Training Disasters by Tony Gentilcore
Earlier this year I wrote an article titled Dieting Disasters,
where I described some of the more common mistakes (or disasters, if
you will) that people often make with their diet in regards to their
body composition goals. I figured it was only fitting that I write an article dealing with the training side of things as well.
Running To Get Fit Mike
Boyle has often been quoted as saying, "You can't run to get fit, you
need to get fit to run." I couldn't agree more with this statement.
Most (read: not all) people shouldn't be running in the first place.
This is especially true for women. What's the first thing that
women do to get into shape? They hightail it to the local store and buy
a new pair of pearly white running shoes and go for a jog outside.
Conversely, what's the first piece of equipment that women will
gravitate towards if they've never set foot in a gym before? The
treadmill. And more often than not both scenarios
do notlook pretty. I
watch some of these women running (you men too--you're not off the
hook) and it just looks painful. How can they possibly think this is
good for them? I can walk on a floor of broken glass barefoot or listen
to Paris Hilton speak and both would be less painful than watching some
of these women run.
I'll admit, the girls on the left are rockin the headband. Why
is running not so great for the majority of women? There are a few
reasons, but the main one boils down to basic biomechanics and the
Q-angle. Women by nature have a greater Q-angle compared to men (wide
hips, narrow knees), which predisposes them to a number of problems
that aren't normally an issue for men. Research has shown that women
are six times more likely to tear their ACL compared to men.
Add
that to the fact that many women tend to be very quad dominant and are
weaker than a baby's fart (i.e. they don't lift appreciable weights;
sorry, pink dumbbells for 20 reps don't count) and you have a recipe
for disaster. Women aside, running is a fairly advanced form
of exercise. Within any given mile there are roughly 1500 foot strikes.
Ask any strength coach or decent personal trainer (yes they do exist)
if they'd
ever allow an elite athlete (let alone your average
weekend warrior) to perform a plyometric protocol which calls for 1500
foot strikes on a daily basis, and I'm willing to bet you'll get some
perplexed looks. Yet day in and day out I see men and women
who are 20-50 lbs overweight trudging over to the treadmill to get
their three miles in because this is what they feel will get them fit.
Even worse, I'll often hear trainers or internet gurus on various
forums tell these same people that they should be doing sprints to get
lean. [Picture me here banging my head against a brick wall.]
Bang away Before you send the hate mail, please understand that I'm
notsaying that running is "bad" for everyone, nor am I saying that it's
"bad" in general. There are a plethora of health benefits to be had by
including aerobic training such as running/jogging into your
repertoire. However, I feel there are better options for
those people who are overweight and relatively new to training looking
to get into shape. And that's the point... you need to be fit to run
and not vice versa.
Side Note: Eric Cressey wrote a fantastic newsletter
a few weeks ago detailing how a novice runner's stride (heel strike) is
different from the advanced runner's stride (balls of feet). Long story
short, "we" need to teach people how to run.
Not Training the Backside of the Core I'm
not a big fan of the word "core." Unless, of course, your name happens
to end with "core," then it's completely awesome. However, in the
fitness world the term "core" is often misused and misunderstood. When most people think of
core they think of the cover of
Men's Health,
with the cover model sporting a six pack you could wash your clothes
on. In order to achieve said six pack, many trainees will spend hours
performing various sit-ups or crunches. I mean we all know the main
function of the core/abdominals is trunk flexion. We all learned that
in 10th grade anatomy class, right?
While trunk flexion is one of the many
actions of the abdominals, their main
functionis to keep the trunk over the pelvis by resisting hoop stress. Besides,
we're missing the big picture here. The core is much more than just the
abdominals. The core actually represents the entire lumbo-pelvic-hip
complex consisting of over 30 muscles. In his book, "Form and
Function: The Anatomy of Motion," Evan Osar states that only the rectus
abdominus and the spinalis portion of the erectors are oriented in a
purely vertical fashion while the transverse abdominus (TA) is the sole
muscle oriented in a horizontal manner. The large majority of the core
muscles are oriented in an oblique direction (i.e. spiral line).
Core Musculature Vertical Horizontal Oblique Rectus Abdominus
X
External Oblique
X Internal Oblique
X Transverse Abdominus
X
Psoas
X Iliacus
X Rectus Femoris
X Sartorius
X TFL
X Iliocostalis
X Longissimus
X Spinalis
X
Multifidi/Rotatores
X Quadratus Lumborum
X Gluteus Maximus
X Gluteus Medius
X External Hip Rotators
X Hamstrings
X Adductors
X
Why is this important to know? The
muscles of the core are obliquely oriented in order to produce and
control rotational movements. As Osar notes in his book, "By nature of
its position, the core is able to produce and control forces that are
occurring throughout the body. It also acts as a relay station between
the upper and lower kinetic chains. The extremities drive core
activity, but activity of the core influences movement of the
extremities as well." Guess where all force is transferred by
the body? The hips. Strength and power are derived by loading the hips,
aided by pelvic and spinal motion, and then transferring it to the
extremities. I'm in total agreement with physical
therapist/strength coach Gray Cook when he says that people need to pay
more attention to their rear ends and start "training the backside of
the core" (ie: glutes, hips and hamstrings). Everyone likes to look at
rear ends. Well, they're part of our core as well.
Kim Kardashian has a superb "core."
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