Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Reactive Abs



Here is an example of a functional abdominal exercise that would be consistent with running mechanics.



Starting Position, standing approximately 12" from a wall:


-R SLB

-RUE abducted to 90 degrees with elbow flexed

-LLE flexed @ knee 90 degrees


Action:


Simultaneous

-RUE R rotational reach @ head height to wall

-LLE posterior reach @ knee height to wall.


Repeat 20X.

You can make it harder by placing a dumbell or exercise band in your hand, an exercise band or weight cuff on your ankle. You can increase the tempo etc.


Try this yourself. Do you feel the tightness around your belly button? That is the abs reacting to your extremity movements subconsciously. The way they work when you are running. You can use this as a movement screen too. Can you keep your eyes fixed straight ahead as you move, or do you fell that your head is rotating/side bending? Do you have trouble keeping your balance? Does your hand & foot touch the wall at the same time?


Any movement glitches occurring during this exercise are probably also happening during running. Can you see now that stiffness in the right shoulder could possibly delay the foot locking up (supinating) at the right moment... delaying adduction/external rotation at the knee...causing abnormal patellar mechanics? Kind of like that old "leg bone's connected to the hip bone" song my dad used to sing to us with his ukulele.

7 comments:

Juan Ruiz-Tagle said...

Hi Joe, I really appreciate your posts, they are simple and yet very informative. keep them coming they are great!!!.

Juan RT

JH said...

Joe,
Great post!! It helps to see examples like this!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Jonathan Hewitt ATC

JH said...

Joe,
I was thinking more about the tight shoulder effecting the foot supination...when looking at sport specifics, a ball carrier in football will be somewhat inhibited just from the fact they are tucking the ball away in the arm. How does carrying the ball effect things like acceleration, when training what emphasis is put on the inclusion of the ball and when do you exclude the ball?

Just thinking out loud.

Jonathan Hewitt ATC

JH said...

Joe,
I was thinking more about the tight shoulder effecting the foot supination...when looking at sport specifics, a ball carrier in football will be somewhat inhibited just from the fact they are tucking the ball away in the arm. How does carrying the ball effect things like acceleration, when training what emphasis is put on the inclusion of the ball and when do you exclude the ball?

Just thinking out loud.

Jonathan Hewitt ATC

jbeyle said...

Hey Joe,
A little off topic, but I would love to hear your thoughts on orthotics. Are they good for long term use or should they be used until the "compensations" are corrected.
Example: I have a girl I have coached and she has flat feet/pronating feet, tight hip flexors and she is pigeon toed. When she goes to field hockey practic and her coach is running her, she complains that her knees hurt constantly. When she comes to me, she can't squat, lunge, etc without pain.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks,
Jon Beyle
Chapel Hill, NC

Ian said...

Joe,

Not sure I follow the instructions. It seems that you need to be far enough from the wall to have full arm extension as shown in the photo. However, the instructions say around 12". What is the action of the arm to get it in the position shown?

Thanks
Ian NY

Joe Przytula said...

Ian- The arm action would be TP c/ SP bias. The distance from the wall is a range tweak & adds to the difficulty as you move further away. If you have long arms, 12" from the wall may be too close. The idea is to feel the tug in the umbilicus area. LB pain means you need to move closer to the wall-JP