Core exercise defined

January 30, 3:33 PMPersonal Training ExaminerJen Lesea-Ames

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Side plank. Courtesy of June Kahn

At the gym I hear a lot of talk about the "core" and often times, incorrectly so.  It is common for people to talk about the core as an exchange for "abs".  The core, however, is much more than working on the 6-pack. 

Simply put, the "core" is made up of:

1. Abdominal muscles: mainly the rectus abdominus (the "6-pack" muscle), the obliques (side muscles that aid in rotation), and the transversus abdominus (the horizontal muscle that aids in stabilization of the trunk).
2. Back muscles: mainly the back extensors and lats
3. Glutes: Gluteus maximus, medius and minimus

There are smaller muscles that make up the core which aid in pelvic and spinal stabilization that are not mentioned above (I wanted to keep this short and sweet).  The take home message is to make sure that you are balancing ab exercises with back and glute exercises.  Pilates is a great form of core strengthening.  If you belong to a gym, most Pilates mat classes are included in your membership, so check it out!