What Comes After Planks?

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Static planks are great, but they shouldn’t be considered a goal—they are a starting point. Life is movement and our training should prepare us to do just that. The current record for the longest time in a plank position is three hours seven minutes and 15 seconds. That is beyond difficult to be sure, but it’s also kind of pointless. It’s like a long cardiovascular training session in the form of a plank. If you can hold a plank for three hours, you aren’t necessarily getting any stronger—you can simply hold a plank for a really long time.

Here’s What You Need to Know

Done properly, planks are a wonderful exercise for teaching trunk, hip and shoulder stability by integrating a full-body contraction. This is an ideal starting point for activity.
Once you’ve mastered good plank technique, stop holding it for longer amounts of time and start moving it. Despite the intense muscle burning, long isometrics actually burn the lowest number of calories. Life is movement, not the absence of it.

Follow a system for developing moving plank options so you know why you are adding any movement to planks. Whenever I am speaking on the topic of ab training, I always ask the audience, “What’s the purpose of planks?” I am usually met with silence, so I’ll ask the question again, this time letting them know that they are unlikely to offer an incorrect answer. Now, I start to get some responses, most of which are abstract and generic, even if they are correct, such as: “They teach full-body stability.” “They develop good core strength.” “They help prevent back pain.” O.K., but why do I want any of that?

What’s the purpose of having good core strength and full body stability? To do stuff! It’s not a complicated answer. We tend to overcomplicate and sometimes overthink things in fitness. Whatever you (or your clients) want to do—play a sport, play tag with your kids, compete in obstacle races or catch butterflies—you want to feel good when you do it and not have to worry about your body. The same is true for the stuff we all have to do, but may not really love to do (things like doing laundry and yard work or putting away groceries).

Thus, the ultimate purpose of planks is to get better at moving. It makes little sense then to have a core-strengthening program that focuses strictly on the absence of movement. This idea has gotten out of hand to the point where some people erroneously recommend doing only anti-rotation exercises to train rotation. Think about it this way: Sitting behind the wheel of a car that is motionless is not how you learn to drive.

This idea has become popular because some have ascribed to the idea that rotation is “dangerous.” In other news, life is dangerous, so you’d better train for it. Life will ask you to move quickly, randomly and correctly at some point to avoid injury. Proximal strength equals distal power. In other words, strength in the center gives you more powerful, controlled movements.

Keeping still forever in exercise is like staying in first grade forever. You learn planks to be able to do harder things. Planks are very effective for preparing you to do something harder than a plank.

Jonathan Ross | ©2014

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Yoga can help this important body fluid keep your joints at their strong and supple best.

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Yoga Journal : By Julie Gudmestad

When my students are feeling warm and good and happy after a class, I jokingly ask if they feel like they’ve just had a tune-up and oil change. In fact, while yoga doesn’t change any fluids, it does do a wonderful job of moving fluids around in your body. Your blood circulates in your arteries and veins, and your lymph flows through the spaces around all your cells; both fluids can be cleansed of metabolic by-products and your blood replenished with oxygen and nutrients. Yoga also helps circulate the synovial fluid inside your joints, but—contrary to common perception—it doesn’t warm up or stimulate the manufacture of this important substance.

Understanding Synovial Fluid

Synovial fluid is the slippery fluid that fills most of the body’s joints. All joints occur where two separate bones intersect or overlap, but there are a few that don’t contain synovial fluid and have very limited movement, including the intervertebral (between the vertebrae) discs and the two sacroiliac joints on the back of the pelvis. The rest are synovial joints, which are freely movable and need a system that cushions the ends of the bones, allowing them to glide over each other without friction. This system consists of hyaline cartilage, the smooth, whitish covering on the ends of the bones, and the synovial fluid, which fills the space between the cartilage surfaces and facilitates smooth, painless movement between bones. This clear, slightly viscous fluid is also important because it delivers nutrients and oxygen to the hyaline cartilage, which—unlike most body tissues—doesn’t have its own blood supply. Any joint movement helps circulate the synovial fluid, which feeds the cartilage; practicing yoga poses therefore helps keep the cartilage well nourished.

