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Core strength goes far beyond sculpting six-pack abs: core strength workouts involve all the muscle groups that support your pelvic girdle, including the deep muscles of your spine and abdomen. Building core strength creates stability in the trunk of the body, which improves your posture, protects your spine and lower back from injury, and increases your overall power to perform in athletic activities.

Core Muscles
When you think of your core, it may help to visualize your torso or the trunk of your body to understand where your core muscles are and how they function together.

When you move your torso, your body engages both your superficial abdominal muscles—the rectus abdmonius that gives you the six-pack look and allows your spine to flex—and your deep abdominal muscles, especially the transverse abdominis (TVA).

Your TVA wraps around your body and connects to your spine and functions like a girdle by compressing (flattening) the abdomen wall that protects your internal organs.

On either side of your core are your internal and external oblique muscles. These muscles allow your torso to rotate and bend to the side. When they’re strong and working together, your oblique muscles protect your spine and compress your abdominal wall.

Your core also includes the muscles around the spine. The erector spinae muscles are key muscles in the lower back and help you extend your spine, and the mutlifidus which lie beneath them and run along either side of all your vertebrae. Strength here contributes to greater torso power and stability.