TRANSVERSUS MAGIC

Dr Mel C Siff

“By focusingon yourthe transverse abdominiswhen you move,you can improveyourcorecontrolduring exercise”, saysNY City physicaltherapist

and personal trainer Suzanne Countryman. “Plus you’ll suffer less wear and tearon yourback, neckand knees;”.

***Comment. Activation of transversus abdominis(TA)appearsto be the

latest “hot”advice for corestabilisation and trainingamong PTs and

fitness instructors.While voluntaryactivation of TA sometimes;may be

useful in contributing to trunk stability in fairly staticpostures before

a dynamicmulti-dimensional movementoccurs,it becomes impossible and

unwise to mentally involveyourself;in any dynamictrainingor sporting taskswhichactivatenumerous differentpatterns of contractionand relaxationof many stabilisingand moving muscles;.

Moreover, the morerapid, moreforceful or morecomplex the activity, the

less ableone is ableto focus on controlling;the moment-to-momentaction

of any givenmuscle. The inadvisability of doingthisto TA or any other

musclefor thatmatter has often been fondlyreferred to in exercise

physiology as “paralysis by analysis.” So,while you may be ableto activateTA at the start of a squat, press,

jump, cleanor deadlift, the moment thatcomplex dynamicactionbegins,the

neuralprogramsthatcontrolthe pattern of movementwill set off a series ofinvoluntaryreflexes and motor actions;over whichone has littleor no

control. In fact,deliberate attempts to activateTA often tend to

activateabdominalcontractionand lumbar spinalflexion, whichis the last

thing thatyou wantduring a heavy lift or complex action.

It is unnecessary to try to intervene in controlling;in any givensingle

muscleonceyou are an experienced exerciser, becausethe correct

repetition of any exercise will ensurethatyourneuralprogramsactivate

or relax the necessary musclein the most effective and safestmanner.The

veryreason thatwe practisetechniqueis to create automatic neural

programsthatwe don’t haveto ever think aboutduring an exercise or

sporting action.

I leave the comment aboutTA controlhelpingto protect neckand knees;to

others;for theirscrutiny.

————————————

ISOLATION PHILOSOPHY

Dr Mel C Siff Thetherapeuticand fitness trainingworlds stillseemto placea heavy emphasison an isolationist;approach to physicaltesting and conditioning,

without;carefullyidentifying the situationallimitations and scope

whenever suchas approach is used.

Attempts are madeto test and train muscles;individually.Few dayspass

without;comments being madeon isolating the upperor lowerabdominalsfor

training, selectively trainingthe coreof the body, activating

transversus abdoministo ’stabilise the trunk’, testing for weaknesses or

imbalances;in certainmusclegroups or explaining poor performance or injuryon the basisof imbalancein someisolatedsystemof the body.

The bodyconstitutesa linked systemand,unlessthe sc&#
111;peand limitations

of any givenisolationist;approach is meticulously identified, it is misleadingand unwarrantedto use and extrapolatefindingsbased on

isolationist;methods. If one unquestioninglyapplies isolationist;methods,

thenit is being assumed thatthe isolatedareaconcerned;constitutesa

closed system. Thisimplies further thatthisisolatedsystemis not

affected by or does not affect whathappensin adjacent or otherlinked

systems;, or at least thatany suchinteractionwithothersystems;is insignificant. Thetrunk, abdominals, lowerextremity, kneeand so forth are not closed

systems;and any actioninvolving thesesubsystems;influences whatis

happening in all partsof the bodyand the bodyas a whole. It is vital

thatthe bodybe regarded in terms of a systems;theoreticalapproach,

rather than one whichmakesverytenuous assumptions aboutthe closedness

of convenientlyisolatedsubsystems;whose apparentisolationfromother

systems;invariablyis based entirely;on convenience or convenience.

Even if one attempts to apply a systems;theoreticalapproach,it may still beinadequateto regard the entirebodyas the superordinateclosed system,

as is implied, for instance,by the current somewhatsimplistic emphasison

so-called “coretraining”. The limitations of the latter concept;may readilybe noticed if one observes thatit is veryrare in land-basedsport forcorestability to be manifestedin the absence of contactwiththe

ground or external objects. Peripheralstability,whichusually is reliant

on solid contactbetween the extremities of the bodywithsomesurface,is essentialbefore corestability becomes implicated in a givensporting

actionon land. Withoutadequate peripheral stabilisation, the functionalcapabilities of

the “core” are meaningless. The entirebodyor the body-surface constitutes

the appropriateclosed systemfor our attention. Thus, if terms suchas

“corestabilisation” are to be used, thentheyneed to be carefullyapplied

within;the appropriatecontext. Thisis not to negatethe value of approachesthatuse isolationist;

approachesfor valid therapeuticor analyticalreasons,suchas those

involving EMG mediatedbiofeedback, “Kegel” exercises,and post surgical

respiratory exercises,but it is to stressthatthe unqualified application

of isolationist;approachesto sports conditioning needs to be viewed with

careful circumspection.

If we do so, thenwe may alsobecome far morecareful to avoidreferring

rigidly to certainmuscles;as stabilisers, movers,agonist,antagonists,

flexors, adductorsand so on, instead choosingto refer to the stabilising,

moving, agonistic, antagonistic, flexor and adductionrolesof a muscle

during any givenphaseof a specificmotor action.

————————————

Someone fromthe original group whichinitiated the discussion on a sq&
#117;attingarticlein thatbod&#121b;uilding;magazine remindedme thatI also

sent in thesecomments aboutbelt wearing and squats. Hereit is, just in

case somefolk feel thatthe critiquemay be incomplete without;inclusion

of thisaspect. ———————————- DrMel Siff

Dr Mel Siff
Author of Supertraining + Facts and Fallacies of Fitness
http://www.drmelsiff.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/women’s-health-articles/dr-mel-siff-on-transversus-abdominus-core-training-part-1-991243.html

Tagged with: • • • •

Filed under: beauty

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!