Anybody who has spent any time in a gym has most likely seen people performing exercises while in a horizonal position. You know, lying down. There are a variety of exercises that can be referred to as “planks” that are very popular that have been touted as developing core strength. Ah, core strength, one of the great fitness buzz terms of the past half century…
But these exercises, which can develop horizontal stability, have little purpose and contribute even less to function. We need vertical stability because we operate vertically, standing upright on two feet, not horizontally on all fours or lying down. Gravity exerts a precise force on our bodies while we are standing – differently than when we are horizontal – so we should perform the vast majority of our exercises while standing. Your hip works in a different manner when you are on all fours than it does when you are standing, so this “all-fours” exercise will only make you “better” when you are in this all-fours position. Unless you walk around on your hands and knees you are wasting your time, and you also have some other problems.
Planks have their place in an exercise program as long as the place is somewhere in the first three to six months (and I am being generous) of a newbie’s workout program. When a formerly inactive person makes the transition to active, their overall strength (including core strength), balance, coordination, agility, etc is quite bad.
This is where the plank family of exercises comes in. Despite what you may think, these exercises are quite easy, which is why they are suitable for beginners. These basic planks can help prepare the body for the (hopefully) rapid transition to standing, two-footed exercises. So do your basic forearms and toes plank, get good at it, and move on up to standing on your feet. And don’t look back.
Now I know what some of you are thinking; “But Sal, some of those planks are really hard and some of them I cannot even do!” To which I reply in a number of ways.
1. Just because an exercise is hard to do doesn’t make it a good exercise to do.
2. The horizontal exercise is hard to do because we have evolved away from performing in this posture and we are not built to work this way.
3. You can train a muscle to do anything, but doesn’t make it the right thing.
Four-legged animals are efficient at performing certain tasks, but put them in a two-legged stance and not so much. For humans a four-legged, horizontal posture is beneath our capability level. It is kind of like putting a snow plow on a Porsche; not a good use of the machine.
We have evolved to be able to perform high functioning tasks precisely because we do not use – do not need – our upper limbs for balance and locomotion. Walking upright has allowed the human brain to pursue more complex functions like manipulating objects (throwing and catching) and a wide-range of intellectual pursuits like art, philosophy and developing reality TV shows.
The benefits of working while horizontal are limited to operating in the horizontal position and quite frankly this work is counter-productive. Vertical stability, not horizontal, should be worked on in every exercise session.
Over the past decade core training became the new, hot thing in the fitness business, as everyone from coaches to trainers to fitness consumers caught core training fever. But just like so many other trends that have dominated the fitness business, there’s less to the core training panacea than meets the eye. So, as usual, rather than just parrot the accepted line and support the position that core training is the most important part of your exercise program, I’m going to do the opposite, in David Letterman Top-10 style, and give you the top four reasons not to make core training the focus of your workouts.
And of course, I’m going delivery them in reverse order of importance. Actually, the best reason is the last reason, the others are all about of the same importance. So here we go.
The definition of core isn’t correct and changes depending on the source.
Depending on who the guru is, the definition of core changes. The worst practitioners of core training will tell you the core is made up of the abdominals. Slightly better/not as horrible, but still embarrassing are those who include the lower back muscles in the equation. Others experts will include the muscles around the hip and the gluteal muscles, the hamstrings and the mid-back, either all or some. I’ve heard some ridiculous discussions about what defines the core. In reality, all proper training is core training and to set an arbitrary boundary to the mythical core is to ignore the dynamics of the body. And it’s a waste of time.
The exercises selected to strengthen the core aren’t proper, even if you accept the many (and sometimes, limited) definitions.
For the sake of argument, even if we take the word of the proponents of core training, the exercises prescribed to “hit” this area stink. That’s a bit harsh, I know. I used to use the term, “inefficient and ineffective,” but “stinks” really resonates. I don’t really care if I offend anyone by saying this because I am trying to save people time, effort and disappointment. When it comes to developing the core, that core proponents insist is the core, remember the following; crunches stink, working on the mat stinks, using the balance/stability ball stinks, working your oblique muscles on the back-hyperextension bench stinks, exercises that emphasize “stillness” or bracing have limited effectiveness (they kinda stink), and you cannot “turn-on” your abdominal muscles when doing specific exercises designed to strengthen the core. You cannot turn on any muscles, actually, but that’s a different story for another search engine optimized bit of content.
When it comes to working on a balance/stability ball, research shows that more muscles are activated – and this activation is stronger – when doing an exercise off the ball. So when performing a military press sitting on a balance ball, your “core” is doing less work than when the same exercise is done while seated on a stable bench or standing. And you should always do the standing version of any exercise.
As upright animals our core doesn’t work as well – or the same when – when lying down.
