Issue 92 July 3, 2006

The most common misconception about core conditioning is that its main purpose is to strengthen the muscles of the trunk. In reality, developing strength is only a secondary purpose of core conditioning. Its primary objective is to teach you how to activate important stabilizing muscles and coordinate the use of these muscles with other muscles in sport-specific movements.

The reason this objective is so important is that most of us are unable to activate some of our most important stabilizing muscles during running or other activities, and this problem reduces our efficiency of movement and contributes to overuse injuries. It doesn't take any special strength to use the key stabilizers correctly. It takes coordination between the brain and muscles. Consider the example of the deepest muscles of the abdominal wall (the transversus abdominis and internal obliques). According to Michael Fredericson, M.D., a sports medicine specialist at Stanford University and one of the world's premier experts on core conditioning for runners, these muscles are vital to proper stabilization of the pelvis during running. Yet the vast majority of runners (including most elite runners) are unable to activate these muscles to maintain pelvic stability on the run. Again, weakness isn't the issue. "It only takes a 10 percent contraction to do the job," says Fredericson. Rather, the problem is a lack of neuromuscular communication.

Our brains literally can't find these muscles, probably because of the absurd amount of time we spend slouching in seats - a posture that requires no use of the deep abs. So correcting the problem doesn't require that we increase the maximum force generating capacity of the deep abs. Instead it requires that we learn how to use them, especially in sport-specific movements. (Which is less painful!)

Leaping straight into advanced core conditioning exercises makes about as much sense as running 22 miles on the first day of a beginner's marathon training program. Sure, you may build some strength by doing these advanced exercises, but there'll be little or no functional carryover to your sports movements, hence little or no benefit. The strongest abs in the world are useless if you can't activate them functionally. Conditioning your core properly requires patience and a willingness to spend a fair amount of time working on exercises that may not look or feel like they're doing much. You need to do basic isolation exercises that train the connection between your brain and the targeted muscles without any requirement in order to coordinate this action with other muscle actions.

Once you're able to consistently and easily activate your stabilizers, see a trainer for ways to add exercises in which core activation is incorporated into sport-specific movements similar to those involved in running, at least some of which include a balance requirement.

(This article and the activation exercises are adapted from an article by Matt Fitzgerald for Active.com)

Core Activation Exercises
Lying Hip Abduction
Conditions the hip abductors and hip external rotators, enhancing hip stability.
Lie on your side with your legs bent 90 degrees and your knees together. Now rotate your upper leg upwards and backwards, keeping the foot of this leg in contact with the other foot. Repeat 12-15 times or until you feel fatigue in your buttock, then switch sides. To make this exercise more challenging, perform it with a resistance band tied around your thighs.
Cook Hip Lift
Trains the deep abs to stabilize the lower spine and pelvis while the glutes and hamstrings generate backward thrust.
Lie face up with your legs sharply bent. Place one foot flat on the floor and draw the other leg up against your torso, holding it in place with pressure from your hands. Now contract the hamstrings and glutes of the grounded leg to lift your butt off the floor two or three inches. Keep your deep abs contracted and your pelvis neutral. Hold this position for five seconds and relax. Repeat five times and then switch legs. Progress by holding the contractions longer and/or by adding repetitions.
Kneeling Overhead Draw-In
Teaches you how it feels to contract the deep abs for stabilization.
Kneel on both knees and raise your arms straight overhead. Draw your navel towards your spine and try to lift your fingertips another inch or so towards the ceiling, as though you're trying to place an object on a shelf that's just out of reach. Hold the contraction for five seconds and relax. Repeat a total of five times. To progress, add repetitions and/or hold the contractions longer.
Knee Fall-Out
Teaches you to sustain activation of the deep abs as your hips rotate.
Lie face-up with your legs sharply bent, knees together and feet placed flat on the floor. Contract your deep abdominal muscles by drawing your navel towards your spine. Don't arch your lower spine. Now slowly let your knees fall outward towards the floor without relaxing your deep abs. (This is very difficult at first. If it feels easy, you're letting your deep abs relax!) Once your legs are splayed as wide as you can get them, pause briefly and return to the start position. Repeat a total of 10 times. Progress by adding repetitions.

WALK TO A LONGER LIFE
Walking fitness makes a significant difference in predicting the likelihood of future disability in the elderly, according to a study published in the May 2, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and their collaborators found that the ability to walk about a quarter mile was an important determinant not only of whether elderly participants would be alive six years later, but also how much illness and disability they would experience within that time frame. "The ability to complete this walk was a powerful predictor of health outcomes. In fact, we found that the people who could not complete the walk were at an extremely high risk of later disability and death," says lead author, Anne B. Newman, M.D., M.P.H., professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Athlete's Corner
According to a recent Associated Press article, about 500 people in the United States (more in Europe) walk or run backwards. Experts say it burns a fifth more calories than traditional jogging. "Your balance increases. Your hearing increases. Your peripheral vision increases, " says Timothy "Bud" Badyna, a record holder in backwards running. "The downside is being blindsided. As long as you go someplace safe" a track, a familiar road, you'll cut down the chances of any unforeseen obstacles coming your way," he says. Backwards walking and running dates back to the 1970s, when forward-looking runners practiced it while injured. Doctors later recommended it as part of physical therapy, and it's often used by baseball pitchers or track runners in preliminary warm-ups. "It's a reasonable and a good way to incorporate another means of exercise to lessen the stress on any given part of the body," says Barry T. Bates, a professor emeritus of biomechanics at the University of Oregon. It also helps people recover from knee-joint surgery and injuries ranging from the ankle to the groin. And, like regular running, it strengthens the heart, lungs, muscles, and joints, says Gary Gray, a physical therapist in Adrian, Michigan, who has been recommending backwards exercise to his patients for 30 years. "It's good for the hips, good for the legs, good for the trunk," Gray says. "When you go backwards, your tummy becomes your back and creates a nice reaction for your abdominals." For more on backwards running and links to studies and competitor websites, go to: http:// darkwing.uoregon.edu/~btbates/backward/backward1.htm.

Want more information? Please contact Laura Jones at: (434)978-3800