(Not) Crunch Time

There are a fair number of misconceptions floating around out there about what our core muscles are and what they do and how we are supposed to work them.  I could write a very long post about that, but none of us has that kind of attention span.  Instead, I’m going to focus on one that I really dislike:  we can flatten our stomachs by doing crunches.  It’s a particularly sneaky misconception in that it is not entirely false, but definitely misleading. 

 

First of all, we cannot out-crunch a bad diet.  Doing a thousand crunches a day (and who has that kind of time?) will not help if we are living on Snickers bars and gravy.  The biggest step we can make toward a flatter stomach, if that is one of our goals, is to begin or recommit to healthy eating.

 

Second, crunches are not a good exercise for everyone.  Anyone with bone loss should avoid exercises with flexion (curving the spine forward, like we do when we bend over to tie our shoes).  Crunches can be challenging for people with low back pain as well.

 

Then there is the whole issue of form in crunches.  When we put our hands behind our heads and use our arms to yank our skulls forward, we are not getting the optimum bang for our exercise buck.  I teach crunches (which are called “chest lifts” in Pilates) very differently than many of us learned back in our P.E. days.  Yes, we put our hands behind our heads, but the only reason our heads lift when we do chest lifts is because they are attached to the top of our spines.  Instead, we focus on pulling our breast bones down toward our feet.  This focuses the work on the area of the abdominals just below where those of us who identify as female have our bra straps in the front.  Additionally, when we try to force ourselves up too high, our abdominals tend to puff out in the area between our navels and pubic bones.  It is important to take a moment to think about spreading the lower abdominals out across our bodies to encourage them to stay flat as we work them.  We also need to work with our breath when doing crunches:  we want to exhale as we curl up and inhale as we return to the starting position to allow for best recruitment of muscles.

 

Finally, crunches tend to focus on the upper abdominals.  We need a more comprehensive approach to our abdominals to assist our goal of flattening the stomach.  I suggest, at the very least, adding an exercise like femur arcs to target the lower abdominals and one like brains to recruit the obliques.

 

Let’s be effective.

Monday Workout: Core

This week we’re continuing to work on exercises with a sneaky commitment to our core and balance.  When we do asymmetric exercises, our bodies have to work harder to stabilize, which is good for us.  Also, we are remembering that our core muscles are not just in the front of our bodies—those reverse flies help us learn to recruit the core muscles in the back.  Three rounds.

 

(jump) squats	30
flies	20
1 leg deadlift	10
mountain climbers	30
renegade rows	20
pushups	10
1 arm clean and press	30
reverse flies	20
pretty princesses	10

On Balance

Balance is both a talent and a skill.  I can’t help the talent part, but here are some exercises to practice to build it as a skill.  (Note:  safety is key.  Have something nearby to hold if needed.)

 

1.     Stand on one foot.  Basic, I know.  A good time to do this is while brushing our teeth in the morning, since we are standing there anyway.

2.     Play one-leg catch.  We need a friend for this one and a soft ball.  I use a Koosh ball.  Both of us stand on one leg and toss the ball back and forth.  Then we switch legs.  This is more difficult than just standing on one leg because we’ve added movement and coordination to the mix.

3.     Do calf raises.  Stand with feet hip distance apart and rise up on the toes and come back down.  When that gets easy, try doing it on one leg at a time.

4.     Do single leg squats.  This is the opposite of a calf raise.  Stand on one foot and bend and straighten the knee of the standing leg.

5.     Do single leg dumbbell passes.  Stand on one leg holding a light dumbbell or kettle bell (start with 3 or 5 pounds).  Pass the weight from one hand to the other around the body five times in one direction and five times in the other direction.  Then repeat on the other leg.

6.     Do single leg deadlifts.  I call these drinking birds, after the toy.  Stand on one leg and bend the torso forward as the other leg lifts up behind.  Return to start and repeat five or ten times; then do the other leg.

 

For all of these exercises, make sure that the abs stay engaged.

 

Go play.