The vast majority of people – fitness professionals and coaches, too – don’t realize that the standing position is far superior to any other position, including lying down, sitting down or on hands and knees. Our species has evolved to the point where we walk upright, which both requires and allows us to perform advanced mental and physical processes. In our everyday lives, whether we are walking, running, standing, golfing, playing football, jumping rope, etc, gravity affects us in a specific way relative to our standing position. Performing any exercise lying down or on all fours changes the way gravity affects us and, therefore, has little, if any, carry over. Any exercise you do lying, sitting or on all fours will only strengthen you in those positions. Using your arms for weight bearing is like using a high-tech electronic gadget as a paper weight.
When I tell people this I invariably get the response that these prone/supine/all-fours exercises are hard to perform. But so what? Is something that’s harder to do, by definition, better for you? Certainly not. Performing exercises on one and/or two feet is much more difficult, effective and appropriate than any exercise performed in these non-natural positions. Working in these non-standing positions is difficult because it’s contradictory to our basic physical and mental nature. Any “core exercise” performed in a non-standing position only helps performance in that position and does nothing for you in the real, everyday standing position. Working the hips/glutes/low back while on all fours or in any position other than standing is inefficient.
Research indicates that a stronger core doesn’t correlate to improved performance.
During the past decade the growth of this school of thought was not accompanied by any research that supported the assertions that core training could prevent injury, fix back pain or injury or improve performance. As a matter of fact, as time goes on, the research that has been done has served to point out the limitations of core training. Most recently, researchers from Indiana State University found that there was no correlation between core stability, as commonly measured, and strength and improved performance. What this means is that all of the prone, supine and all-fours exercises that have been promoted as “core strengtheners” are extremely limited in their effectiveness. This isn’t to say that people shouldn’t work on improving core strength. What this research indicates is that core strengthening should not be the main focus of a training program and that there are other, more specific exercises that should be employed to strengthen to core and improve performance. Exercises that require movement while in a standing, two or one-footed stance are the most effective way to build functional, purposeful core strength, or what is also called a “reactive core.” This isn’t just for athletes, but for us regular folks, too.
“How to Get Better Abs,” is a real attention getting headline, isn’t it? It’s not very original, but I’ll bet you that if you mosey on down to your local bookseller and check out the magazine rack, you’ll find at least a handful of health, fitness and beauty periodicals that feature some very close variation of this simple, five-word phrase.
The problem with this headline is that it is basically meaningless; a string of words without a cause or purpose. Better abs, as far as the media is concerned, are abs that you can see. You know, a six-pack.
Six-packs are not better abs, they are simply visible abs. The visible abs that people are obsessed about aren’t any better, from a functional standpoint, than abs that are hidden under skin and a bit of adipose tissue. A person with non-visible abs can be in better shape than a person with a six-pack. Looks have nothing to do with function and performance.
Some of the greatest lies propagated by the media – and that’s saying a lot – deal with abs. Apparently, it helps sales when magazines blatantly lie and give false hope to countless people that there are easy, quick and possible ways to develop great looking abs. I can’t imagine how must time people have wasted working on their abs based on the pap pushed in health and fitness magazines.
And come on now people, how many times are you going to fall for this garbage? Month after month, year after year for decades these, “How to Get Better Abs,” articles have been pumped out by magazines without any changes. The same exercises, the same routines – it’s embarrassing that the general public keeps buying this nonsense and it’s embarrassing that the fitness media keeps pumping it out.
I have first-hand experience dealing with how the expectations of magazine editors don’t have much to do with health and fitness realities. That’s another story for another time. Suffice to say, the fitness media is a bad source for good information.
Keeping it short, there are no quick and easy ways to get better abs and having visible abs – a six-pack – is a colossal waste of time. Any article that refers to better abs from an appearance perspective should be ignored.
The best-selling P90X exercise program packs a lot of information and plenty of workout options – albeit redundant options – in a 13 DVD set. In an earlier post I recommended the program, with reservations, to people who are already in relatively good shape and motivated. In this post I will talk about the elements contained on the Core Synergistics disk.
As is the case with all of the DVDs, this P90X disk opens up with a pretty serious disclaimer, which makes it very clear that this program is not suitable for couch potatoes and other folks who have a history of injuries or ailments. This is not merely a marketing ploy; P90X is not for beginners.
In the introduction we are told that Core Synergistics can prevent injury and will develop the muscles of the core, and that this workout supports the other workouts in the P90X program. Sounds good, but is there really anything interesting, new, evolutionary or revolutionary here?
The workout begins with a decent warm-up but includes some unnecessary static stretching. Which brings me to one of the major problems that I have with the P90X program; many of the workouts contain, “fitness busywork.” Do you remember when you had a substitute teacher and they gave you classwork that really had nothing to do with what you were covering in school with your regular teacher, stuff designed to keep you busy? At the beginning of workouts static stretching can definitely be considered fitness busywork.