Each synovial joint has a fibrous capsule surrounding the joint, which helps hold the bones together, along with the ligaments (which join bone to bone) and tendons (which join muscle to bone). The joint capsule is lined by the synovial membrane, which manufactures the synovial fluid. Your body automatically produces the necessary amount of this lubricating fluid. Although the idea that yoga stimulates production of synovial fluid creates a lovely image, there actually isn’t any time when the well runs dry.

Inflammation: When Too Much Is Too Much

In fact, the only problem with the amount of fluid occurs when there is too much. This problem is part of the inflammatory process, which is defined by the presence of swelling, pain, redness, and heat. Inflammation is the body’s response to injury, as well as part of the process of arthritis, which includes the wearing away of hyaline cartilage. (In more advanced cases of osteoarthritis—the wear-and-tear arthritis commonly associated with old age—and in rheumatoid arthritis—the autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own joint tissues—the synovial membrane also becomes painfully inflamed, and the cartilage can wear away until bone rests painfully on bone.)

Because increased synovial fluid production—we see it as swelling—is associated with injury and inflammation, you don’t want your yoga practice to stimulate this production. In fact, we teachers should encourage students to practice in such a way that, over the months and years, their joints become healthier and stronger, and that they avoid strain and injury. One of the best ways to avoid joint damage is to teach students to pay attention to any pain in or directly around a joint, and to modify or change the alignment of the pose to eliminate that pain. Pain in or around a joint means one of two things: You are overstretching connective tissue, such as tendons and ligaments (which are designed to stabilize joints and will cause a joint to become hypermobile if overstretched); or you are compressing the joint surfaces, which can contribute to arthritis. So “no joint pain” should be your teaching rule. Leave the work on joints to trained health care professionals who know whether, and precisely how, to improve joint mobility without damaging the joint’s cartilage or support system.

On the other hand, what should a teacher do if a student arrives at class with an already inflamed joint? A common example is a sprained ankle, which is painful, swollen, hot, and may be red. Ankle ligaments are often violently overstretched by stepping in a hole or slipping off a high heel, but any joint can become inflamed by damage to a ligament or tendon. Common examples are tears, which are often associated with accidents and athletic activities, and overworking a joint beyond its current level of condition. Overworking a joint to the point of inflammation can occur while doing yoga, perhaps by repetitively practicing a pose in incorrect alignment and thereby putting strain on ligaments or tendons. Also, seriously deconditioned or even atrophied shoulder muscles, for example, can easily be overworked by even a few Sun Salutations. And arthritis, of course, provides joint conditions that are easily provoked into inflammation.

How to Respond to Inflammation

The bottom line here is that an inflamed joint should never be pushed, stretched into pain, or worked vigorously, because the risk of increasing or prolonging the inflammation is great. It’s much better to train your students to respond to the inflammation in a way that promotes health. Use the example of a sprained ankle to guide your problem solving. A sprained ankle is usually stabilized with a wraparound bandage, brace, or, in severe cases, even a cast. These stabilizers prevent movement, allowing the strained tissues to heal without disturbance. But if, instead, you move and stretch and work an inflamed joint, you’ll likely cause repetitive microtrauma, which disrupts the healing process and may actually cause more damage.

So when dealing with inflammation, encourage your student to work vigorously on other parts of the body, and to choose poses that keep the inflamed joint relatively quiet until the pain and swelling have receded significantly. This is not to say you shouldn’t move the joint at all: Mild, unforced movements help the healing process by circulating the blood to ligaments, tendons, and muscles, and by circulating synovial fluid to hyaline cartilage. However, if the inflammation or pain is severe, or the problem is showing no improvement or is even getting worse, urge your student to see a health care provider to evaluate the problem, run necessary tests, and prescribe a treatment plan.

