A modern approach to abdominal training

Though you may still see people doing sit-ups and a variety of abdominal exercises at the gym, I believe the paradigm is beginning to shift.  I believe there is a greater understanding of the true function of abdominal and core muscles (not just to look good at the beach!) with the importance being to brace/stabilize the lumbar spine.

We brace inherently without even thinking about it.  Think about the last time you picked up a heavy box off the ground, or tried to push an object across the floor.  The first thing you see the person do is take a deep breath in, and watch their face go red while they strain to move the object.  Watch their breathing as they move the object.  When they get through the hard parts of the movement, they may slowly breath out, or they may stop to rest and take a full breath in and perform another repetition. 

So if this is what we do in life, why are we training the abdominal muscles to put our low backs in a flexed position? 

I often get asked what kind of abdominal exercises should I do if I should not be doing sit ups.  The modern approach to abdominal training is to just do what you are doing!  Anything where you are lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling or dragging will force you to brace.  I do believe it is important to know how to be "perfect" when you are bracing, particularly if you are performing repeated movements.  In this case, there are numerous exercises that focus on bracing such as bridging and planking. 

So if you are doing squatting, lunging, deadlifting, push ups, pull ups, sled pushes/drags then you are learning to brace. 

Arthritis and Joint pain: Are you too old for your age?

Arthritis is the most common joint condition in the world.  It is the greatest cause of disability for people over the age of 20.  Symptoms of pain, swelling, and stiffness are common and appear to worsen as we age.  This can lead to impairment and decreased quality of life.

Some common risk factors for arthritis include age, gender (females more prevalent than males), previous joint trauma, and muscle weakness.

Arthritis is a "drying" of the cartilage on joints, similar to a sponge that has been left out on a counter for a number of days.  The cartilage itself has virtually no pain receptors, so the cartilage is not the pain generator.  However, if the cartilage becomes "dry" it will wear more quickly and expose bone underneath.  Small pieces of cartilage can also break off and float around in the joint causing increased synovial fluid production causing pain and swelling.

If you are feeling any type of joint pain; back, knees, hips, shoulders, neck, etc, you will likely be referred for Xrays.  Ironically, there is a substantial amount of evidence showing that severity of Xray findings and pain are not related.  In other words, you may have terrible looking Xrays and minimal to no joint pain, or you may have severe pain with no evidence on your Xray.  This is because the pain causing tissues rarely show up on Xray.

So when do you start developing arthritis?  The best answer is after skeletal maturity (between 20-25).  Of course we can do things that advance or slow the rate of cartilage degeneration in our body.  It seems contrary, but exercise is one of the best things we can do to maintain our cartilage and reduce arthritis in the future.  In saying that, if you are not using your joints the way they were meant to be used, it will wear on the cartilage and increase the likelihood that you will get arthritis at a younger age.  For example, running and aerobic activities are known to be good for decreasing the incidence of arthritis.  However, running with poor form may wear on your cartilage and cause you knee problems sooner rather than later.

With the prevalence of arthritic conditions increasing, it is important to do what you can at as young an age as you can to preserve the cartilage you have, and decrease the chances of arthritis in the future.  Use your joints wisely and they will be kind to you!

 

The Perfect Push-up: How to learn and how to teach the perfect push up position

The push-up is a great exercise.  Most people use it as a "chest" exercise, but it requires so much more than just chest muscles.  Depending on how it is done, it is a great rotator cuff/scapular coordination, shoulder stability, abdominal brace, glute/ham, quad, exercise.  There are numerous ways to perform push-ups to help develop strength, power and endurance.  

Ouch, this would be tough on shoulders

One of the more common questions I get about push-ups is hand position.  I remember learning push-ups with our elbows abducted to 90 degrees from our shoulders, and not to go past 90 degrees o elbow flexion.  I also remember learning this type of movement while I was bench pressing and it causing shoulder pain (due to impingement) to the point where I was shown by a strength coach how to perform a proper pushing movement.  After a minor decrease in strength due to learning a new movement pattern, I ended up stronger and with much healthier shoulders.

Not a natural pushing motion.  Would you do this through a

I still see people teaching and learning pushing with "elbows out."  I see a lot of guys who bench press with a wide grip with the misconception that it is the best way to workout their chest.  The best advice I got from my previous strength coach was that to think of the push up (or bench press) as a pushing movement.  Think about pushing someone away from you or pushing a door open.  You wouldn't do it with your elbows out.  So why do we practice this in the gym?

Simply put someone on their stomach and hands go to the right place

 I ended up stumbling upon a way to get people to position their hands.  I've done this with people who are 8 years old to people who are 80 years old.  Have them start with laying face down on the ground.  Simply ask the person to push themselves up to a kneeling position.  The first thing they will do is place their hands under their shoulders in the "perfect push-up" position.  The next amazing thing they do is that a person will automatically brace their abdominals before they push themselves up. So the 8 year old and the 80 year old have just completed a push up!  Now, of course you can modify intensity and the type of push up they are doing to fit their training goals, but it start with good technique!

Concussion in Sport: The Dangers of Safety

Experiencing a few concussions over my lifetime has given me the opportunity to understand more about the process one goes through and more importantly, the signs and symptoms of concussion.  Some of my concussions have been more severe than others, but the results are much longer lasting than you would expect.

There are many factors that have contributed to the increase in the number of concussions in the past few year:  Much improved awareness about the signs and symptoms of concussion (especially weeks to months after a concussion) and return to play after a concussion, changes in the diagnostic criteria, and players in sports are much bigger, stronger and faster than they were in the past.

Possibly one of the overlooked factors is the "Dangers of Safety" in sport.  Sporting equipment and padding has evolved significantly since I started playing sports.  For instance, look at the older shoulder pads and helmets that hockey and football players use to wear and compare them to today.  One of the problems with making equipment safer is that players will feel more apt to take a risk.  This means they can be more confident in trying to make a bigger hit or a harder tackle.  As has been seen in some sports, there are players who make attempts to injury or take other players out of game.

In no way am I saying that we need to reduce the size of equipment and risk an individuals safety.  However, it may be time to get to the grass roots and teach kids how to use their sporting equipment properly and safely.

Concussions can have a long lasting impact, especially on a young child.  There is a documentary coming out called Head Games that should help spread awareness.  Have a look at the trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzQqEos6LVI&feature=youtu.be