Bossy! Magazine Issue 19 June/July 2017 | Page 33

3. Core:

Your core consists of your abdominal muscles, the muscles of your lower back, your pelvic floor, and your hips. Most movement starts at the center and moves outward. A solid core will help ensure that your movements are strong and pain-free, as well as improve your posture. During any strength exercise or movement it is important to activate your core muscles. This will help with balance and stability, help to protect your lower back from pain and injury, while strengthening your core muscles. So in this sense, every exercise is a core exercise.

4. Variety:

After about four to eight weeks your body gets used to the exercise pattern you’ve set it. After that your muscles become indifferent and don’t work as hard as they did at the beginning, which can lead to hitting a plateau…a frustration and discouraging experience many of us can relate to. So to prevent reaching a plateau, and also to prevent boredom, it is important to change your routine every 4-8 weeks.

Different ways to add variety include changing the rep range or amount of sets, performing different exercises, using different grips, or even changing exercise environments.