PILLAR STRENGTH
Pillar strength is the foundation
of all movement. It consists of hip, core, and shoulder stability. (if
you're having a hard time getting your head around this concept, it might
help to picture your body as a mannequin with no limbs.) Those three areas
give us a center axis from which to move. If you think of the body as a
wheel, the pillar is the hub, and the limbs are spokes.
We want to have the hub perfectly
aligned so we can draw energy from it and effectively transfer energy throughout
the body. It's impossible to move the limbs efficiently and forcefully
if they're not attached to something solid and stable.
There's a reason why parents
are forever telling kids to sit up straight. Without pillar strength, without
what, I call "perfect posture," you will significantly increase the potential
for injury in a chain that starts with your lower back, descends all the
way to the knees and ankles, and rises up to your neck, shoulders, and
elbows.
The reason we train body
movements instead of parts is because everything about the body's engineering
is connected. What happens to the big toe affects the knees, the hips,
and ultimately the shoulders. The muscular system is both complex and simple,
a series of muscular and fascial bands that work seamlessly to produce
efficient movement. Many workout programs do more damage than good by producing
muscle imbalances and inefficient movement patterns that sabotage this
highly coordinated operating system that we're born with.
Remember the way that movement
evolves in infants. They move on their backs until one day this action
allows them to roll over, initiating the hip crossover movement. Soon they
progress to crawling, standing, and, finally, walking. With each step,
they realize how to stabilize their bodies.
Aging reverses that process.
Many people lose the ability to squat and maintain their balance, creating
poor posture. Eventually, they lose the ability to stand, surrendering
the core fundamental movement patterns they developed as toddlers. But
instead of conceding that devolution as an unavoidable part of aging, why
not look at getting older as a process of taking these movements to new
levels? In this program, you're going to take your body to the highest
levels of performance and movement capabilities by challenging yourself
to increase flexibility and stability. We'll help you do this by adding
resistance or increasing the balance demands. This will put you farther
and farther away from the regression of aging.
Look, I'm not here to bash
bodybuilding and tell you not to lift weights. This program includes resistance
training because of its undeniable benefits. The Movement Prep and Prehab
routines you'll learn are not a cutesy program to ram the concept of functional
exercise down your throat. It's more about reprogramming the body to function
properly -- as nature intended -- and to continually become stronger. It's
possible to become physically stronger every day of our lives.
Instead of looking at movement
as coming out of the arms and legs, remember this perfect posture. If you
can master the following three elements of pillar strength -- shoulder
stability, core stability, and hip stability -- both while working out
and in everyday movement, you will go a long way toward a healthier life.
SHOULDER STABILITY
Anyone who participates
in a sport involving hitting or throwing understands the importance of
the rotator cuff. It's even more important in everyday life.
We tend to think of the hands
and arms as carrying the workload for the upper body, but it's really the
shoulder, or at least it should be. After all, we think of someone shouldering
a burden.
The shoulder "girdle" consists
of the humerus, scapula, and clavicle. It's engineered for a remarkable
range of three-dimensional movement. From the shoulder, it's possible to
rotate, press, and pull. We can raise our arms to the side or across the
body. We can rotate shoulders by holding the elbows in and by moving the
hands up and in -- or in a 90-degree angle to the torso.
Our natural instinct is to
drop the shoulders forward, especially after long periods of sitting. But
you want to do the opposite, bringing the shoulders back and down, which
will give you proper posture.
Remember The Karate Kid?
Mr. Miyagi, the wise martial arts instructor, made his young student Daniel
LaRusso paint his fence and wax his cars. For days this went on and Daniel
wondered if he was ever going to learn karate. When he confronted Miyagi,
the old man asked him to demonstrate the various motions of painting and
waxing and then attacked Daniel from all angles. Using the same motions,
Daniel easily defended himself and quickly realized that he had not just
been painting and waxing but stabilizing and strengthening his shoulder
muscles and mastering these vital, functional movements.
