Top 100 Fitness And Nutrition Tips, #4

Unlike all the talk about the lastest diet pill or fad diet, the emphasis placed on properly training your body's core is not over-hyped! Stabilizing and strengthening your core is where your training should begin and not with your arms and legs! A strong and powerful core will maximumize the strength in your arms and legs....and you will have fewer injuries...so here it goes....

24. The body's core is so much more than your "six pack" abs! A strong core will maximize your strength and speed. Since the core is your body's center of gravity and all movement begins with the core, it is important to strengthen and stabilize it.

25. Transversus abdominis - the deepest of the abdominal muscles, it lies under the obliques and wraps around your spine for protection and stability. Think of the transversus abdominis as "your internal weight belt." It is recruited when you brace your torso during an exercise.



26. External obliques - these muscles are on the side and front of the abdomen and wrap around your waist. Planks, planks with knee tucks, side planks and cable or medicine ball rotations work these muscles well.

27. Internal obliques - these muscles lie under the external obliques and run in the opposite direction. Planks, planks with knee tucks, side planks and cable or medicine ball rotations work these muscles well.



28. Rectus abdominis - this is the "six pack" part of the abs that runs down the front of the abdomen. Swiss ball rollouts/rollups and mountain climbers work the rectus abdominis muscles well. Don't place too much emphasis on the rectus abdominis while inadequately training other areas of the core.

29. Erector spinae - this collection of muscles runs along your neck to your lower back. Make back extensions, cobras and bridges a regular part of your core training.

30. Training the muscles of the core corrects postural imbalances that can lead to injuries. A core conditioning program will decrease the likelihood of back and neck pain, incontinence, ruptured disks, muscle and ligament strains.

31. People with chronic low back pain have inadequate firing of the transversus abdominis, internal oblique, multifidus and deep erector spinae.

32. Training the abdominal area without proper pelvic stabilization increases intradiscal pressure and compressive forces in the lumbar spine.

33. Core training done without proper recruitment of the tranversus abdominis, multifidus and other stabilizers will lead to the development of muscle imbalances.

34. People with chronic low back pain have inadequate stabilization endurance. Improve core endurance by training with the "time under tension" method. This method of contraction lasts for 6-20 seconds.

35. Maintaining the cervical spine in a neutral position (head in line with torso) during core training improves posture, muscle balance and stabilization. If the head protrudes (forward head) during training, the sternocleidomastoid (anterior neck muscle) is recruited. This can lead to pelvic instability.

Keep your FOCUS! See ya tomorrow!

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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