Ask any of my clients and they will tell you that I’m constantly reminding them to ‘engage the core muscles’. But what does this really mean and why is it so important?

In order to contract your core muscles, you need to imagine that your belly button is being pulled back towards your spine. This can be a bit difficult to start with, but as you learn the correct technique and as your muscles become stronger, it will soon feel natural.

It is essential that you give your breathing some extra attention too. Efficient breathing helps activate your core and diaphragm, leading to energy flow through the body which affects both muscular endurance and pain tolerance.

By engaging or ‘activating’ your core muscles you allow yourself to be stronger at your weakest point. Engaging the core is fundamental in exercise as it allows your body force to be distributed more efficiently and can even allow you to do more reps and lift more weight.

So next time you exercise make sure you don’t forget to get those deep core muscles involved to get yourself out of the average and into the extraordinary.