Find your inner Athlete: Start on Common Ground 

 

We see professional athletes in the media all the time and odds are, you have a favorite player or team that you root for and feel a connection with. Whether it’s football, baseball, soccer, dance, or boxing, the explosive power, coordination, and strength that these athletes have can leave us in awe. But who says we need to be a professional athlete to train like one? Although all training programs should be specifically catered to a person’s needs, ability level, and goals, there are concepts that are universally important. 

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Strengthen Your Kinetic Chain

Most movements we perform, whether in athletic competition or in everyday life, are a complex sequence of activities that require coordination and proper timing which is referred to as a kinetic chain. The concept describes the linkage of various body segments to activate, stabilize and mobilize the body to allow motion to occur. These linkages need to happen very specifically and in a coordinated fashion for movements to be accurate and precise. If there is a breakdown in the system, then there is potential for injury. When we look at the body as a whole, we highlight the core musculature as the linkage between the lower extremities and the upper extremities. It functions not only to support the trunk and stabilize the pelvis and spine, but to transfer kinetic energy throughout or bodies to improve efficiency.

Proximal Stability for Distal Mobility

A phrase commonly used by movement trainers that highlights the importance of the core is “proximal stability for distal mobility”. Proximal stability, in this case meaning the core, allows our bodies to efficiently anticipate and respond to changes in our environment while controlling our arms and legs in order to carry out the desired motions (distal mobility). This concept applies to, say, an MMA fighter delivering a powerful strike to an opponent. In the same way, your core plays a significant role in allowing you to successfully and safely perform everyday tasks like carrying box after box into a new home or simply pulling open a door to go to the mall. By improving your core stability, you not only improve your task efficiency, but also establish and maintain the spine within its physiologic limits to help reduce the risk of injury.

Dynamically Challenge Your Core

The core is made up of multiple muscles connecting the lumbopelvic hip complex, diaphragm, and the spine to provide a position of balanced power. A core program that focuses on purely crunches does not provide dynamic challenge to the core or force the core muscles to work synergistically as they do during functional movements. The following exercise takes you down to a tall kneeling position to draw focus to pelvic stabilization and spinal rotation that requires synchronized concentric and eccentric activity of the core muscles while challenging your ability to maintain a neutral spine. 

Tall Kneeling Dynamic Spinal Rotation

 

 
 

Step  1

  1. Start kneeling upright with the WAV tucked under the occiput/nape of your neck.

  2. Bring the arms wide to allow external rotation without scapular adduction.

  3. Find a connection with the earth and level fluid within the WAV.

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Step 2

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  1.  Hinge from the hip while maintaining the spine in a neutral position, creating one line from the tailbone to the crown of your head with the core activated.

  2. Find balance in this position.

  3. Begin to rotate to one side, allowing your movements to coordinate with the fluid in the WAV.

  4. Return to neutral spine and repeat rotation toward the opposite side.

  • What am I doing?

Challenging hip and pelvic stabilizers to fire while performing a dynamic spinal rotation.

Coordinating muscle contraction throughout the core to mimic performance of daily activities.

  • What am I mindful of?

Am I able to maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement?

Do my feet or legs lift off the floor, or am I able to keep them connected with the earth? 

Do my hips remain stable throughout the motion?

Am I able to breathe throughout the exercise?

Footnotes

  1. Bliss, L. S., & Teeple, P. (2005). Core stability: the centerpiece of any training program. Current sports medicine reports, 4(3), 179-183.

  2. Vincent, H. K., & Vincent, K. R. (2018). Core and back rehabilitation for high-speed rotation sports: highlight on lacrosse. Current sports medicine reports, 17(6), 208-214.

  3. Meron, A., & Saint-Phard, D. (2017). Track and field throwing sports: injuries and prevention. Current sports medicine reports, 16(6), 391-396.
  4. Wilk, K. E., Arrigo, C. A., Hooks, T. R., & Andrews, J. R. Rehabilitation of the overhead throwing athlete: there is more to it than just external rotation/internal rotation strengthening. PM R 2016; 8: S78-90.
  5. SPORTS SCIENCE: The Value of Core Strength, Mobility and Stability for MMA Performance and Longevity, MMATorch, Oct 2016.
Dr. Lindsay Schuele is part of the movement team for WAV training. As a top athlete and Doctor of Physcial Therapy she integrates the brain-body approach with her passion to help athletes avoid injury and achieve top performance.

Want to know more about using the WAV for improving core stability? Contact us for more information about our sensory-based training approach.
 
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