Core Activation Sequences
Guest post by Tyler Bramlett and Dr. James Vegher
Let’s face it, the #1 thing your clients want is a slimmer and more toned waistline. Just imagine the look on your clients face the first time they are able to see that line down the middle of their midsection and you’ll know what I mean.
Plus, the reality is, if you have just a few good transformations where your clients go from fat and flabby to toned abs or even a 6 pack, you’ll be set for life when it comes to the social proof department.
That’s why in this article, I want to share with you the a new ab training protocol you can use to shrink your clients waistlines and get them closer to 6 pack abs.
Now… Before you roll your eyes and think I’m about to share with you some carb cycling, ab revealing diet trick, I wanna assure you that this article is about the training methods that build 6 pack abs NOT fat loss diet strategies.
Ok, now that we’re clear on what you can expect from this article, Let’s dig in…
The amount of trainers that have true 6 pack transformations is about as rare as librarians who sing in a rock band. The reason for this is because ab training is downright confusing. One “guru” says do stability, the other says high volume old school ab crusher workouts. In fact, there’s so many different opinions that sometimes I’m not even sure who we should listen to.
That’s why I decided to turn to the ever so revolutionary and ripped Bruce Lee for advice. Lee has a famous saying, “Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless.”
As a trainer this should be your motto. The reality is that every book, video, training system and certification has something in it of value that will make you grown as a professional and will give you the one up on your competition. The only issue is, that most of the stuff your clients bring your way is completely useless!
That’s why you must educate yourself on the right ways to train so you can get people better results safely. Since we’re talking about ab training, let’s start with the stuff you should avoid then talk about the ab training protocols that actually work and will help you transform your clients fat bellies into the 6 pack they really want, Sounds good?
In the past, you and I were told that high volume ab training routines like doing 1,000 crunches a day was the secret to a strong shredded core. Trust me when I say that these programs do NOT work.
I know several people who fell for the 1,000 crunches a day routine about a decade ago and the only thing they got was a sore neck and patches of skin missing from their backsides.
The sorta good news is, recently there’s been a TON of research coming out of Europe about the true function of your abs that’s basically proven the high volume theory to be wrong.
Even worse, studies performed by world renowned spine health expert Dr. Stuart McGill have shown:
“Herniation (posterior and posterior-lateral regions of the annulus) occurred with relatively modest joint compression but with highly repetitive flexion/extension moments. Increased magnitudes of axial compressive force resulted in more frequent and more severe disc injuries.”
Reference: Callaghan, J.P., and McGill, S.M. (2001) Intervertebral disc herniation: Studies on a porcine model exposed to highly repetitive flexion/extension motion with compressive force. Clin. Biom. 16(1): 28?37.
What this means is that these high volume, outdated exercise routines that don’t actually give anyone real 6 pack results, can actually cause disk herniation!
If we’re gonna listen to Mr. Lee’s advice, the first thing we should do is discard outdated and potentially dangerous routines like the ones we are used to hearing about, right?
Now it’s time to absorb what’s useful!
I’ve recently come across some European research that shows the true function of your abdominal muscles and the best ways to activate these muscles so you can dramatically boost your clients core strength and get them the best 6 pack results in the gym.
To start, I’m sure you’ve heard that stabilization exercises are the way to go when it comes to building a strong core but did you know that your abs are actually supposed to fire before you make any movement? Literally, before you lift your arm, the responsibility of your abs is to stabilize your spine and “brace” for movement.
In fact, a new study done by Pavel Kholar at the ELITE Prague School Of Rehabilitation says, “prior to any movement, the core needs to brace.”
Reference: Kobesova A, Kolar P. Developmental Kinesiology: Three Levels of Motor Control in the Assessment and Treatment of the Motor System. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. 2014;18(1):23-33.
These 2 facts tell you that the main responsibility of your abs is NOT to move your torso like in a crunch or sit-up, but rather to stabilize your core to prevent your spine from moving against external forces.
That being said, here’s 2 of my favorite core truing exercises that when done right are safe and effective…
The first exercise is an elbow plank on a swiss ball. When you have your clients do this, they will instantly feel all of the stabilizer muscles of their abs working hard to support their body and keep their spine protected.
Plus as an added benefit, the first few times they do this exercise their abs will be super sore. I know that muscle soreness has little to do with real world results but you and I both know how much people love feeling sore muscles and how much they gauge the effectiveness of their workouts on it.
My other favorite exercise is called the alternating lying leg raise. Just have your clients lie down on their back with their legs together and feet towards the sky. Stick your fingers under their lower back and demand they keep your fingers pushed into the ground the whole time while they lower one leg slowly toward the ground, then alternate.
This exercise helps to correct unilateral imbalances in your clients core muscles which will strengthen their midsection which as you know makes it safer to train them using other exercises.
While these are good exercises for developing your clients core muscles, the purpose of this article is to teach you what is useful for ab training. The 2 exercises above are great exercises but today I wanna go a step further and introduce you to an ab training method based on the science I just shared with you that can help you slim your clients waistlines even faster and can even help them reduce chronic back and neck pain.
This ab training technique is called a Core Activation Sequence and I only recently came across these exercises when I learned about a brilliant Physical Therapist named Dr. James Vegher.
The reality is, you can develop strong abs for your clients using the exercises I shared with you above but the results will pale in comparison to what you’ll get when you use the Core Activation Sequences Dr. Vegher teaches.
Tyler Bramlett(who is also a trainer and owner of 4 successful bootcamps) explains how he me Dr. Vegher and what a Core Activation Sequence actually is. You can read the whole story here…
check out these brand new Core Activation Sequences by Dr. James Vegher. Click the link below to check it out…
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