You Need To Be Doing These Exercise To Take Care Of Yourself

As a woman, it’s important to keep fit and take proper care of yourself. There are plenty of fitness hacks out there to help women look and feel good, but as well as training the parts you can see, it’s important to train the parts you can’t. Here are some of the exercises that women should master as part of their health goals. 

Transverse abdominal activation – lying toes tap 

Transverse abdominal strength is important for protecting the lower back. It also flattens the stomach and protects the pelvic floor. The TA, as it’s known, is like a corset, in a layer of muscle underneath the muscles you can see in your abs. A weaker pelvic floor can cause you problems controlling your bladder during high impact exercise, pregnancy, or heavy lifting. 

How to do it

• Lie on your back. Tilt your pelvis back to the ground to put your spine into a neutral spine position.
• Lift your legs to a 90-degree angle. Slowly reach your leg out to tap your toe on the ground. 
• Bring your leg back, and alternate for 10 reps. 

Glute activation – booty banded clams

Glute activation keeps a strong posterior chain. Lots of people do lots of squats without the glutes actually working. This can cause a hip imbalance, tightness in your hip flexors and quads, and injuries to the lower back and knees. Strong glutes look good, but also improve your performance for sports like running, cycling, and swimming. Help your performance further with steelsupplements.com.

How to do it

• Put a resistance band around your knees, just above the joint. Lay on the floor on your side, and put your hand on the top corner of your glute. 
• Bend your knees into a fetal position. Keep your feet together and slowly open your knees, making sure to contact the glute. Go as far as you can to feel the glute reach its full activation before you start to engage any other muscles. 
• Lower your knee back down, and repeat 10 times on each leg. 

Plank hold

The plank is the easiest way to work on your core, but a very effective one. There are lots of different variations of the plank, depending on how strong your core already is and what you want to improve. You need a strong core, so include a plank or two somewhere in your daily routine. You could do a few 30-60 seconds holds while you watch TV in the evening, or when you first get out of bed. 

• Lay face down on the floor. Rest on your elbows, in a 90-degree angle with elbow to shoulder joints. 
• Lift your hips off the floor until you are supporting yourself on your knees and elbows. Be sure to draw in your lower abdominals so your hips aren’t sinking, as this causes pressure through the spine. 
• When you’re comfortable, lift your knees off the ground, so you are parallel to the floor on your elbows and toes. Keep your core and glutes activated.