Core Values

Everyone at the gym is working on their core, at least this is what they say they're doing.  I see people doing frantic bicycle crunches, side bends, balancing on bosu balls and precariously negotiating giant psysio balls.  I wonder what is going through these people's heads, do they really want a stronger core for better health and pain-free movement?  No, these alleged core conditioners (you might very well be one of them) want ripped and shredded abs.
 'Core training' would not be such a booming sector of the fitness industry if it was all about pious, wellness related results.  Clients are perfectly okay with telling me they want jacked biceps, but when it comes to abs they always hide behind the righteousness of wanting a stronger core.  Here I will explain what it actually takes to see abdominal definition and how to properly strengthen your core if that is what you really want, you noble being, you.


First, some non-sexy definition
The core is comprised of every muscle that helps to maintain a braced, neutral spine.  This means your glutes, lats and traps are also part of your core, in addition to your abdominals and spinal errectors.  Getting stronger at any movement will strengthen your core because core muscles are integral to all movement.


My top picks for getting stronger
Are deadlifts, squats, presses, pull-ups (or inverted rows) and push-ups.  I stick to the classics: multi-joint exercises where one is mechanically inclined to lift the most amount of weight.  If you're looking for a core only strengthening exercise, do planks.

Qualities of a solid plank:
* Hands grabbing the ground
* Shoulders externally rotated and shoulder blades protracted (pushed apart)
* Ribs down
* Abs clenched
* Butt clenched  and pelvis slightly tucked under
* Legs together

Samantha Star: pole champion, handstand expert and movement instructor demonstrates a killer plank.
Photo taken at Solace NYC

A good plank should be very hard to hold, you shouldn't be able to hold it longer than 30 seconds at first.  If you are already on a strength program and want to plank, add 3 max holds to the end of your workout.  Hold each plank as long as you can without breaking form.  You don't need to time yourself, go all out with each repetition.
  If you aren't on a strength program and want to get a stronger core, find a trusted strength coach, personal trainer, or CrossFit foundations class to teach you the basic strength movements.  You can plank every day if you like, but without a strength foundation  (squats, deadlifts, etc) you're missing out.



What about balance?
Many attempt to strengthen their core by improving their balance.  Standing on a wobbly object is not going to improve your balance or get you ripped. Get off the bosu and get into the weight room.  Balance is affected by strength, if you get stronger your balance will improve.  Doing exercises on an unstable surface will get you great at doing exercises on an unstable surface, that's about it.

Here is where we part ways
This concludes the core strengthening portion of this post.  The information below is all about how to get the shredded 6 pack of your dreams (said in infomercial voice).


Every one has a 6 pack
Deltoids are shaped like horseshoes, quads look like tear drops, and abs are in the shape of an ice cube tray.  To bring out the shape of any muscle, you must lose fat in order to see the muscle through your skin, and hypertrophy (grow) the muscle so that it is easier to see.  Abdominal muscles do not grow very large, so getting 'abs' is mostly about losing fat, not about secret ab exercises.


The cost of getting lean
Precision nutrition came up with this wonderful infographic depicting what you have to do to achieve certain levels of leanness.  This is a template of what you will have to do to achieve your desired look.

As you can see, getting very lean and shredded is a whole body and life overhaul.  Some won't have to get as lean as others (and vice versa) to see their abs.  Genetics determine  the intricacies of muscle appearance and fat storage.  Some may have ninja turtle abs with semi-high body fat, and others may have extremely low body fat with minimal definition.  No matter what, you can absolutely improve your body and your abdominals, just manage your expectations about the outcome of your endeavors.

But there must be some ab exercises that work
Yes, you can hypertrophy (grow) your abdominal muscles so that they are easier to see and look, uh, more ripped.  Ab exercises should be tough, you shouldn't have or be able to do 100 of them.  3-5 sets of 5-10 repetitions at the end of your workout, 3-7 days a week will suffice.  Mix it up, choose one or two of the following exercises to perform each day:

Body Saw

Samantha Star: pole champion, handstand expert and movement instructor. Video taken at Solace NYC

Start in a forearm plank with toes on a towel.
Clench your abs.
Let your body slowly slide back until you are about to break form.
Slide back in.
Emphasize the slide back, not the slide in.

Pike

Samantha Star: pole champion, handstand expert and movement instructor. Video taken at Solace NYC

Start in a plank with toes on a towel.
Legs stay together.
Drag hips up into an inverted 'V' position.
Bonus: If you're a badass, like Sam, tap your wrists with your toes.
Return to start position.
Focus on relaxing legs and letting abs do all of the work.

Captain's chair or hanging leg raise

Me doing hanging leg raises at Solace NYC

Start either holding onto a bar, or with forearms on pads of captain's (leg raise) chair.
Legs stay together, ankles pointed.
Bend knees and hips up into body.
Straighten knees.
Lower down from the hip.
Emphasize lowering slow.

Which ones work my obliques/upper/lower abs?
All of them.  Yes, you have different abdominal muscles, yet, they all work together at the same time.  Fun fact: side bends don't really target your obliques, they target your QL, on your low back.  Side bends are also not the best for your spine.


In summary

• Know the difference between a stronger core and a more defined core
• Planks and classic strength exercises are best for core strengthening
• Diet is the main ingredient for defined abdominals
• Effective abdominal exercises should be simple, yet challenging

May the force be with you
On your journey to a stronger or more defined core.












