From the perspective of most women, building a resilient and sexy-looking abs should only be the concern of people like Serena Williams. After all, they’re the ones getting paid for having sporting Adonis-like abs.
Abs strength credit Katherine Hood unsplash
But for those of us looking out for the kids, running office errands, and doing the lion’s share of house chores, what’s the point of toning our abs?
Like for real, why should a woman bother herself with getting six-packs? Since we won’t be modeling for professional brands, attending talk shows, or going on beauty pageantries, why spend hours trying out various abs routines?
Well, on the contrary, women have every reason to want to build a stronger, tougher abdominal muscle. And we’re here to tell you why.
But before we go into the discussion of the benefits therein, I’d like to first share with you what the numbers say about women who don’t work out their abs.
What the numbers say
- According to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention’s Summer Health Statistics for U.S. Adults, 30% of women suffered from low back pain, compared to 26% of men.
- According to the Arthritis Disease Center, 50-80 percent of Americans complain of back pain during their lifetime, and poor posture is a common contributor to these conditions.
- According to a study by Euroaspire V, a survey was conducted on cardiovascular disease prevention and diabetes that stated people with excess belly fat are at risk of developing heart diseases.
- According to a study by Philadelphia’s Drexel University College of Medicine, women were more likely to suffer from migraines than men because they tend to carry more visceral fat.
- According to a study by the Michigan State University in East Lansing, women with untoned (jiggly or flabby) stomach face an increased risk of cancer.
You know what the good news is?
Simply by toning your belly fat, exercising your abdominal muscle, and strengthening your core, you can eliminate all of the risks above.
Benefits of exercising your abs
1 Lowered risk of back pain
The way the human body is structured is that the abdominals (the center of gravity area) should act as an anchor to support the mid and lower back muscles. Now, when the abdominals are weak, flabby, or overweight, it forces the back muscles to work harder to support the middle area.
Additionally, abdominal strength improves the endurance of the muscles of your back, so you fatigue less easily and are less vulnerable to strain or injury.
2. Improved posture
As we’ve earlier mentioned, one of the major causes of the back pain problem that most women complain of during their lifetime is bad posture.
Unfortunately, not too many people know this.
When your abdominals are weak, it's natural that you may slouch, tilt while standing, or not being able to stand by yourself without leaning on something. All of these are signs of bad postures and can be linked to a weaker abdominal core.
The good news?
By simply engaging in simple abs routines, like the ones here, women can build a stronger abdominal support system to prop up their spine, and improve their posture. With an improved posture, you'll be able to stand tall with your arms and legs in proper alignment, thereby reducing the possibility of stressing your back till it starts to ache.
3. Improved functional strength
Have you ever tried picking something from the ground, and you found yourself squeezing your face? Or maybe you were trying to mop the kitchen, and you realize you had difficulty bending? All of these are evidence of a weak core.
All our daily activities, including bending, twisting, walking, limping, sitting, and getting up, require the strength of our core. But when you have a less-than-strong-enough core, it becomes strenuous doing some of these basic things.
When you exercise your abs regularly; however, it gives you the abdominal strength and endurance, you need to discharge your daily routines with relative ease.
4. Lowered risks of health issues
As we’ve pointed out in the statistics above, women with excess belly fat in their visceral region carry a far greater risk of suffering from health conditions like cancer, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, dementia, and migraine.
The good news, however, is that by toning up the stomach and building abdominal strength, these women can reduce their chances of suffering from these conditions.
That is to say that, once you exercise your abs, you reduce the amount of visceral fat carried in the region, which ultimately reduces the amount of health-risks you carry.
5. Enjoy balance and stability
You may not know this, but the fact that you’re able to walk on grumpy grounds, climb on stairs without using the rails, and catch yourself when taking a misstep off a curb are all evidence to suggest that your stability is still in place.
The moment your body becomes less-stable, or your abdominals get weak; it becomes difficult for you to survive major scares, little injuries, or minor falls.
Strong, resilient abdominals ensure that your overall body is kept in shape so that if you ever trip off a cliff, fall off the stairs, or lose your step while walking, the potential for injuries will be less severe.
Tagged in back pain Women's Health fitness tips