Older but better.

We are all, God willing, going to get older.  What we do now can help determine how well that process goes.

 

First, we can make sure that we’re getting our cardio exercise.  Cardio helps us maintain or reach a healthy weight.  It increases our endurance.  It reduces stress, improves brain function, and lifts our mood.  Not incidentally, it contributes to heart health.

 

Then we can lift some weights.  As we age, our muscle mass drops unless we work on it.  Weight lifting improves our metabolism, helps with our bone density, and assists us with what physical therapists call Activities of Daily Living, like opening jars and moving furniture.

 

Additionally, we can work on our flexibility and balance.  Flexibility work (like yoga and Pilates) can help us increase or at least preserve our range of motion so we can do things like pick up stuff from the floor or turn our heads while driving.  Balance work targets our core muscles.  It helps us prevent falls and other injuries and generally move through life with more grace.

 

Let’s not go gently!

Is Your Trainer Fit?

I have mentioned before that I am not the right trainer for everyone.  There are people out there who need different things than I can provide.  Here are some ways to tell if a trainer is a good fit.

 

Does the person have the knowledge/education/training to keep us safe?  All of us should ask if the trainer we are talking to has a certification (NASM or ACE or similar) to be a personal trainer at all.  It is also worth asking about a trainer’s specializations and continuing education.  For example, people with an extensive injury history might want to know that their trainer knows about corrective exercise.  Older folks might want to know that their needs are understood and planned for.  That’s just basic.

 

Does the person know how to get us to our goals?  If we are just getting started on our fitness journey, we want someone who knows how to move us along gradually so we don’t burn out or get injured.  If we are training for an event like a marathon or a century ride, we want someone whose workouts facilitate those goals.  If we are trying to lose weight, we might want to seek out someone who not only has the skill to plan our workouts but also the appropriate knowledge to help us make good food choices.

 

Is the person likeable?  I know likeable is a very fuzzy term, but I’m using it on purpose.  We have to feel comfortable with the person training us.  Some of us want rah-rah cheerleading trainers.  Some of us want a more matter-of-fact approach.  Some of us (I find this hard to believe, but it seems to be true) want someone to yell at us until we do our work.  How much does the person talk?  Does the person give enough information?  Too much?  Not enough?  Do they give understandable directions and demonstrations?  When we are struggling, do they understand how to motivate us?  Most importantly, does the person listen and hear what we have to say about what we need?

 

Finally, is the person reliable?  We need to know that our trainer is organized enough to show up for our workouts as scheduled and to communicate with us when there is a problem.  This is a surprisingly rare skill.

 

Do not hesitate to ask lots of questions.  When we pay good money for training, we should know that we are getting what we need.

Monday Workout: Old Favorites!

Sometimes I forget about an exercise for a while and then I remember it and get all excited.  This week, we return to the clean and press AND we get to (have to?) do YTA.  Three rounds.

 

clean and press	30
deadlift	20
lateral raise	10
squat to leg lift	30
lunge with twist	20
YTA	10
standing mountain climbers	30
rows	20
quadruped	10

 

In the bag!

Getting organized to go to the gym can be stressful.  Here are six things to make sure we have in our bags:

 

1.     Mask.  Going to the gym is a lot less healthy when we share germs.  I know it’s uncomfortable, but so is dying.

2.     Water bottle.  Dehydrated people are crabby people.  They also perform worse.

3.     Toiletries.  What exactly we bring depends on how elaborate our routines are, but shampoo, comb, and deodorant seem like the minimum.

4.     Extra clothes.  Sure, we need regular clean clothes for after the workout, but sometimes stuff happens even before that and we need something to wear that doesn’t have food/blood/sweat/whatever on it.

5.     Plastic bag.  For dirty and messy stuff.  If we’re not getting dirty and messy, why are we going to the gym at all?

6.     Headphones.  Not only can we listen to what we want to listen to while we work, we can avoid annoying conversations (whether ours or other people’s!).

 

Now go!