8 Reasons Women Should Lift Heavier Weights

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Important Note: Always ask your doctor before beginning a workout routine. Always seek out a personal trainer to help with proper form so you don’t injure yourself.

I LOVE lifting weights. It’s probably my favorite form of exercise, I’m so not a “I love running and all things cardio!” type of girl. But whenever I try to talk to a girl friend of mine into lifting weights with me, the response is always the same, “eh… I don’t know… lifting weights isn’t really my thing, I want to look like a girl not like a man.” haha! Okay, let me set one thing straight (and if you look on any other weight lifting page it will tell you the same thing), lifting heavy weights will not make you bulky! The women you see who look like men, with the grossly large muscles, in general are taking testosterone supplements and possibly steroids in order to look that way. Don’t take those things and you wont look that way!

In fact you will look slim, sleek and toned. Instead of being skinny fat – you know where you look ok in clothes because you’re thin, but naked you have no tone – you will be toned and look amazing in the nude.

Okay so you want reasons to lift heavy weights instead of tiny dinky ones?

1. It builds muscle faster.

I’m sure you’re sitting there thinking “Well duh, weight lifting = building muscles, who knew?!” But I just wanted to reiterate that while lifting light weights can increase your endurance, it’s nothing more than weighted cardio. To build real muscle you need to lift heavy weights. You want to lift the heaviest weight you can lift for 8-12 reps, if you can’t lift 8 reps it’s too heavy if you lift more than 12 reps it’s too light.

2. According to The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, when you build muscle you burn fat continuously! 2 sessions of heavy lifting a week will burn 3% body fat in 10 weeks without cutting calories. You’ll also burn 100 more calories than if you did only cardio, even though your heart rate monitor and calorie counter may tell you that the cardio you just did for an hour burned more than weight lifting, throughout at 24 hour period weight lifting will continue to burn calories and end up burning 100 more than the “cardio only” counterparts. (Put cardio and weight lifting together for a fantastic continuous burn!)

3. In a study from the University of Alabama in Birmingham they showed that dieters who lifted heavy weights lost the same amount of weight as dieters who did just cardio, but all the weight lost by the weight lifters was primarily fat while the cardio ladies lost muscle along with some fat. That equaled smaller clothing sizes for the weight lifters compared to the cardio goers.

4. Lifting weights prevents osteoperosis and can even help build stronger bones.

5. According to Harvard University Women who lift heavy weights lose more belly fat than those who don’t lift weights. Weight lifting targets intra-abdominal fat and helps you loose the visceral fat, something that crunches alone cannot do.

6. Lifting heavy weights makes you feel amazing. Whenever I’m in the gym lifting heavy weights, I feel like a beast, like I can take on the world! A feeling of empowerment, knowing that you aren’t some weakling walking alongside the road and that people may misjudge you and you could prove them wrong. I’m particularly fond of the leg press, women tend to have stronger leg muscles than men do and it was always fun to be able to do more than a guy can.

7. Strengthening your muscles can help with your cardio. If you are still a cardio lover, adding some weight lifting can improve your knees and joints so that your runs are faster and less painful.

8. You’ll reduce your risk of heart diseases and diabetes, “Muscle helps remove glucose and triglycerides from the bloodstream, which reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, as well as hardening of the arteries,” says Timothy Church, MD, PhD, a preventive medicine expert at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Want some weights to start out with? Check out this 105lb adjustable barbell set or these adjustable free weights (they go up to 105lbs as well!) Please note; these are adjustable and range from lighter weights to heavier weights. I in no way recommend using 105lb weights when you are just starting out, but you can work your way up to it.

