How Core Strength Improves More Than You Think

Key Takeaways:

• Strengthening core muscles improves posture, prevents injury, improves breathing, maintains pelvic floor function (bowel and bladder control), and reduces pain.

• Core muscles include the transverse abdominis (deep abdominal muscles), diaphragm (breathing muscle), pelvic floor muscles, multifidus & back muscles in addition to the well-known rectus abdominis (6-pack).

• Core strength exercises include: "bird dog," planks, and diaphragmatic breathing.

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Strengthening your core muscles isn’t just about looking fit — it has real, researched health benefits that go far beyond posture and injury prevention. A strong core supports your spine and pelvis, improves how you breathe, and even plays a role in pelvic floor function and other bodily systems.  

What “Core” Really Means

Your core isn’t just your "6-pack" abs — it’s a network of muscles including:

• Transverse abdominis (deep abdominal muscles)

• Diaphragm (primary breathing muscle)

• Pelvic floor muscles

• Multifidus and back muscles

These muscles work together like a cylinder of support around your trunk — think of the diaphragm as the roof and the pelvic floor as the floor of this system.  

How Core Strength Helps Your Body

1. Better Posture & Movement

Strong core muscles help keep your spine aligned and stable as you sit, stand, lift, or twist — reducing the risk of back and neck strain. Trunk stabilization exercises have been shown to significantly improve postural stability and balance.  

2. Prevents Injury

A stable core reduces the amount of strain placed on joints and ligaments during movement. This decreases the likelihood of muscle strains, falls, and chronic lower back pain.

3. Improved Breathing Mechanics

Core strengthening has measurable benefits for respiratory function:

• Studies show core stabilization exercises can significantly improve lung function and respiratory muscle strength, including forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow.  

What’s more, breathing exercises like diaphragmatic breathing increase intra-abdominal pressure, activating both the diaphragm and deep abdominal muscles — a key element of core stability.  

4. Pelvic Floor Function

The diaphragm and pelvic floor move together as you breathe. As you inhale, the diaphragm moves downward and the pelvic floor gently lengthens — and the reverse happens on exhale. This synergy supports optimal pelvic floor mechanics.  

Stronger core muscles paired with breath work may help reduce pelvic tension and support healthy urinary and bowel function.

5. Reduced Pain & Increased Function

When core strengthening is paired with breathing exercises, people with chronic low back pain often experience greater pain relief and functional improvements than with core training alone.  

3 Core Strength Exercises

1. Bird Dog

1. Start on hands and knees (neutral spine- don't let your back sag down or curve up).

2. Extend your right arm forward and left leg back while keeping your hips square.

3. Hold 2–3 seconds, then switch sides.

*Benefits: Improves spinal stability, coordination, and deep core activation.

2. Side Plank

1. Lie on your side, elbow beneath shoulder.

2. Lift hips off the floor into a side plank.

3. Keep your body in a straight line and hold 20–45 seconds each side.

*Benefits: Targets obliques, spinal stabilizers, and pelvic alignment.

3. Plank with Extensions (Plank Bird Dog Variant)

1. Begin in a high plank (hands under shoulders, body straight).

2. Slowly extend one arm and the opposite leg.

3. Return to plank and alternate sides.

*Benefits: Builds deep core strength, balance, and shoulder stability.

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2 Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises

1. Basic Diaphragmatic Breathing

1. Lie on your back or sit tall.

2. Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly.

3. Inhale through your nose – belly expands as the diaphragm contracts downward. (Keep your chest relatively still — focus on using the diaphragm, not the upper chest)

4. Exhale slowly, feeling the belly fall.

*Benefits: Enhances breathing depth, oxygen uptake, and diaphragm/pelvic floor coordination.

2. Coordinated Breath with Pelvic Floor Focus

1. Sit or lie comfortably.

2. Inhale deeply through the nose — let the belly and lower ribs expand, pelvic floor gently relaxes.

3. Exhale — the pelvic floor lifts as the diaphragm rises.

*Benefits: Trains the natural inhalation/exhalation cycle of the diaphragm and pelvic floor for better core synergy.

Overall..

Core strength is foundational to whole-body health — not just aesthetics. It:

✔ Supports posture and movement

✔ Reduces injury risk

✔ Improves breathing mechanics

✔ Enhances pelvic floor function

✔ May reduce pain and improve function

Pairing core exercises with breathing practice helps your body work as one coordinated system — a winning combination for movement, health, and everyday function.