

and then there's just not realizing that you need a day to recover. let me tell you, you do. i wrote about it the importance of rest days HERE, so you can just look at that. 

but what if you don't want to have a day where you do nothing but sit on your butt all day? you don't have to do that! make your "rest" day whatever you want them to be. they can be taking walks or yoga or going on a hike or whatever you need it or want it to be. 

overtraining leads to burning out and injuries, so try your best to avoid doing it. 

i overtrained for A LONG TIME when i first started working out and i hurt my knees and hips and was just constantly tired. working out should give you energy, not totally drain you. and on top of that, not resting led to a weight loss plateau, too. so a solid zero benefits from working out nonstop. 

recently, i was trying to balance adding in a new lifting routine (for kettlebell sport) on top of my already real solid workout routine...it was WAY too much. i was nonstop exhausted and my lifting was getting weaker and weaker cause i wasn't giving myself anytime to recover. 

it's easier than you think to overtrain so keep tabs on yourself so your performance and life doesn't suffer in the long run. listen to your body and take care of yourself, y'all. 

have questions? follow me on instagram and facebook and drop me a message or leave a comment! 

WHAT ARE: all these different diets???

i've been talking a lot about diet these past few weeks and that is because you can work your ass off at the gym for hours, but if your diet sucks you won't make any progress. 

i've mentioned a lot of different diets so i'm gonna give you a list of all the different things (well at least a good chunk of them- cause omfg there are SO MANY) out there and let you decide for yourself what's gonna work best for you in your life! 

(side note - i was gonna try to be totally impartial on all these but some are definitely scams or just not good for you. so i'm gonna point that out. not sorry about it.also i will be noting when they are diets you have to pay to be part of) 

iifym -if it fits your macros. basically you get a set of macros (from any source- websites or trained professionals) and you just try to hit those maconutrient goals for carbs, fats, and proteins. usually have to track your intake in order to be accurate to your macros.

keto - very low carb diet. approximately less than 20 g per day to keep your body in ketosis. this will, in theory, help you to burn fat faster because your body is not taking in any energy (carbs). does require tracking to make sure you're eating under your carb goal.

low carb variations (atkins, lchf, south beach, etc). - eating low carbs for fat loss. typically less restrictive than keto (some variations allow you to eat up to 100g carbs). there are a lot of variations of low carb diets. 

carb cycling- choosing days to eat either high, moderate, or low carb. this can depend on activity level, lifting schedule, etc. 

calorie counting- figuring out how many calories you eat and reducing your intake for fat loss. have to track your intake to make sure you are eating under your calorie targets.

paleo - "caveman diet" mainly containing meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit. excludes processed foods and dairy and grain products.

whole30- a strict paleo diet meant to be followed for 30 days. eliminating dairy and processed foods, meant to help you "reset" and also to help you find foods that you may be reacting poorly to.

gluten free - cutting out gluten from the diet. this is unnecessary unless you have an actual gluten intolerance (like celiacs disease)

meal replacement kits (shakeology or herbalife or slimfast) - (gotta buy in to be part of this one). skipping or supplementing a meal with a shake with added nutrients or proteins or vitamins. 

zone diet- lower carb diet with a specific amount of meals per day. (3 meals and 2 snacks). uses the glycemic index to classify "good" carbs. ratio of 30:40:30 fat: carbs: protein

cabbage soup diet - THIS IS NOT A SUSTAINABLE DIET (nor is it advertised that way). basically you only eat a cabbage soup recipe for all your meals for a week to lose weight quick. (which you will because you aren't eating very much for an entire week)

weight watchers- (gotta buy in for this one). uses a point system instead of calories and has a community to check in with to add to your motivation to stick with the plan.

blood type diet - this diet says that you should eat and avoid specific things due to your blood type. to get the full lists you have to buy the lists of "good" and "bad" foods. seems very scammy to me.

macrobiotic diet- a diet based out of zen buddhism. an attempt to balance the yin and yang within a person. major guidelines are to eat minimal animal products, eat locally grown foods in season, and eat meals in moderation. 

raw food - basically eating mostly uncooked and unprocessed foods. several variations under "raw foodism" that can include dairy, meats, fish, and/or eggs. 

bullet proof - low carb diet again. trying to get 50-60% of your calories from healthy fats, 20% from proteins, and the remaining from vegetables. usually starts with a cup of coffee with butter or coconut oil for energy and satiety. 

intuitive eating- what the non-fitness population would call regular ass eating. eating things based on what you want to eat without restriction. becoming more attuned to the body's hunger signals and not following any strict guidelines as to what you should or should not eat. 

detox diets- all of these are so scammy y'all. anything claiming to detox your body in however many days is full of shit... and that's all these diets will do, to be honest. they're usually glorified laxatives. 

grapefruit diet - operates under the theory that grapefruit has a fat burning enzyme. eat half a grapefruit with every meal to help "burn calories/fat" (obviously not real life and a scam). some of these diets are 7 day detox diets where you only eat eggs and grapefruits (hard no on that one)

jenny craig- (have to buy in to this diet- they send you the pre-made meals). teaches portion control and eating small meals throughout the day to increase satiety and energy. this is basically calorie counting without the work of counting calories because they send you the meals

nutrisystem - (gotta buy into this one too. they'll send you all the meals that you eat) very much like the jenny craig system. they give you all the meals that you have to eat, which is at a calorie deficit so you lose weight.

Mediterranean diet- emphasis in eating plant based foods and healthy fats. limits red meat consumption. moderate intake of dairy products. (lower carb diet, as well) 

and that's just to name a few... there are so many more than that. some of these are really great... and some are pretty terrible (*cough* that cabbage soup diet y'all*) and some are crazy and some work just by happenstance. 

find what works for you and be consistent to get your long term results. 

need some food ideas? check out my facebook and instagram to see some tasty foods you can incorporate into your menu! 

did i miss any diets that you loved or hated? let me know in the comments!