When people think of core muscles, abs are the first to come to mind. However, your core includes a lot more muscles than your abdominals. In fact, it’s everything besides your leg and arm muscles. While your legs and arms do the work necessary to get you moving, the core does the stabilizing, initiating, and supporting throughout the process. Strong core muscles make simple physical activities easier, protect your spine, make you leaner, and improve your balance. Athletes who want to kick or punch hard need a strong, stable core behind the movement.