How was your weekend?
The kids and I headed to the pet store to get fish for our pond.
They were so excited to get them and release them into the pond.
Now let me get to what I have for you today.
It is a guest post from Jason Klein where he shares a few tweaks you can do during your workouts to fend off back pain.
If you like the post below, make sure to check out one of Jason’s other articles on Exercises for Injuries, like GHB 8 Minute Workout.
Okay, that is it from me, take it away Jason…..
Rick Kaselj, MS
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As a society, we have been given relatively poor methods for how to successfully get noteworthy abs. Or, at least, abs that you would be comfortable showing off at the beach.
We’ve all done thousands of crunches and sit-ups without seeing any sustainable results. And if you were lucky, you made it through without a low back overuse injury.
Unfortunately, traditional methods for getting great abs couldn’t be further from the truth. It wasn’t meant to be as difficult as people make it out to be. Recent statistics show that bellies are growing, as well as low back pain.
When we think about it, this shouldn’t be a surprise. I wonder if the rates of low back pain are attributed at all to the excessive sit-ups and crunches. If we only had an effective and plausible way to get great abs without having to risk injury!
Well, today I am going to change all of that for you and share 3 tweaks for getting a great looking core that will last. See, the big problem that sit-ups present is a term called, “Local Ab Targeting.” This basically means only targeting the tops of our abs without really penetrating the entire ab complex.
Global ab targeting is the method that I will explain in this article. In order to ensure that you are no longer making the mistake of local ab targeting, we first have to begin with three basic steps to proper contraction of the global ab complex.
1. Contract the diaphragm first
A common mistake that most people make is breathing with their chest and not breathing with their diaphragm.
Try this small activity: Place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Now, as you breathe, notice which raises first: your chest or stomach. If your chest was the first to fill up with air, it means that you are not contracting the diaphragm when you breath.
Imagine that your stomach is a balloon and each time that you breathe, you want to fill it up with air.
2. Contract the abdominals
Now that we have properly engaged the diaphragm, we can now engage the abdominals. Contrary to popular belief, a true contraction of the abdominals is a slight outward push of the abs. This action is also an involuntary action that our diaphragm makes when we cough.
3. Contract the glutes
One of the most underutilized concepts in abdominal and core training is to contract the glutes.
Doing this sets the entire hip complex into full contraction and gives extra stimulus on the entire Global Ab Complex. This is important for various reasons, but the one that we are most concerned with is aesthetic. Who would have thought that you can shape the glutes and abs, simultaneously?
To Your Abs,
~ Jason Klein, MS, CSCS
If you are interested in overcoming your Low Back Pain Flare Ups in a fast, simple, safe, and effective program, check out the Low Back Pain Solved program.