Cardio is still a great workout, I myself am not able to do any high impact workouts, so I stick with weights as it doesn’t jar my knees or joints (provided I’m doing techniques correctly!) anyone who does both cardio and weight lifting will gain the most benefits. But it IS possible to have benefits with only one or the other

**Article edited on 1/20/14 to include references and important notes.

***ALWAYS check with a doctor before beginning a workout routine! ALWAYS make sure you know how to do proper form. If you are unsure of proper form please seek out a personal trainer to show you how to do the moves so that you do not injure yourself. ***

Author: cherise mcclimans

JC Santana on Situps

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First – Definition of a strong back is simple. A strong back is a back that can safely transfer the forces the hips generate – period! AND that makes all of the difference in the world – it is associated with performance and injury prevention.

Second – for an exercise to be functional is DOES NOT HAVE TO LOOK AND FEEL LIKE THE ACTIVITY IT IS TRYING TO IMPROVE. This is a huge myth about functional training. For example – a plank is excellent for core development for many reasons – it looks like nothing we normally do. Our Triple Threat series – (one leg bridging, curls, and hip lifts on a SB) is one of the best protocols for running and hamstring health – looks nothing like running. SO -sit-ups ups, crunches, and many other exercises like those can provide excellent training without them looking like anything. This is the whole idea of traditional strength training – movements that look very little like anything – yet improve overall strength and function. Functional training INCLUDE exercises that provide the SPECIFICITY BRIDGE between traditional exercises and the activity, and YES -these would also include MANY STANDING EXERCISES that more closely mimic the target activity. But to say that something is not functional it does not look like the target activity is ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT!

Next – What do crunches and Sit ups have to do with function – we can make an argument that sit ups are to the front part of the core what the Bicep curl is to the arm, and what a hyper-extension is to the posterior chain. We are not going to get into a debate about that, are we? Although NOBODY picks up anything just using a bicep curl, yet, the bicep curl will help people pick up items in front of them (e.g. children). The sit-ups open and close the hips flexors, while teaching AB stiffness, which is useful in force transfer of the core. Open hips flexors (which can also be trained from the standing and prone positions) are essential for human locomotion and overhead throwing. Therefore, although certainly not the only way to train – the sit-up has always been a great tool for general core health and strength. SO – it is not more ridiculous to concern yourself with sit-ups and crunches than to concern yourself with many other exercises and training methods (e.g. planks, pull-ups, bridges, hypers, rev hypers, etc.) – none of these look like anything we do – yet are very effective at providing function and health.

Now – I know what Stu McGill and Mike Boyle say – “it destroys the back . . . . puts pressure on this and that . . . . “ Well – It does put pressure on the back – BUT NOT PRESSURE A HEALTHY BACK CAN’T TAKE!! Generations upon generations were raised on a steady diet of sit-ups – what happened to them? NOTHING! When I was a young man the sit-ups were part of the Presidential Physical Fitness award. The military and municipalities required TONS of them. What happened to us? NOTHING – we are stronger than this generation that have not done them!! NO DATA SHOWS THAT GENERATIONS RAISED WITH THIS EXERCISE HAVE BAD BACKS!! SO – THE EXERCISE CAN’T BE ASSOCIATED WITH BACK ISSUES. Now, if a deconditioned person attempts them –they may hurt their back. But that true with anything. Are we really going to say that resistance training in general is bad because if someone puts 200 pounds on a structure that can only take 100 pounds it would cause damage? REALLY GUYS?

Come on people – we have inflicted enough fear and JERRY SPRINGER headlines to freak people out and allow the insane to be heard!! It’s time for some common sense, attention to HISTORY (not panic), and a little conviction for the truth. I have been doing sit-ups for over 40 years. AT IHP we have been doing sit-ups for decades. We not only have sit-up benches – we have declined sit-up benches! We try to make everyone’s back strong enough to be able to enjoy the benefits of the sit-ups.

SO – I ASK EVERYONE TO GET REAL AND PROPERLY USE THE SIT-UP IN YOUR TRAINING PROGRAM.

JC
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