Click Here for your Free Traffic!
| |
| |
|
Exercise Information |
|
|
|
Integrating Core Stabilization into Your Workouts
Stabilization is a hot topic in the fitness industry over the past few years. But what is stabilization? Stabilization can be defined as the body's muscular systems ability to support (stabilize) the body during movement. For most fitness enthusiasts, core training is a foreign topic. Exercises designed to build strength in the chest, back, shoulders, legs and arms are typically chosen over exercises designed to improve the strength of the core. The "core" is defined as the muscles surrounding the cervical (neck), thoracic (chest), lumbar (low back), pelvic, and hip area. The core is the foundation for all movement patterns to occur. A strong efficient core is necessary for proper movement to occur. Allowing other muscles to become strong before the core can lead to injury at some point in your body. For example, most people have tight hip flexors, quadriceps, and psoas. When these muscles are tight they cause the stabilizing muscles of the core (transverse abdominals, multifidi, and glutes) to become lengthened and therefore weak. When muscles become weak, they cannot work efficiently and the tight muscles take over their function. Picking an object up off the floor is a great example of how your core "braces" the body to prepare for the lift. As you lift the object off the floor, your core stabilizes the body and allows efficient movement to occur to transmit force through the lumbar spine and out through the body. If your core is not strong enough and proper postural positioning is off, the body cannot properly handle the weight of the object and injury can occur. For example, if the back is rounded through the shoulders as you pick up a box of books, the center of gravity shifted forward and away from the body putting enormous strain the lumbar discs. Repeated stress on the lumbar disc will lead to a serious back injury at some point. Mastering of basic exercises designed to recruit the deep abdominal stabilizers is a must for proper progression to occur. The first level is to begin to re-teach the muscles deep in the abdominal wall to fire properly. Teaching a client to "brace" their abdominal wall is the key to building proper stabilizing within the lumbo-pelvic hip region. These exercises are done on a stable environment (floor). Exercises in the first level typically are held for a period of time to allow the deep stabilizing muscles to improve their functional capacity. Once the basic concept of abdominal bracing is mastered after a couple of days, the next level can be obtained through challenging the stabilizing muscles through movement of the spine or the arms and legs in a semi-stable environment. Stability balls are commonly used and are a great way to build core stability. Other ways to increase the intensity is to raise a limb off the ground to force the body to hold a posturally correct position with good core stabilization. As core stabilization improves challenging the body becomes a function of being creative and safe. Try a multi-joint exercise in different directions to create better core stabilization. For example, lunge to the front, back, and to the sides combined with an overhead press requires a great deal of core stabilization. Building a strong core is more than just endless crunches and leg raises. Fitness professionals have the knowledge to help you build a strong core effectively and safely. By being creative, you can build a strong core in no time, just in time for spring break. Dave Radin, BS, CSCS, NASM-CPT. Dave Radin has been working with individuals for over 12 years helping them reach their health and fitness goals, whether weight loss, general fitness, or sport specific. He has authored articles on various fitness topics. He lives in the Charlotte area with his wife, Randi, and his son, Matthew. You can contact him at davefradin@netzero.net or check out http://www.lakenormanfitness.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Finding Time to Exercise Exercising During Commercials I'm getting up an hour earlier these days. At first I said I'd never be able to do it: I was already sleep deprived rising at 6 AM how would I ever get up at 5 AM? I'd never be able to get to sleep earlier (this is still true), and a hundred other reasons why it wouldn't work. The Truth About Lactate and Exercise For years exercise scientists and physiologists have preached that lactate/lactic acid build-up in the muscle is the direct cause of muscle fatigue and a decrease in performance. It is proposed that lactate builds up in the muscle cells during intense exercise and literally "poisons" them, essentially shutting down activity biochemically by reducing the pH or increasing the acidity level. How to Get Better Exercise Results By Improving Hydration Water and ExerciseYour body excretes water in a number of ways: through urination, defecation, breathing (that's why we always enjoyed breathing condensation on mirrors when we were kids) and perspiration. And when you are exercising, your body can lose a large amount of water. See How Trampolines Can Be Part Of Any Exercise Program When