You may have come across the image above about “Why we plank.” Keep reading! Please? Don’t toss this off too easily as, “Oh, that’s about getting a six-pack. I don’t care anymore. I can’t do that anyway.”

There are more important reasons to strengthen your core, which a plank very effectively does. And, yes, you can do this. When those muscles you see highlighted above get stronger, your body becomes more stable, more likely to carry you through everyday — and not-so-everyday — needs without resulting in pain.

This is true living well. You want to lead the life you want to live. You don’t want to have to worry, suffer, limit. You want to continue — or resume — doing things you love to do and need to do just like you did when you were younger.

A weak core affects more than you can imagine. Like breathing, digestion and your energy levels. That aching back? Could be weak core muscles. (In addition, weak glute muscles.) Even headaches can be a result. Is this a live-well life? Nope.

A strong core also protects the organs and spinal cord laying under it. It keeps your body more stable and balanced and helps you maintain good posture, which helps you look and feel more confident.

How easy is it to spend a minute or two doing something like a plank? Did you tell me well, that’s just impossible? It isn’t. Start where you can start. If you can do it for 5 seconds, then do it for 5 seconds. Just get in the position and flop back down even. You will build up. Little by little, add time. I forget where I started, but I now can do about 2 minutes. But I did not start there!

I’m probably as vain as the next woman, but I’m doing this way more for how my body feels vs. how my body looks. I love being able to lift things I need to lift without paying a price for it. Or popping pain relievers or laying with an ice pack or anything else. I like that my body does what I want and need it to do.

Definitely, definitely, definitely worth putting in a tiny bit of time several times a week. Go try it. Skip the common response/shared give-up-itis of, “Yeah, right,” and get going. You don’t have to age and suffer. You just have to give your body the extra attention it needs.