by Kelly Mccarty

Created on: October 27, 2008

Are you somebody who is looking to lose some weight but seem to always end up meandering your way through your local gym, using one machine here and there but not in any particular order? If so, let me tell you about a type of training that may suit you even better... Core Work. Doing exercises that challenge your core muscles in unstable situations can end up giving you the results you've been looking for, faster.

The phrase "working the core" is one that is being increasingly used in competitive athletics training. Dara Torres, the 41 year old swimmer who won three silvers at the Olympics in China this year attributes much of her success to core training. But you don't have to be an athlete to benefit from working your core. In fact people who are trying to find a fun and challenging way to get in shape and lose some weight can accomplish their goals through a program of powerful core exercises.

Many people think that they will strengthen their core by doing some crunches a few times a week. First of all core muscles are not just the abdominal muscles or even the lower back muscles. The core is all muscle groups found within the torso. These muscles groups work together to transfer energy from one part of your body to the other in any and all movements. The stronger your core, than the more efficient your body will be able to handle these functions, which include everything from picking up your kid while walking to the car, to running across the street. Your torso is also where your center of gravity is and determines how well you can balance in unstable environments, such as walking on unstable surfaces, like your kids' toys!

Working your core typically means you will be doing full body exercises which means working more than one muscles group at a time. This means you will burn more calories, faster than you would working each muscle group solely using the resistance machines.

These body resistant core exercises will "shock the body". The body has a remarkable way of becoming efficient at what you practice. When you do the same exercises day after day, week after week, your body adapts. Shocking the body means you are making it do something challenging that it isn't used to and it will reward you by burning more calories.

So how can you get started doing core exercises? Well, maybe you've seen those big colorful balls sitting on a rack in the corner of your gym that look like something that your kids would play with. These gym toys are called stability balls

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