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Posts Tagged ‘lower’

Still Drawing Your Abdominals In?

Saturday, July 19th, 2008

WRONG!

In the brief article below, the analogy that Dr. McGill talks about with the fishing pole, I first heard directly from him at the Syracuse seminar. As he discusses, the lateral hoop tendons of the RA wrap around to stabilize the lower lumbar.

Check out this post from Dragondoor.com

PILATES exercises could cause more harm than good to some back-pain sufferers, controversial research suggests.

Studies into the “drawing in” method, a fundamental Pilates technique, have found the process may exacerbate pre-existing back conditions.

The technique involves participants drawing in their stomachs to their spines - and lifting the pelvic floor.

Stuart McGill, professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, told The Sunday Telegraph that by targeting the core, transverse abdominal muscle, people were potentially weakening their spines.

“If you hollow in, you bring the muscles closer to the spine, which reduces the stability of the back, so inherently you create a more unstable column,” he said.

Professor McGill said he had reached this conclusion after analysing how varying loads and forces affected the way the spine functioned.

“Consider a fishing rod upright, with the butt on the ground,” he said.

“It would buckle with a few grams of load placed on top, (but) attach wires to the rod at different levels … and the rod will bear many kilos without buckling.

“Now bring the wire attachments on the ground closer to the base of the rod. Not only is the rod weakened, but it will buckle at a lower load. Your spine acts the same way.”

Pilates has long been trumpeted as helping its millions of followers stay toned and slim, while improving their posture and relieving back pain.

Its popularity has surged in recent years as people flock to classes.

Celebrities such as Madonna and Liz Hurley swear by its results.

Professor McGill said that although he believed Pilates in its purest form was advantageous for some, instructors should target all core muscles in the body and take into account their students’ fitness levels and injury history.

He said people should forget about “drawing in” and the transverse abdominal muscle and simply stiffen all the muscles and the abdominal wall at a level to match each task.

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Tags: back, fitness, health, lower, mcgill, pilates, stuart
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Strongman Training for Athletes - The Correct Tire Flipping Technique

Sunday, July 6th, 2008

Here is the video that I promised for this previous post located here:

http://www.dieselcrew.com/tire-flipping-modification/

It is not hard to incorporate strongman training techniques in your athletes programs, but you have to make sure the technique is right.

Otherwise, the benefit will not outweigh the risks.

Key points:

- Do not deadlift the tire
- Keep arms straight
- Hips back
- Drive through the tire
- Do not deadlift the tire

If you are TOO CLOSE TO THE TIRE when flipping (i.e. deadlifting the tire) when you STAND UP you are in a bad spot and have to wrestle with the tire with your biceps. Also, a more athletic position starts with your hips back (in about a 45deg angle) and driving forward.

The video also demonstrates a quick way to modify a tire to make it easier for younger athletes or for tires with bad tread and low profiles.

Smitty

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