This post is a continuation from the Front Bridge Core Exercises post from last week. It is important to train for lateral core stability, and this short video will guide you through the movements.
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Side Bridge Core Progressions
July 1st, 2009Strength Training is OK for Kids
June 24th, 2009Check out this article from the Mayo Clinic regarding youth strength training.
The main concept behind youth strength training is that they are doing movements and exercises to improve their motor abilities. You know when humans begin strength training….when they’re born.
Look at the core strength this kid has!
Think about, when you learn to crawl you’re simply doing a modified front bridge. Some of my middle-age obese clients can’t even hold a modified front bridge with as much success as an infant can! Children need to learn how to control their bodies in all planes of motion (that’s strength training). Once the movements are mastered, resistance can be added to increase the level of difficulty and provide an added stimulus to the muscular-skeletal system. This is no different than training an elderly individual.
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Front Bridge Core Exercises
June 19th, 2009Core stability is extremely important in sport and during daily activities. There is a misconception that the best way to develop the core is through sit ups and lower back extensions. First off, if you’re relying solely on flexion/extension based movements to train the core you need to get with the times and understand that those exercises are not very effective for improvement in sport or life. Also, those exercise can be more harmful to the lower back then you would believe. Second, sit ups and extension only work the body in one plane of motion - not very beneficial since we move in all directions (multiple planes of motion). Instead, the core works more as trunk stabilizer and as a way to transfer force during athletic movements. In previous posts I have discussed the benefits of standing rotational training. This time I would like to demonstrate a few core stabilization exercises that should be added to any fitness program.
Now some of the hard-core stregth coaches feel it is a waste of time to remedial exercises such as bridging. They claim that their athletes/clients recieve more than enough core trainng from all the squating, deadlifting, and Olympic lifting exercises in their program. I would agree and disagree at the same time. Any compoud movement where you are stadning on two feet will engage the core. However, I would agree with what Alwyn Crosgrove said in a recent article “You need to train the core for stability, and direct training activates the core more than indirect work.” Take time to develop the part of your body that works to stabilize the torso/hips and transfer force from one limb to another.
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Typical Lunch
June 16th, 2009I give my clients advice about their diet and exercise, but they always ask me what a typical meal for me is like. So here is a typical lunch (I have the luxury to eat at home every day so I can make some good stuff).
What’s in it:
- Organic chicken - Trader Joes
- Steamed brown rice - Trader Joes
- Organic black beans - Trader Joes
- Avocado w/ sea salt - Farmers market
- Organic baby carrots - Trader Joes
- Broccoli - Farmers market
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Interval Training - Classic Study
June 15th, 2009Until my clients stop focusing their cardio program around slow/long duration activities, I will continue to provide more information about the benefits of high-intensity interval training. If your goal is to run a marathon, compete in a triathlon, or you have extra free time in your daily schedule to do cardio for an extended period of time (an hour or more) then you are an exception to this post (even though interval training has been show to help improve your lactate threshold, VO2 max, and fat oxidation which is critical when trying to maintain a fast pace in a marathon or triathlon). A classic study illustrates that interval training (in this case 30 seconds of maximal cycle sprinting followed by 4 minutes of rest/recovery) is as effective as long duration exercise (90+ minutes).
The study concluded with this statement, “the most striking finding from the present study was that two very diverse forms of training induced remarkably similar changes in exercise capacity and selected muscle adaptations that are related to exercise tolerance. Given the markedly lower training volume in the SIT group, our results suggest that intense interval training is indeed a time-efficient strategy to induce rapid muscle and performance adaptations comparable to traditional endurance training.”
Source: Gibala M.J., Little J.P., Van Essen M., Wilkin G.P., Burgomaster K.A., Safdar A., Raha S., Tarnopolsky M.A. Short-term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance. The Journal of Physiology, 575 901-911.
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Olympic Lifts For Fitness
June 11th, 2009Check out a recent article I put together about Olympic Lifting. Even those these lifts are commonly used by athletes, they are really great for anyone trying to achieve their fitness goals. Check out the article.
Here’s an example of the Power Snatch & Power Clean
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Sunday Morning Workout @ The Park
June 8th, 2009I got a great total body workout in yesterday morning at the park with the TRX. Check out some of the images.
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Protect That Low Back
June 4th, 2009Lower back pain occurs with most individuals at some point in their life. I see clients and gym-goers with this issue on a regular basis. There are number of variables that I try to integrate into my training programs including correcting muscle imbalances/deficiencies, improve core strength and develop proper flexibility in all 3 planes of motion to combat this problem. Many times individuals experiencing lower back pain have a weak core (specifically anterior core) and dysfunction of their glutes. However, I want to focus on another variable that affects lower back pain – lack of range of motion at specific areas of the body. The lower back (lumbar spine) is not designed to have excessive range of motion during activities. If an individual lacks range of motion in their hips and thoracic spine, then excessive stress could be placed on the lumbar spine. We need range of motion (in all 3 planes) to come from the hips and thoracic spine to help prevent lower back pain and dysfunction.
Strategies to protect the lower back
Make sure you are incorporating movements that require the hip to function in the sagital plane (hip extension – squats/deadlifts), frontal plane (adduction/abduction – lateral lunges/kettlebell windmill), and transverse plane (internal/external rotation – chops/transverse rotational lunges).
Develop thoracic spine extension (sagital plane) – try using a foam roller on the upper back to work on proper range of motion. Check out this clip for an example. To target the frontal and transverse plane I use dumbbell shoulder presses at different angles (lateral and rotational).
Integration is always better than isolation, so practice these exercises to develop all 3 planes of motion in the hip and thoracic spine at the same time. Click here.
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Recommended Exercise - Weekly
June 2nd, 2009Are you getting enough exercise in weekly? You might want to check out this according the Center for Disease Control. Everyone should be getting a minimum of two days a week of strength training. If you do you strength training in a circuit set up you will also be getting a great cardio workout. When it comes to cardio - I recommended 4 days a week of interval training for 15-20 minutes per session (it can also come in the form of a circuit with strength training exercises incorporated). This corresponds directly with the CDC’s recommendations for healthy living.
Check out the website and then reevaluate your current workout routine.
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Achieving Your Fitness Goals
May 29th, 2009There are really only 3 variables you need to control to achieve any fitness or sports performance goal.
- Diet
- Exercise
- Mindset
I have trained a variety of different clientele and the only individuals that are successful at accomplishing their fitness goals are the individuals who master all 3 components. Look to improve all 3 variables and you will be successful.
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