the trampoline was invented by a young boy intrigued by the ability of aerialists to bounce in a net and perform artistic maneuvers while they did so, it literally became the "springboard" for a whole new sport.George Nissen, who was a tumbler and gymnast himself, took the sports to a whole new height by putting them on canvas strung in a metal frame. Weight Loss, Bodybuilding, and Exercise Tips - Keeping Your Body-fat Low: Part 2 of 10 My name is Greg Ryan. I am a fitness expert, professional bodybuilder, personal, trainer to movie stars, former employee of Kathy Smith and over 50, 000 hours of paid personal training sessions under my belt. Great Exercises To Tone & Tighten Your Butt A question I am frequently asked by females is, "What is the best exercise I can do for my butt?" In my opinion, there is nothing better you can do for your butt than lunges. They target your glutes, hamstrings and quads, and can easily be modified for beginners to advanced exercisers. VO2 Max- Exposing the Myth VO2 max is defined as the maximal amount of oxygen the body is able to extract and use to support work performed by the body. It is therefore an indirect measure of the aerobic power of the body, which is controlled by complex interactions between neural (brain and nervous system), cardiovascular (heart and lungs) and skeletal muscle factors. How To Get Started With Exercise: The Magic Pill Of Your Weight Loss Program In a previous article, I mentioned the weight loss mantra of "Eat Less.. Flattening Your Stomach in Four Easy Steps You look at it every day and wish it would just go away; that little pouch below your belly button that keeps staring back at you. You do crunches, sit ups, the works, and yet there it is just "hanging around. Lance Armstrong's Training Tactics - The Tortoise or the Hare? I have been counseling people on weight loss, exercise efficiency and nutrition for over twenty years. Every time I go to the gym I observe people, their training tactics and their workout habits. Yoga Yoga traditionally conjures up images of long hair, loin cloths and incense burning in a darkened room with strange music playing! It had an almost cultish persona. Nowadays your gran is quite likely to tuck her Yoga mat under her arm and head on down to the local gym for an hour of Yoga and meditation. Best Flat Tummy Exercises for Great Female Abs Are there flat tummy exercises that are the best for great female abs? Abs-olutely! To make this list, the female abs exercises must be safe, effective and can be done nearly anywhere. Your abs can be worked out every day. Thick Today Is Fat Tomorrow As we twentysomethings get further along in our twenties, we may start to notice ourselves gaining weight. It sucks, because at one time you could eat whatever you wanted and now it's like someone shut off your metabolism. 6 Things A Norwegian Fable Teaches Us About Healthy Perseverance Part 1 Author, H. Besser, in his book, "Perseverance: How To Develop It," shares a Norwegian fable about a man who left his hometown to rejoin his fiancée. Warming Up Properly In our 'Stretching' article series (http://optimumlife.co. Super Secret Exercise Tips for People with Arthritis People with arthritis should exercise ? but they need to keep some valuable information in mind. Here are some important tips to follow:1. Top 5 Exercise Plateau Breakers Plateau. That dreaded word that you do not want to hear, let alone experience. Finding The Right Exercise Intensity We've all heard the exercise guidelines that recommend we participate in 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity 3-5 times per week. That seems easy enough to implement. Get Out and Play: Top 7 Outdoor Exercises Do you remember when our parents used to yell at us to go outside and play? They would get so tired of us running around the house munching junk food and fighting with our siblings that they would practically kick us out of the house!Well, we may not have the same child-like activities lined up to get outside for anymore, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't still get out and enjoy the world! Exercising outdoors has many benefits, and they include the following:- Little or no equipment needed to get a good workout- No crowded gyms or obnoxious people to put up with- No driving time to the local fitness facility- No need to put on makeup or special clothing to workout at the gym- Vitamin D enhancing sunshine for our skin- The ability to workout anytime, anywhere - even on vacation- Two words: Fresh AirThere are probably other reasons that you can think of why an outdoor workout would fit into your particular lifestyle, so now all you have to do is learn what kind of activities can be done outside.Refer to the following Top 7 list of exercises that are sure to leave you sweaty, worn out, and feeling great when it's all over!LUNGESLike all exercises, lunges should be done with absolutely perfect form. 5 Little Known Benefits of Warming Up & Cooling Down After Exercising While working out in the gym, I have noticed that many exercisers tend to skip two very important parts of their workout. It is crucial that exercisers starts with a warm-up and ends with a cool-down.
|
