The Core 4

When people ask me about my top core exercise I always have this little debate in my head. As I have stated in previous posts, there really needs to be a progression of exercises. So what I am going to do is give the top exercise in each of the 4 progressions: (1) postural control, (2) stabilization, (3) strength, 4 (power/reactive).

Pelvic Tilting

1. The first exercise that should be done is simply Pelvic Tilts. The reason for this is that many people, in particular youth athletes have are not able to change the position of their hips on command. This is a fundamental skill that ALL athletes should possess. If an athlete is unable to do this, generally every other functional exercise is going to suffer.

To do a pelvic tilt exercise, have the athlete lie on their back with their knees bent. Have them place one hand under their back and simply alternate between lifting their back off their hand and putting pressure down on their hand. Hold each position for 2-5 seconds.

Full Side Plank

2. The second stage of core training is stabilization/endurance. Athletes need to be able to maintain a stable spine for a prolonged period of time. The side plank does just this. It activates obliques, transverse abdominus, multifidus, low back extensors and the rectus abdominus. Its a grand slam of a core exercise.

To do the side plank support yourself on one arm with your feet stacked and hold that posture for between 20-45 seconds

Hand Walkout

3. The best strength exercise is the Hand Walkout. Why? Well it trains the body in the sagittal plan, so it uses the rectus abdominus "six pack" muscle. But it also engages the obliques and transverse abdominus. The hand walkout is an "anti-extension" exercise that uses the postural control and strength of the prior to phases. 

To do the hand walkout, simply start from a push-up position and take small steps forward with your hands, keeping your feet where they are. Walkout until you feel tension in your abdominals and then walk your hands back in.

4. The best plyometric/reactive exercise is Medicine Ball Shakers. This exercise requires the spinal stabilization muscles and the hip rotators to contract and relax rapidly. The ability to turn a muscle on and off quickly is crucial for sports performance and everyday living. And because most motion takes place in the rotational/transverse plane, this exercise is our champion. 

Simply hold a medicine ball in front of you and quickly shake it side to side. Don't attempt to use a "full range of motion" because most people will end up over torquing the muscles of the lower back. Instead focus on short rotations that allow the ball to travel a maximum of 12" before you bring the ball back the other way. Perform 10 repetitions as fast as possible - shoot for under 6 seconds.

And there you have it. Our Core Top 4!.

The forest and the trees...how to treat an overuse injury

Many athletes who play a single sport will begin to develop an injury. I use the term "WILL" because it is almost a certainty that if an athlete performs the same motions over and over, certain "links in the chain" will begin to breakdown due to being used too much. 

Delivery car? You mean delivery "trike."

Think of a delivery car that drives in stop-go traffic every day for 8-10 hours per day, for the life of it. Now compare that to a car that is used to drive to work, sits in the parking lot and then is driven home at the end of the day. In addition this car is used on longer trips up and down the interstate highway on an every other month basis.

Young athletes who play the same sport year round are basically driven like that delivery car. Eventually the hardware is going to break down from being overused. 

Usually at that point parents become very concerned with their child's injury and are scavenging the internet looking for solutions. 

Here's a quick tip: look at the injury. Its called an "overuse" injury for a reason. Assuming that no structural damage has been done, the primary way to let an overuse injury heal is to stop doing whatever they were doing. 

Lets say we've got a baseball pitcher experiencing shoulder pain. The young athlete will most likely want to know how he can rehab but still pitch. Or sometimes the parent wants a second look at their child's mechanics because "they have to be doing SOMETHING  wrong, right?"

The truth is even major league pitchers get 4-5 days between starts. Yet many young kids will have a busy summer tournament schedule and pitch every other day.

How many pitches am I at coach?

Some will counter that with, "well they aren't throwing as hard or as many pitches as major league pitchers!" I will respond with the obvious statement that these are not 25 year-old men who are pitching every other day, nor do they have the bone density, muscular density or muscular endurance to tolerate that throwing schedule. In addition to that, many coaches and parents don't even know how many pitches their kids throw in a game. Do they count warm-up pitches before each inning? These things need to be considered.

The first response by ANY parent, coach or doctor to an overuse injury is to stop doing what you were doing. Don't get so overwhelmed by the injury, its possible treatments and the "threat" it poses to a 10- year old's "college potential" and let your kids heal. Stop looking for the forest past the trees. It's right in front of you.

Let your child play multiple sports throughout the year. This will prevent many overuse injuries on its own. A child who is playing baseball in the spring, football in the fall and basketball in the winter will RARELY have any overuse injuries.

I hate seeing kids not being able to play the game they love. But us as parents need to know that overuse injuries are almost certain if we don't give our kids a significant time off during the year to heal, recover and develop other motor skills Your kids will thank you as will their long term health and enjoyment of a sport..