Core Conditioning

The Tropical Twist.

Developing a neutral spine goes hand in hand with core conditioning.

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FITNESS TRAINING PRIORITY

Muscularly balancing and conditioning the core of the body is
the primary focus before real progress can occur in the
other aspects of fitness training.

Learning to innervate/stabilize the deep inner core muscles of the abdomen, lower back,
and pelvic floor is challenging. Progressing from static stability to slow motion exercises is
the prescription for developing proper core innervation patterns necessary for more dynamic
movements. Adding an intensity and/or duration of exercise to an improperly aligned body
will only limit potential and more than likely cause injury over time.

Consistently training the abdominals alone, especially with improper posture or form,
will only re-enforce and create stress areas along the spine and neck. Training the full range
of the entire abdominal wall involves every range of the body in synergy with the arms and legs.

We are going to need a bigger mat for William 'Little Big Man' Bellano.

SPECIFIC MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT

Swimmers and pitchers have similar active extension ranges- stretching the arm away from
the (body) feet. But, their active contraction range is much different. Pitchers use one arm repeatedly,
typically causing asymmetrical development. The act of throwing is also much more explosive
than swimming and therefore requires more power from the torso muscles. This dynamic action
generates a lot of rotational force and stress along the spine. The end range of a pitch is
typically a twisting forward action over one leg with the opposite hand extended forward. Most major
league pitchers do not go past 120 hard pitches in a game; this is less than 90 seconds
of actual throwing! Compare this to the continuous motion of an Olympic swimmer doing laps.
Some training days may involve six hours of constant movement. Swimming is considered
a non-impact sport, but the sheer repetition alone is a major stress to the body. Both sports
taken to their extremes make core conditioning an obvious necessity.


NEEDS OF DAILY LIVING

But what about walking? Up stairs, down stairs, carrying a computer, carrying groceries,
carrying a 25 pound child that is 'carrying-on', squirming to get free, and seems
remarkably strong for her size. Add up the hours of these actions and the greatly underrated
stress of in-actions such as standing, sitting, and driving. Just being alive is like being an
endurance athlete (it's a weak simile I know, but bear with me). Like gravity, strength training
is necessary for the health of the body. An astronaut's muscles will atrophy and their joints
will destabilize during prolonged periods at zero gravity.

Unfortunately, my grandparent's posture shows the effect of gravity over time and represents
what is 'natural' not neutral. It is possible to prevent and correct (to a degree) most postures.
Learning to exercise properly is a man-made and necessary endeavor.

BALANCED BODY TRAINING

There are primary, fundamental development (muscle balancing) pre-requisites for
every single person, active or sedentary. Ever play paper-rock-scissors? Take a
distance runner who can barely touch his toes, add a power lifter who can not safely
throw a wiffle ball, and mix in the yoga instructor who can not carry her own
luggage. These are just real life examples of imbalances among athletes.

After mastering one aspect of an athletic endeavor, many athletes develop
adaptively shortened (tight) and/or lengthened, over-used, and/or over-stretched
muscles. This can lead to potential injury and chronic pain syndromes.

Ironically,
sedentary people tend to have similar symptoms
for the opposite reasons.

COMMON SENSE

There is a minimum requirement of balanced body focus necessary for each
individual, athletic or otherwise. The time and intensity requirements for optimum performance
in a specific endeavor are ten-fold more than what is necessary for being a 'healthy',
well-rounded, and active individual. Striving to become stronger (endurance, speed, and power),
increasing flexibility, and eating properly should be the focus of every healthy, active person.
Yet, just because someone has the ability to bench press 500lbs. or the stamina/willpower to
run 100 miles in 20 hours, does not mean it is 'healthy' for them to perform these extreme events.
I personally have many injuries as result of an over-zealous personality. I have also witnessed
many beginner, amateur, and professional athletes injure themselves seriously from doing way too much.

 

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Jeff Archibald
ACE Certified Trainer
310 890 6783
24 hour phone messages
jeff@boldfitness.com