Story perspectives

Six-Pack Abs Misleading: Core Health Goes Beyond Crunches

11/8/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Six-pack abs may signal fitness, but they do not indicate overall health.
Ben Yamuder, exercise physiologist, warns that crunches isolate only a small portion of the core.
There are 33 other core muscles essential for strength and balance.
Tom Holland, CEO of TeamHolland LLC, emphasizes the core is a complex system for spine stability and intra-abdominal pressure, a view that strengthening these muscles can enhance health and prevent pain with aging.

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Story summary

Six-pack abs may signal fitness, but they do not indicate overall health.
Ben Yamuder, exercise physiologist, warns that crunches isolate only a small portion of the core.
There are 33 other core muscles essential for strength and balance.
Tom Holland, CEO of TeamHolland LLC, emphasizes the core is a complex system for spine stability and intra-abdominal pressure, a view that strengthening these muscles can enhance health and prevent pain with aging.