Actually, the Core Synergistics workout is heavy on fitness busywork and not just in the warm-up. This workout contains more push-ups and lunges – exercises that are very prevalent throughout the P90X program – some silly exercises, static lying-down abdominal work, really a lot of aerobic class looking stuff. If you didn’t know what the title and stated goal of this workout was before watching the disk you would be hard pressed to find anything to give you an idea as to the emphasis of the workout and that is different from any of the other workouts in the program.
There is a lot of padding in this workout. In a broad sense this workout is challenging, but the challenge is getting through the volume of exercises. If this workout taxes the core it is merely because it’s almost an hour long and, as a result, taxes every muscle in the body. Rather than a quality workout designed with a laser-like focus, it is a quantity workout that possesses all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
As I mentioned in my first post on P90X, this is a classic example of a high-volume/low-intensity workout. All the marketing aside, the only thing “extreme” about this workout is its length; a shorter workout can be more effective.
There are a lot of fitness gimmicks and gadgets out there, but one of the “Can’t Miss” products that every fitness enthusiast should have is a weighted vest. If you’ve been a regular visitor to the site or if you’ve taken the time to read some of my product reviews, you know by now that I’m not one to blindly recommend or advise people to spend money on fitness stuff. However, a weight vest is a worthwhile investment.
The weight vest is a very versatile fitness accessory that appropriate for people of all levels of fitness and ability and can be used while doing just about any activity or exercise. A weight vest is a superior and safer option to hand-held or ankle weights because the additional weight is being carried by torso and not at the furthest reaches of the extremities. Wearing a proper weight vest is one of the best ways to strengthen the muscles of the torso – front and back – and can turn almost any exercise into a more effective core exercise.
A fifteen-to-twenty-pound weight vest can provide an appropriate challenge for just about everyone, regardless of fitness level.
Carrying additional weight on the torso puts less stress on the joints and connective tissues in the hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and feet, ankles, knees and hips. Since the weight is centered on the torso, the body can better balance this additional weight. Using the weight vest also frees up the hands to perform other tasks and increase the intensity of the exercise, without increasing the risk. For example, performing a simple and common movement like jumping jacks while wearing a weight vest will increase the conditioning effect of the exercise, making it more effective.
A weight vest can make any body-weight exercise or calisthenics movement more effective; squat thrusts, push-ups, squats, lunges, pull-ups, bear crawls, jump rope, etc. Certainly, you need to be able to perform any of these exercises with proper form for multiple sets and repetitions before adding the additional load provided by the weight vest. If you’ve never jumped rope or performed proper squats, don’t run out and strap on a weight vest before learning how to do these – or any – exercises.
If you buy only one fitness accessory this year, make it a weight vest.
The old saying that, “Everything old is new again,” is really appropriate when it comes to exercises. There are so many old school exercises that have been forgotten and forsaken and replaced with new, “exciting” but not necessarily better versions. People looking for a way to get their children to exercise and off the Playstation and XBox need to look no further.
I’m very lucky in that I have active kids, kids who love to run, jump, hop, skip, fall and roll. At ages 10 and twin sixes, my boys love sports and look forward to exercising. They are interested in what I have my clients doing at the gym and on their frequent trips to visit me at work or at practice, my kids love to imitate what they see the grown-ups doing and are always looking to show me what they learned in gym class. Not one to leave well enough alone, I’m always looking for different ways to engage and challenge my boys.
Enter the Pogo Stick. I think you’d be hard pressed to come up with a piece of exercise equipment/kids toy more old school. Almost 100 years old, the Pogo Stick is a great way for kids of all ages to get exercise. You don’t have to be an exercise expert to watch a kid work a Pogo Stick and see all the different ways in which the body has to work in order to perform the task.
In case you can’t figure it out, the Pogo Stick is a great way for kids to develop balance, agility and strength. They can be used almost anywhere – unlike skateboards and Razor scooters – and there are endless variations that kids can perform; on one leg, with one hand, no hands, change directions, change elevation, etc. And the best thing is that they aren’t very expensive.
The Pogo Stick is a great old school piece of equipment – it’s not really a toy, is it? – that can get kids to enjoy exercise and develop skills that will help them to be healthier and more capable.
If you’re in the market for a fun and challenging way to get your child healthier, take a look at some of the examples below. My son has the first one.
Last week I posted part 1 of a workout using my home-made weighted PVC pipe exercise equipment. In this week’s video I do squat thrust variations with a 40-pound, 3-inch wide PVC pipe weighted with water and stone.
It’s really quite easy and inexpensive to make the PVC pipe exercise equipment. The unstable weight of the PVC combined with the long length of the pipe makes this home-made equipment quite challenging to perform any kind of exercise imaginable.
When the weather gets nice I try to do as many of my workouts outdoors as possible. Check out this video where I incorporate PVC pipes, weighted with water and stone, into my calisthenics warm-up.
