From my recent newsletter:
CB Athletic Consulting, Inc. Training Report
www.cbathletics.com
www.grrlathlete.com
www.workoutmanuals.com
Issue #118
Inside this Issue:
- Fitness Industry Myths
I’d like to point out my friend Lou Schuler’s new website. Lou is the former fitness editor of Men’s Health magazine and is the author of such books as, “The Testosterone Advantage Plan”, and “The Book of Muscle”. You can learn more about his books and read his web log at
www.louschuler.com.
2 – Fitness Myths: Part 1
Fitness myths are everywhere. I could probably list dozens of myths without much effort. There’s so much misinformation and confusion out there…from how many reps you should use for muscle definition to whether or not a specific exercise is dangerous or effective.
I try and bust as many myths as I can in my articles for Men’s Fitness, but in this article I’ve gotten one of the most knowledgeable trainers that I know to give his opinion on several fitness myths. You can count on Bill Hartman to set us straight on any aspect of fitness.
Bill is a physical therapist and strength & conditioning coach in Indianapolis, IN. He’s worked with athletes at all levels in a number of sports and is probably best known for his athletic approach to the physical preparation for golf. Bill is also an Active Release Techniques Practitioner, a cutting-edge soft-tissue treatment technique, with certification in spine, upper extremity, and lower extremity treatment.
After you’ve read Bill’s interpretation of a few fitness myths, take some time to review his 2-part interview on how to prevent and rehabilitate shoulder injuries:
http://www.cbathletics.com/issues/115.htm
http://www.cbathletics.com/issues/116.htm
CB: Bill, what is the number one myth in physical training that you would like to “bust”?
BH: How can you possibly narrow it down to one! There are so many it’s not even funny. The sad thing is that many “trainers” are perpetuating loads of just plain, bad information to their clients because they don’t have the capacity to critically analyze and understand what the heck they’re doing.
Take functional training for instance. Why is functional training somehow separated from of other forms of training? Would we ever really want to do some form of training that’s not functional?
What I mean is that for an activity to be “functional” it must somehow enhance function. Period. That means that functional training can include strength training, flexibility training, energy system training, rehab activities, training a sport itself, or even REST! The belief that functional training only includes activities that occur in three planes or must be performed on an unstable surface or must mimic some sort of sporting movement is pure bunk.
Sometimes it kills me to hear a trainer talk about how one exercise is functional and another is not functional. Functional for what? For whom? What they don’t realize is that functionality is dependent on the context that it is used. An exercise that may improve function for one athlete in a particular sport may negatively affect function for another athlete in the same sport.
How ‘bout from now on we just call it training.
CB: Can you explain why it is a myth to “draw your belly button to your spine”?
BH: The whole “belly button thing” comes from the research done by Richardson, Jull, Hodges, and Hides (aka the Queensland Group) in regard to segmental spinal stabilization. They noted that patients with back pain had motor control issues in the transversus abdominis (the muscle that draws in the belly button). Since the transversus abdominis plays a role in spinal stabilization The Queensland Group developed the belly button draw in exercise to re-educate the transversus to function normally.
Somewhere along the line, some practitioners and fitness instructors misinterpreted The Queensland Group information to imply that the draw-in maneuver increased spinal stability because of its interaction with lumbar structures and its association with altering intra-abdominal pressure.
So the concept of drawing in your belly button to your spine during physical activity performed by healthy people was born and perpetuated by the many professionals that provide continuing education to numerous other trainers worldwide. This would normally be a wonderful thing except its dead wrong.
First, it’s wrong to assume that one or two muscles are of greater functional value to spinal stabilization than the many others in the trunk, shoulder girdle, and hips. All muscles play a role in stability with the contributions of each muscle being based on the demands of the activity.
Second, and this is huge, the draw-in can actually promote a decrease in spinal stability. I actually have a series of videos that base their entire core training philosophy around the misguided concept of the draw-in for stability. I certainly hope this practitioner has changed his tune.
Stuart McGill’s book, “Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation”, is breakthrough in burying this myth. In it, Dr. McGill presents the more effective stabilization strategy that involves the co-contraction of all three layers of abdominal muscles without drawing in called abdominal bracing. It’s a lot like how you would tighten up your abdominal muscles if someone was going to punch you in the gut.
CB: You’re right, Dr. McGill’s book is incredibly thorough and busts a lot of myths. It can be purchased through
www.backfitpro.com. Bill, what is one of the most popular misconceptions about training for fat loss? And what is a better alternative?
BH: It’s got to be LSD. Not the psychedelic drug, but rather Long Slow Distance. The thinking is that since the primary energy source during steady-state aerobic activity is fat, then that must be the best way to lose fat. Then what followed were the infamous “fat burning zones” and utilizing heart rate to determine whether you were burning fat or not.
This type of training certainly uses fat for energy, but it’s not the best way to maximize the amount of fat used for energy given a specific amount of time. In that case intensity wins every time.
That’s where interval training comes in. It’s simply alternating periods of intensive exercise followed by period of less intensive exercise. An example would be sprints of 15 seconds up to a minute or two, depending on the protocol, followed by a less intensive period of exercise for about 3 times as long as the intensive interval. For instance, you could sprint for 30 seconds and rest for 90 seconds and repeat that for 6 sets.
Within that time frame you would burn more total calories that an equivalent duration of steady state exercise, you burn more calories from fat, and you’d create such a metabolic disturbance that you would end up burning more fat in the post-exercise period. In other words, you’d burn more fat even while you’re not exercising.
There’s a very successful version of this form of interval training. I think it’s called…uh, “Turbulence Training”. The name of the very intelligent trainer who developed this program escapes me for the moment.
CB: Thanks for the kind words Bill. In part II of the interview, we’ll cover myths pertaining to training athletes and golfers. You can learn more about Bill’s golf training philosophy at
www.yourgolffitnesscoach.com.
The information on cbathletics.com is for education purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to replace the advice or attention of health-care professionals. Consult your physician before beginning or making changes in your diet or exercise program, for diagnosis and treatment of illness and injuries, and for advice regarding medications.
CB Athletic Consulting, Inc.
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