If you're involved in martial
arts, this program will help by stabilizing your shoulders -- and I won't
make you wax cars and paint houses. Even if you have no desire to become
the next Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris, you must strengthen this area to perform
everyday activities from cleaning to passing objects to filing to, yes,
waxing and painting.
Most of us don't realize
how hunched over we are from sitting at computers and traveling in cars
and airplanes. People tend to think that this affects only the elderly,
but that's not the case. The next time you're people-watching at a mail
or airport, pay attention to the position of their thumbs. If they're rotated
in, pointing toward the body, that means their heads and shoulders have
moved forward.
Unless those people do something,
I guarantee that they will soon have rotator cuff and back problems, which
will limit their ability to participate in the daily activities of life.
As people age, they tend
to flex forward, as if the chest is caving in. We want to do the opposite,
almost as if there's a fishhook inserted under the sternum, pulling us
up. This will allow the shoulders to fall into place and help give perfect
posture.
We're not trying to be military
cadets, standing at attention. Instead, think of this as standing or sitting
tall in a comfortable position, always elevating the sternum.
The exercises in this program
will require you to bring the shoulders back and down, but you'll want
to make it a daily habit. To make lasting change, we want to lengthen the
chest and strengthen the muscles of the upper back. Think of pulling your
shoulders toward your back pockets. This posture is the exact opposite
of the shoulder shrug, the same motion that you make when you say, "I don't
know." That's what a sitting lifestyle does to you. If you create a habit
of bringing your shoulders down, you'll be amazed at the results. People
will find you more confident and think you've lost weight because you're
no longer slouched over. They might even think you've grown. There have
been instances of adults following this program and gaining up to an inch
of height from standing tall and bringing their shoulders back, as well
as improving hip and core stability.
CORE STABILITY
The middle third of our
pillar is the "core," which consists of the muscles of the abdominals,
torso, and lower back. It's the vital link between shoulder and hip stability,
and it includes such muscle groups as the rectus abdominis, transversus
abdominis, internal and external obliques, lats, the erector spinae, and
many small stabilizer muscles between the vertebrae of the spine.
These are the tiny muscles
that often get shut off because of a back injury and never become reactivated,
causing long-term back problems. These small stabilizer muscles cannot
function alone; they must be helped by training the muscles of the core
to become strong and stable with the right types of recruitment patterns
that will enable them to work in tandem with the shoulders and hips.
Core training is not just
about the abs -- abs are less than a third of the equation. Countless books
and magazine articles promise great abs, and though many of them have terrific
exercises that we believe in, they're of little use unless done in conjunction
with exercises aimed at integrating your shoulders and hips.
Instead of just focusing
on the abs, we want to create the framework for all movement. The aim isn't
just a well-sculpted midsection; it's a high-performance core.
In order to maximize the
benefit of the exercises in this book, it's important to keep your tummy
tight, not just while exercising but all day. Think of your tummy flat
against the hip bones. Keep your tummy tight, as if pulling your belly
button off the belt buckle. This isn't the same as sucking in your gut
and holding your breath. Keep the abdominals in, but still breathe.
The abdominal and lower-back
muscles work as a team. The point guard is the transverse abdominis, which
is the first muscle that's recruited each time you move. If you can keep
that "TA" activated and your tummy tight, you'll be well on your way to
optimum movement and preventing long-term deterioration.
Reprinted from: Core Performance
Essentials: The Revolutionary Nutrition and Exercise Plan Adapted for Everyday
Use by Mark Verstegen and Pete Williams © 2005 Rodale Inc. Permission
granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098.
Mark Verstegen is the founder
and president of Athletes' Performance. He has trained hundreds of elite
athletes, both abroad and at the company's facilities in Tempe, Arizona,
and Carson, California. A world-renowned performance coach, consultant,
and motivational speaker, he lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Pete Williams is a veteran
journalist who writes about fitness, business, and sports. He is a contributing
writer to Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal and is the author
or coauthor of six books, including the Rodale books Core Performance and
Fun is Good. He lives in Safety Harbor, Florida.