These exercises can be used as a warm-up or as an entire workout and provide a unique training stimulus beneficial to people of all fitness levels. People have been using weighted PVC pipes as training implements for a while and I wanted to find out for myself what it felt like to use them.
In this video you will see two basic PVC pipes but check back regularly as I will provide more clips that utilize different sized pipes.
It’s really very easy and inexpensive to make this home-made exercise equipment. All you need is PVC pipes of various sizes and the appropriate caps, primer, PVC pipe adhesive and a hack saw – just as if you were doing some plumbing work. A scale will help, as you can load the pipes with the exact amount of weight that you want.
Cap and seal one end of the pipe and then load it with stone and water to the appropriate level. If you can, place the pipe on a scale as you fill it with water and you don’t want to fill the pipe all the way, as this prevents the water from sloshing around. Depending on the circumference of the pipe you should fill from half-way to three-quarters with water before adding the stone.
Drop me an email if you have any questions about how to put these babies together as I am glad to spread the word about the benefits of homemade exercise equipment.
The latest piece of infomercial equipment to hit the airwaves is the Contour Core Sculpting System, which is nothing but a $200 dollar vibrating belt that makes use of the same old Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS) technology that your parents wasted their money on.
The old saying that, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public,” is never more accurate than when it’s aimed at the abdominal exercise equipment and nutritional supplement boondoggles. It’s incredible that in the year 2010 the same old snake oil is being recycled and than that people are actually buying.
My senses were assaulted by the Contour Core Sculpting System commercial during an otherwise enjoyable experience of watching the Auburn University spring football scrimmage this past weekend, and I felt compelled to visit the Contour web site. I knew what I would find, but I just had to see for myself. Or perhaps deep down I was hoping that – for a change – one of these products would offer a unique and effective product.
I was wrong.
The Contour Core Sculpting System web site is your boilerplate infomercial equipment product. During the commercial the announcer tells us all the great things about this EMS belt; science proves it works, the FDA has approved its sale without a prescription, your core muscles will be more activated than they are during other abdominal exercises, etc. However, when you go to the site there is no information to back-up any claims made during the commercial.
There are plenty of anecdotal success stories. Anecdotal success stories are like a certain orifice that we all have…if you don’t know the saying, ask a friend.
The FAQ is a testament to the lack of scruples that exists in this industry. Terrible nonsense that provides potential with no real answers. Actually this FAQ should be subtitled, “That are not actually answered.” Double-speak, double-talk, mis-information, jargon and gobbledygook are all you find in the FAQ for the Contour Core Sculpting System.
If you want to waste your money on this nonsense feel free. If you are looking for an excuse to not perform any actual exercise in your quest to improve your health and fitness level and want to spend $200, knock yourself out. Actually if you buy into this garbage you deserve to be taken for 200 bucks. It doesn’t work, it’s never worked and all the anecdotal stories that you can wrap one of these belts around doesn’t change this reality.
Sledgehammer training is a great non-traditional method that can improve functional strength for lacrosse.
Regardless of the phase of training, sledgehammer training is a low-tech, inexpensive, highly effective sport-specific method of training for lacrosse. The demands placed on the body – specifically true core strength – by shooting and passing motions make sledgehammer training an incredibly appropriate strength training exercise.
Swinging a sledgehammer can increase strength that will help to improve both phases of the lacrosse swing, the draw (pulling the stick overhead or “side arm” and behind the shoulder) and the release (the forward and downward “throw”). There are a variety of ways to incorporate the sledgehammer into a lacrosse-specific strength-training program and build functional strength in the muscles of the shoulders and torso.
The basic sledgehammer swing is a great way to develop true core strength and improve endurance, as well. Hitting a tire or log with a sledgehammer is the basic move and serves as a viable alternative to the using a cable machine. Also, sledgehammer training can be performed outside in conjunction with sport-specific sprinting, agility and skill drills.
It’s important to keep in mind that the sledgehammer swings should be used as a complimentary training method, not as a manner to try to replicate the shooting/passing motion used in lacrosse. The weight of the sledgehammer should not be so much to prevent proper swing technique and the speed that approximates the speed of the lacrosse shot. Taking the sledgehammer all the way back into the draw position and following through properly through the release range should be the main priorities so as not to change the mechanics of the swing.
Another key point when using the sledgehammer is to “train against the shot,” and not just work from the shooting side. So players should work from both the right and left sides when swinging the sledgehammer in an attempt to minimize any strength imbalances. If it is apparent that a strength imbalance exists, the player can perform extra work on the weak side in an attempt at achieving symmetry. Strength and flexibility imbalances can contribute to injuries, so addressing any potential asymmetries is very important.
Sledgehammer training is an efficient, effective, inexpensive and fun sport-specific method of training for lacrosse.
