There is no doubting back pain is a big problem in the modern world. It is not limited to people who don’t exercise and can cut down even the fittest people. The good news is I believe many people recognize that exercise is invaluable for treating back pain and also preventing it. Unfortunately the understanding of what type of exercise is best is where it all goes wrong. For many years now we have been convinced to believe that strong abs means a strong core, and will prevent back pain. Even therapists and Doctors have been known to prescribe planks and abdominal exercises to treat back pain with this same type of thinking. We must realize that strength of the abdominal muscles WILL NOT change the faulty movement that leads to injury and pain. Your body will instantly sacrifice any strength if it only knows how to move with the same dysfunctional movement it has always used. You must identify and change the faulty movement patterns linked to the injury to have any chance. In this article we will explain why learning to move better is more important to you than strength of your abdominal muscles if you have back pain.
Be Careful Of Over-training Your Core With Abdominal Exercises?
In one of my recent articles about core strengthening exercises I compared the value of using isolation exercises versus integrated movements, I posed the question how much strength do your abdominal muscles really need? Based on scientific research by Dr Stuart McGill the answer to this question was on average about 10% of maximal voluntary contraction. The ability to fire first and maintain endurance of the core muscles for long periods was of more importance than the overall strength of the abdominal muscles. When you consider how many people devote considerable time to improving their abdominal strength via planks, sit-ups, roll-outs, and various other exercises the question I now have is can you have too much strength? For most muscle groups more strength is a good thing, but is this the same for the core? For as we discussed in the previous article, these muscles are not designed to function the same way and as you will see shortly, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.
8 Exercises That Help Improve Your Mobility and Stability at the Same Time!
Many people will tell you the answer to this question is to join a Yoga class. To some degree they are right as there are many poses that demand these two skills, however, not all Yoga classes provide this and not all of the exercises will relate to functional movement. Holding a pose for set period of time is great, but the timing is not what you would encounter in a real-life situation that often moves fast and requires instantaneous reflexes. There are many people who come to see me for help who possess great flexibility but lack joint stability and control of movements. On the flip side of this are others who have incredible stiffness but lack mobility. Finding ways to improve both of these essential skills is critical for improving their movement efficiency so they can achieve their goals with health and fitness. In this article, I will share with you a workout I have used successfully with many people in the past. Not all of the exercises may relate to your specific needs so you can easily add or subtract exercises as you feel necessary.
How To Use The Pallof Press To Improve Spinal Stability
There has been many times I have proven wrong or changed my mind about certain exercises over the last 20 years as a trainer and one of those times was a few years ago when I was really struggling with various movements causing severe problems with my right hip and my sacroiliac joint. While I found several hip exercises helped me a lot to continue strengthening my hip without aggravating things I still needed something more to help me with the instability I could feel in my back. This is where you would often see the use of targeted core stability exercises but, once again my preferred choices of movement to do this were very difficult to do as I was so limited in my use of my hands and wrists due to an autoimmune disease I was suffering with at the time. This led me to explore the use of the Pallof press which is quite a unique exercise for strengthening the core. And much to my pleasant surprise it really helped me to overcome some of the instability I was suffering with really quickly. In this article, I will explain what this exercise is designed to do and the variations you can use to progress or regress the movement.
Unstable Balance Training – Useful Training Tool or Dangerous Gimmick?
The past 10-15 years balance training has really taken off in gyms as a part of gym training however it does spark a debate about the value of using exercises like this and more specifically the use of unstable balance training. Previously balance was just standing on one leg and mainly used for older adults and rehab but with the introduction of equipment like the BOSU and balance boards we have seen an evolution of strength training exercises. But is this stuff just a gimmick and is it even dangerous as some experts suggest? I am a massive fan of Dr Stuart McGill who does not endorse this type of training but I am also a massive fan of Twist Conditioning that do encourage it. Both experts have training models that prove to work and have research backing up their beliefs. In my 20 years as a trainer I have found that there is no one way or absolute answer to anything with exercise and health. And when it comes to balance training there are times when it is great and other times when it is detrimental. The key is to know when and who you are using it with and there must be an intelligent approach to how it is applied. The benefits can be astounding, however if used poorly there is definitely a point where the risk outweighs the reward. In this article, I will dig deep into everything you need to know about balance training and you can make up your own mind if it is useful to your training or not.
What Improves Core Strength The Best? – Functional Integrated Movement or Isolation Abdominal Exercise?
For a long time I have been discussing the value of using a more integrated and functional approach to strengthening the core, versus the traditional and more popular method of isolating the abdominal muscles with a multitude of floor exercises. My argument has always been that the activation of the abdominal muscles is more consistent with their “true function” when using integrated movements and are more effective at improving movement efficiency and joint stability. The argument against my point is that these exercises may not truly strengthen the muscles of the core to their full potential, leaving you exposed to weakness and injury. You cannot feel your abs burn during a squat or a deadlift as you can during a plank so the plank must be better, is often the logic most people explain. To test my bias and put this argument to rest I decided to share with you some important research and studies that have investigated this debate before, and give you my thoughts of how I use this information to guide me with exercise prescription.