Having strong core muscles is important to help protect your lower back, support good posture and assist with pelvic stability, but there's a lot of misinformation out there regarding how to strengthen these muscles.

Read on if you want to improve your core strength but you're not sure how to go about it effectively.

What muscles are we talking about here?

In the past, when people have trained for strong abs it's been all about the crunches, situps and leg raises. All of these predominantly challenge the Rectus Abdominis - the '6 pack' muscles down the front of the belly - and FEEL like you're working your abs, so these exercises are always popular.

For functional core strength, what we really want to get into is the Transverse Abdominis (TVA). This is the layer of muscle deep inside the body that wraps all the way around your belly, sides and into your lower back like a corset. The reason we want to target the TVA is because this is what will help strengthen, stabilise and support your body best.

It's important to know that muscles work with each other, so it's not just your TVA but a whole network of supporting muscles that contribute to core strength. These aren't just in your belly, but run all the way from your ribcage down to your thighs.

Bearing all that in mind, here are five tips to help you target your core muscles better.

1. Learn how to work with your breath

Lie down with a lengthened spine or sit up tall, and begin taking even breaths in and out through your nose, allowing them to travel all the way down to your belly. Visualise your breath in a cylindrical way, starting from the centre of your body and moving outwards in all directions.

Take a deep inhale, then exhale as strongly as you can, visualising the muscles around your belly squeezing inwards evenly towards the centre of your body again. This is the most gentle form of core activation and the foundation for all core work.

2. Forget the crunches

You can include them in your workouts, but they aren't necessary to develop core strength and the majority of people struggle to do them correctly anyway. Not only that, but it's possible to overwork your Rectus Abdominis muscles down the front of your belly with too many crunches which can lead to muscular imbalance if you aren't working the back of your body as well.

If you want true core strength, put most of your focus into Pilates-style floor work and tabletop/plank variations.

3. Focus on standing tall

Workouts and yoga practice sessions can be great for strengthening your core muscles, however, across the 168 hours in your week they won't add up to much compared to periodically checking in with your posture as you go about your daily tasks. Our bones are designed to structurally stack on top of each other and misalignment - especially in the lower half of your body or with your head - can affect how well your core muscles are engaging to support you in your everyday life.

4. Show your inner glutes some love

People rarely connect glutes with core strength, but they're important; especially the ones deep inside. We usually think of the Gluteus Maximus when we focus on working the butt as it's the muscle close to the surface that's visible and puts in a lot of work when we do exercises such as squats and lunges. Underneath, though, there's the Gluteus Medius and underneath that is the Gluteus Minimus. These two are important for stabilising the pelvis and supporting good posture.

Next time you're doing squats or lunges, give your butt a good squeeze on the way up and you'll begin to connect with these muscles. To target them even better, consider using a loop band for your training.

5. Mix it up

While planks and floor exercises are great for building foundational strength, your core muscles are designed to help you move in every way! Lifting, twisting, bending, pulling, pushing... get your body moving in any way that feels good and that you enjoy, and focus on good technique and alignment.

Image / DepositPhotos