Abs-tastic Thinking
We all have a Six-Pack — Whether or not it is visible is not the same conversation as whether or not it is efficient in your movement patterns. - Trevor Costello
Your body has a preferred core position based on the lifestyle and demands you impart on it. However, in order to ensure that your abs are actually working not just there for looks, we have to look deeper beyond crunches and sit ups. We have to look your ability to call on your deeper core muscles to enable movement when you workout and even when you’re not even thinking about your abs. If you find that you are one of the people whose neck hurts more after doing a hollow hold (holding your legs and upper back about 4-6” off the floor) than your abdomen or:
if you have to put your hands under your butt because lifting and holding your legs off the floor while keeping a flat lower back is too difficult
if you’re wondering why your lower back keeps hurting lately
if you can’t reach full extension
if you can’t hold certain positions for long without looking like gumbo on stage…
then it’s probably because you haven’t worked your core properly.
Your core is a structure of layers that reach deep into your body. If we only focus on working on one layer (let’s say the top layer in this case) then we are not looking at the whole picture. A strong or efficient core is one that allows your body to move from hip extension to hip flexion independently of your back and ribs. That is, it is not stuck in one position all the time (imagine stuck walking around with your butt out or stuck with your butt tucked in ALL THE TIME). In order to prevent either of those you have to be strong on both the outside layers and the inside layers, which means core work beyond crunches, sit ups and hollow holds.
I’m not saying you can’t do sit ups or certain crunches because there are times and places for them. What I am saying is that we must to be better at creating a cohesive program that addresses our daily life challenges rather than keep putting bandaids on top of them.
We forget that core also comes to play when we talk about changing directions with your body, think about your walks, runs, and regular dance choreography…How many times would you change directions if you were to do either of those for 15 mins? Now imagine in a full day?! When you train your body on improving its ability to change directions you must train your body’s ability to access as much of the upper body’s expansion and compression spectrum as possible. The body’s elastic properties become most important when we discuss strategies for decelerating and force production—landing and jumping again— while changing directions.
If you are an elite performer who is and has been set on training purely for aesthetics without taking into account the possible impact it can have on your ability to perform multi-directional movements then you are ignoring how you can utilize strength training as a tool to improve athletic performance by basing your training on a static model rather than a adaptable one.
Here are some insights at what multi-directional training looks like:
Up/down
Locomotion through different planes in order to accomplish efficient level change (center of gravity moving up and down) goes hand in hand with the evolution of our moving patterns. Whether you are moving forward/backward, developing power vertically/horizontally, or moving side to side, you cannot overlook our ability to change levels as a component of movement. Yet we neglect to incorporate it as another variable that must be trained in order to perform explosive movements more efficiently.
We can train this by changing the position of our center of mass statically and dynamically. By mixing linear explosive movements in both side to side (lateral explosive steps) and front to back axis (KB/DB Split Squat Chop and Lift) in order to add an element of conditioning to your training while still working on some lateral stabilizing for the hips and power development through the hamstrings and butt.
Side to Side
Ever wonder why you end up crunching forward a little by the end of your performances or why you by the end of rehearsals/a piece you find yourself shrugging at your shoulders when trying to breathe?
A lot of times this happens because when you are going through some of the exercises on your template workouts you are doing just that, going through the exercises, you are not being told what you should be focusing on nor what are the things you are trying to achieve during your workout/exercise which leads to a lot of random exercises done wrong or done without knowledge of what and why you are doing them.
When you move cross body the intent is for your deeper core muscles to stabilize your hips and maintain them in place. You call on your obliques and deep stabilizers to pull your pelvis to a neutral position and keep your butt from rising like sourdough bread.
As performers your ability to use these muscles is shown when you are moving from side to side, rotating, twisting on the stage and even when you are lifting partners and props.
As dancers you need these muscles to be both rigid and mobile.
As singers you need these muscles to give you the ability to keep your superficial muscles from tiring and taking over when creating tension to manipulate the air you use to sing.
BE MORE ELASTIC
When you train as a dancer and actor you want your strength training to empower your body’s ability to move in and out of positions smoothly and with the least amount of worry that future or reoccurring injuries will emerge think about it as a way to build stamina and resilience while giving your body the chance to implement (in a more explosive and dynamic way) all the things that you work on during your strength training.
