Work Those Muscles! Articles | Nutrition

By: Darren Williger

Say you never fully extend your neck?  Then over time your body will become hunched and stooped.  However, extending those muscles will make sure this doesn't happen.  You can even reverse some of these effects before it is too late.  Regular stretching will stop some of these body contortions because you are making sure your muscles are longer and strengthened.  The muscles that especially need this stretching is the core muscles.  The core muscles are obliques, abdominal, lower back, and glutes.  These areas help determine a person’s posture.  What many people forget is that the core muscles really achieve the posture we have.  There are some ways to strengthen these muscles.

Strengthening the core muscles will provide the power the body needs for physical activity.  Conditioning these muscles will improve your physical and mental health.  Some other reasons it is important to strength these are:

1. You will have improved posture and stop lower back pain.  Incorporate stretching exercises to achieve these goals, pay close attention to the upper and front muscles, which includes the abdominal and trunk muscles.
2. Muscles will become toned and leaner.  Your lower back, buttocks and hips will all have increased mobility and less chance of injury.
3. Your physical appearance will improve over time with slow, methodical, static stretching.  This relieves any stiffness you might have and improves flexibility, also making activities and sports easier and with less chance of injury.
4. Static stretching does not cause sore or wore out muscles, creating a feeling of body tiredness.  Slow, even stretching will make you feel better without making you feel tires too.  Also, never do anything makes you bounce while stretching, since this could cause tearing doing to the jerking of the body.
5. Try to lengthen your muscles, especially as you are getting older.  Core muscle exercises will lengthen muscles that have shortened due to pain or injury.  You will also have less pain while doing vigorous activity.  Doing core muscles exercises as little as twice a week will improve your overall physical appearance and muscle tone.

Continuing to work out your muscles and especially your core muscles will improve your overall look and feel.  Keeping this muscles fit and in shape will make taking care of the rest of your body and muscles much easier and more effectively.  Not working out will cause pain and stiffness, leading to other problems and complications.  Always trying to do a little exercise and stay fit will in the long run always be better for your body.  Having a stronger, more reliable posture will make such a large improvement on the rest of the muscles and joints in the rest of your body.  It is definitely worth the time effort to care of these core muscles and stay fit.