Peruse any gym and find most six-pack seekers grinding out sets from the floor. But is the floor the most effective way to challenge the core, or is it possible the brain grants it because one of its many safety requirements are satisfied?
The brain seeks a stable spine, and the spine is most stable when horizontal on solid ground. As anyone who’s been thrown to the mat knows, the brain often wants us to stay there until whoever flipped us goes away.
But reason dictates that if the core is strong on the floor and nowhere else, the core is useless until we’ve already fallen. Crunches have proven a costly backdoor into the core because the crunch moves the spine to contract the core. This poses a problem if you believe the core’s role is to stabilize the spine, not move it. At Meso Fit Boca, we believe the core is integral in preserving the precious disk space between vertebrae that act as vital shock absorbers.
We also believe the core lives in extension. To fully appreciate this, you have to feel it. If you stand up and lock all joints and squeeze your butt hard, you should feel the core. This extension is what most people lack and need to restore if the core is to act accordingly and keep the spine stable.
Imagine full extension to be ultimate reach where every joint contributes. The core’s job is to keep the spine stable during reach or it will be reeled back. This might explain why thrill seeking in adolescence bows to common sense in adulthood, as the brain kyboshes risk whenever it’s higher than the reward. Those who defy this pay the ultimate price with multiple injuries that force the brain to withdraw further. Soon, it’s hard to justify leaving the house, going on vacation, picking up kids, or walking puppies.
Building a strong core takes challenging its role in movement, not it’s muscles. This means the core needs to be felt in ALL exercises; and the strongest cores are felt in all movement. Yes, the spine should be mobile, but it should only move upon conscious request, and should never move to compensate for other imbalances.
Planks are often done in an attempt to strengthen the core. This bracing exercise is ideal for when the core needs to hold the torso still. Since most people lack full extension, the plank falls prey to improper form. As a matter of fact, residual flexion, or bending, places undue load on the spine during plank. To prevent this the glutes need to engage. This is the only means of keeping the hips out of flexion.
The plank is really just pushup position with the elbows in flexion. Removing the wrist takes away the often heard complaint that pushup position hurts these joints. But shortened muscles won’t extend until released, and even then it’s anyone’s guess whether what’s gained in plank is useable elsewhere. But we’d be amiss without an understanding of why the plank is so effective at firing the core.
Of the balance systems in the brain, the inner ear has an important task. Filled with fluid, the inner ear alerts us to the slightest bend forward. The brain tally’s the risks of falling forward or backward and often chooses the latter because falling forward poses greater risk to vital organs. Prone, or pushup position, stimulates the inner ear and the core is, and should be, the first to respond.
Any modified version of the pushup proves the core cannot handle full extension. Seldom is this exercise progressed to the non-modified version. Discomfort in full pushup position usually manifests in the wrist, elbow, shoulder, and lower back, and is caused by misalignment. This won’t improve until realigned, which takes forethought.
At Meso Fit Boca, we reinvented the plank with designs on progressing this powerhouse exercise forward. The balance required to maintain pushup position on balls ideally places tension where it’s needed most, and the core response is undeniable.
To gain full hip extension, short and tight hip flexors need release and stretching. Only then can pushup position, or high plank, be effective. But most people maintain some degree of hip flexion in pushup and plank. This places load on the spine.
The shoulder joint and blades also pose issues in gaining full body extension. Tight latissimus, pectorals, trapezius, and rhomboids name a few. But tight triceps, biceps, and forearms will prevent full elbow extension, leaving the rotator cuff open to risk. All this causes excessive lumbar curve and weakens the core. The same techniques of release and stretch will combat this problem and create better posture, and therefore, increased extension. It’s essential that the spine is not called upon to substitute for muscle systems out of balance.
At Meso Fit Boca, planned progressions are our only means of determining that our interventions are working. We restore extension so that plank can be mastered, then it’s used in a myriad of ways to continually challenge the core’s role in reaching.
Pushups lend themselves to multiple regressions and progressions. The versatility of this exercise makes it perfect for building functional strength that’s useable anywhere and everywhere. Elevating the upper body off the floor and onto a bench takes the intensity down a few notches and serves as an excellent place to start. Stable shoulder blades will allow full range of motion in the shoulder joint. Movement of the blades throughout the pushup point to instabilities in the shoulder, core. Excess curvature of the lumbar is thwarted by contracting the glutes. This also increases the effectiveness of the core.
Once plank and pushup position are mastered, it’s time to add some balls (pun intended). Start on 4 balls so that each extremity can bear equal weight. Undoubtedly, the non-dominant side will pose the greatest inability to balance. From there, master the 3 and 2-ball versions (2-ball shown below).
Progressing takes mastering previous versions. Once you can show proficiency in all versions, return to the 4-ball version:
