Tuesday, 05 April 2011
Abs, abs, abs...everybody wants a six pack!
There are many opportunities throughout your day where you are faced with a task that requires your body to be rigid. It's a natural, functional reaction to "tighten your core" when you need to pick up a heavy object, push something across the floor that doesn't slide easily, or hold something heavy overhead without swaying. In the world of CrossFit, it's called "midline stabilization". Call it a "midline", a "trunk", a "core"...it doesn't matter. Stabilizing it is key to being strong, because the source of human power emanates from core and flows to the extremities.
Your spine is basically a bunch of bones lashed together and it is strongest when it's held in its neutral position. The lack of flexion (think: folding forward at the waist) and extension (think: folding backward at the waist) of the spine is accomplished by having a strong midline. I haven't been able to find a list of what muscles "officially" make up the midline, but for general purposes, it could be said that any muscle recruited to hold the spine in a static (preferably neutral) position while being loaded (in any plane), can be added to the list. Muscles independently recruited for very specific movements ("crunches") assist with midline stability in real life, but training the entire midline (all the muscles) at one time creates a stronger body, not just a pretty one.
Exercises that focus on the abs are quite popular in fitness magazines and publications that focus on vanity. And, hey, who doesn't want to look good nekkid? We all want to be lean with our musculature revealed...ok, maybe not everyone, but most everyone. What is being lost in the quest for a "six-pack" is the fact that good looking abs don't necessarily make for a strong human. They might contribute, but we are better off training for events rather than vanity. In other words, train for the day that you are pushing your car out of the ditch, not for the day you are walking shirtless on the beach.
If you want to reveal the six pack that already exists beneath that belly fat, you should probably just focus on changing your fueling habits so you can become lean enough for them to show up, regardless of their size. But I best not get started on that...it's a whole different subject. "You can't out-train a shitty diet"...or something like that. Unfortunately, some of us have enough belly fat that will cover our abs no matter how big they get. In fact, you can't train your "abs" enough to get them huge...they simply don't grow in the same manner as other muscles like the quadriceps and biceps. Did I mention that changing your fueling habits will do more for a six-pack than a gajillion crunches? I digress...
So, be ready for the rest of this month to REALLY train your midline stabilization. I know, we already do a lot of midline stabilization by the very nature of following the CrossFit methodology! But, we are going to focus on some very specific exercises that will you will no doubt expose your midline stabilization limitations. And if you think of fueling your body for sustenance instead of satisfaction, you might just start to see that six-pack.
News, Announcements, and Special Events:
Times:
Stations, one minute each, three rounds, no rest:
Study:
There are many opportunities throughout your day where you are faced with a task that requires your body to be rigid. It's a natural, functional reaction to "tighten your core" when you need to pick up a heavy object, push something across the floor that doesn't slide easily, or hold something heavy overhead without swaying. In the world of CrossFit, it's called "midline stabilization". Call it a "midline", a "trunk", a "core"...it doesn't matter. Stabilizing it is key to being strong, because the source of human power emanates from core and flows to the extremities.
Your spine is basically a bunch of bones lashed together and it is strongest when it's held in its neutral position. The lack of flexion (think: folding forward at the waist) and extension (think: folding backward at the waist) of the spine is accomplished by having a strong midline. I haven't been able to find a list of what muscles "officially" make up the midline, but for general purposes, it could be said that any muscle recruited to hold the spine in a static (preferably neutral) position while being loaded (in any plane), can be added to the list. Muscles independently recruited for very specific movements ("crunches") assist with midline stability in real life, but training the entire midline (all the muscles) at one time creates a stronger body, not just a pretty one.
Exercises that focus on the abs are quite popular in fitness magazines and publications that focus on vanity. And, hey, who doesn't want to look good nekkid? We all want to be lean with our musculature revealed...ok, maybe not everyone, but most everyone. What is being lost in the quest for a "six-pack" is the fact that good looking abs don't necessarily make for a strong human. They might contribute, but we are better off training for events rather than vanity. In other words, train for the day that you are pushing your car out of the ditch, not for the day you are walking shirtless on the beach.
If you want to reveal the six pack that already exists beneath that belly fat, you should probably just focus on changing your fueling habits so you can become lean enough for them to show up, regardless of their size. But I best not get started on that...it's a whole different subject. "You can't out-train a shitty diet"...or something like that. Unfortunately, some of us have enough belly fat that will cover our abs no matter how big they get. In fact, you can't train your "abs" enough to get them huge...they simply don't grow in the same manner as other muscles like the quadriceps and biceps. Did I mention that changing your fueling habits will do more for a six-pack than a gajillion crunches? I digress...
So, be ready for the rest of this month to REALLY train your midline stabilization. I know, we already do a lot of midline stabilization by the very nature of following the CrossFit methodology! But, we are going to focus on some very specific exercises that will you will no doubt expose your midline stabilization limitations. And if you think of fueling your body for sustenance instead of satisfaction, you might just start to see that six-pack.
News, Announcements, and Special Events:
- It's that time of year again! SPRING LEANING STARTS TOMORROW.
- Congratulations to our new members who have just completed the On Ramp program! Becky, Cori, Paula, Mike, Jenny, Marcia, Troy and Nicole. What a great group to work with...looking forward to having you at the regular group sessions!
- Book Club / Movie Night: At 6pm this Thursday, April 7th, we will discuss Super Size Me and Fat Head, so be sure to get online and watch them both. This is a pot-luck meeting, so please plan on eating your dinner here at the gym and bring a paleo-style dish to share. Get online with Hulu and watch the movies Super Size Me and Fat Head.
- Trainers' meeting: Saturday at 7:30am.
Times:
- 6am
- 9am
- 6pm
- 7pm
Today's focus:
- Weightlifting
- Monostructural
Warm-up:
- DS/BM
- Wrists
- P/S/P
- Achilles
- Hollow rock 10x10/5
- GM with PVC (2 minutes)
- Jerk
- Snatch (muscle)
- KB juggle (swing hand-off)
Stations, one minute each, three rounds, no rest:
- OHS (muscle snatch into position)
- Row
- KB swing (one arm)
- Bike
- Jerk (light, from rack)
Study:
- At 2:15 in this video, you will see a 150Kg muscle snatch. (It's got an element of pressing, but nonetheless, it's one movement from ground to overhead with no bending of the knees.)
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