Far too many people have this backwards — you look good (or not) based on what you can do. If you want to look good, then performance is the path.
We get very confused in the fitness community with six-pack this and mermaid-line that. That’s fake, cosmetic fitness. It’s selling the sizzle but not the steak. People like that LOOK fit and strong but they often aren’t. The general public is being sold a lie.
For example, six packs and mermaid lines are somehow used as examples of a strong core. The problem is that your core is so very much more than your rectus or transverse abdominus. The rectus is the six pack muscles and the transverse peaks out for the mermaid line. What about your back muscles? They’re HUGE. What about your glutes, some of the largest muscles in the body? What about the hamstrings? I know, you don’t care about any of them because they aren’t the “sexy” muscles that you see in the mirror.
Well guess what? Overtraining the abs with flexion exercises and not training the rest of the core will very likely lead to back pain, if not a back injury down the road. Didn’t read that in the “get sexy/look good naked now/six pack” advertisements, did you? That’s because that isn’t good for business.
HALF OF YOUR BODY ISN’T VISIBLE IN THE MIRROR! How bright is it to train only the half you see in the mirror? Seriously, isn’t that just asking for trouble?
You can look good AND move well. The two goals are not incompatible and even if the goal is to look good, moving well can still be the path. But if all you want to do is look good, you will fall for fake, cosmetic fitness every single time. Don’t make that mistake!