Granola

Really Healthy
When I start working with a new client I always bring up nutrition.  I ask "What does your typical diet look like?"  Sometimes my client will respond with "oh don't worry, I eat really healthy."  I worry.  I have learned that the "I eat healthy" clients are usually the clients who can benefit the most from nutritional coaching.  There are two main reasons for this: people who claim to eat healthy tend to completely ignore portion sizes, or they tend to be eating foods that are marketed as healthy, but really aren't.  Let's get a few things straight about healthy eating...

What is healthy?
Healthy means nutrient dense, minimally processed food.  Vegetables, unprocessed meats and fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, and fruits are prime examples.  Foods without labels come first, foods with ingredients you can pronounce (greek yogurt or quinoa, for example) come second.  The reason for this is these sorts of foods have the highest levels of micronutrients, vitamins and minerals that you must get from your diet. Micronutrients make up your cells, regulate hormones, metabolic reactions and so much more.  Getting micronutrients entirely from supplements or from processed food isn't the same.  Processed food doesn't have the correct ratios or quality of micronutrients and lacks fiber and prebiotics (healthy gut substrate).  Processed food also has chemicals and additives which aren't so great for you, but, I bet you knew that already.

The gilded image of health

A lot of foods are marketed as 'health foods' like: granola (and any kind of cereal), fat-free dairy, margarine, whole grain bread, muffins, and juices.  The marketing behind these foods plays up the fact that they are lower fat options, this is a problem.  In order to make these foods lower in fat, their sugar content has been jacked up and their micronutrient profile robbed.   The bread and grain products listed are highly processed, sugar-laden and calorie dense.  Fat-free dairy is also rather processed, very sugary and far away from real milk. Juice has all the sugar from fruits without their fiber or prebiotics. Margarine is made of trans fat, the only dietary fat that is actually bad for you, it is more of a plastic than a food.
Dietary fat (even saturated) and cholesterol are not bad for you.  One third of your fat intake should be from saturated fat in order to regulate hormones and catalyze important reactions in your body.  Cholesterol makes up your your cell walls, regulates hormones and is crucial in the production of vitamin D (a micronutrient so important that you can synthesize it from the sun).  Dietary cholesterol has very little to do with clogged arteries and heart disease.  In most cases, refined sugar has more of an effect on blood cholesterol levels than dietary cholesterol.
Some of my clients are surprised when I tell them to choose eggs (or avocado, for my vegan clients) over cereal for breakfast, or that they should get at least 2% milk instead of skim.  A lot of my clients want to loose fat, so they point out that my substitutions are slightly higher in calories, what gives?  First, calories aren't fool proof, what is on the label isn't really what your body absorbs.  Second, the slight increase in calories is worth the increase in nutrients and decrease in chemicals.  Third, foods with a slightly higher fat content boast a huge increase in satiety and blood sugar regulation over their fat-free and sugary frenemies.

Health treats
Maybe you already knew muffins are not health foods, excellent.  Once you've educated yourself out of being deceived by obviously unhealthy 'health foods,' you immediately become a target consumer of 'health treats.'  Health treats are basically desserts made out of healthy, raw or organic ingredients.  Visit your local health food store and you'll find isles of 'healthy' cookies, bars and shakes.  Allow me to clarify, I don't begrudge my clients a treat here and there, but I don't allow them to justify it as a health food.  Vegan cookies, paleo pancakes, 'healthy' ice cream or frozen yogurt, chia pudding, 'health' bars, smoothie bowls, etc should not be the bulk of your diet.  These foods are very calorie dense and not extremely nutrient dense, despite their healthy-ish ingredients.

Bottomless Bowls
The last pitfall of the healthy eater is portion control.  This one is HUGE.  The healthy and organic umbrella doesn't protect you from the lightning of eating too much.  Calories aren't the end-all-be-all, but they are useful when looking at an entire day or week of eating and they are significant in cases of portion control.  Vegetables and leafy greens are difficult to overindulge on because they have a high volume (surface area) and very few calories.  Nuts, fruits, grains and fatty meats or fish are very easy to eat too much of.  These items are very nutrient dense, which is great, but are also very calorie dense and low volume.  If you eat these items frequently and are having difficulty losing fat, start measuring your portions.  Read 8:00 for information on how to measure.
Liquid calories are another huge pitfall for the healthy eater.  Healthy eaters love to make smoothies, which can be dangerous when trying to lose fat.  I had one client log what was in her daily smoothie, it came out to be around 700 calories.  If I told you you had to sit down and eat (not drink) all your smoothie ingredients in one sitting, would you be uncomfortably full?  Protein powder and vegetables, maybe some unsweetened almond or coconut milk should be in your smoothie if you must have one.  Fruits and nut butters should be eaten, not blended if you're trying to loose fat.  This is because fruits and nut butters are not items that you need to blend up to get in your diet, they are easy and tasty (for most) to eat.

Hard Gainers
If you are trying to gain mass as a healthy eater, you most likely aren't eating enough. When a weight gain client says s/he eats healthy, it usually means s/he is scared of getting fat.  You will gain a nominal amount of fat along with the muscle you are trying to gain, being afraid of this fat is going to hold you back from getting jacked.  For mass gainers, do the opposite of everything I said in the previous section.  Do not measure or limit your portions, eat more fruits, nuts, fatty fish, and drink liquid calories.  Weight gainers should be drinking lots of smoothies, ones with fruit and nut butter, this makes eating a high amount of calories easier to stomach.

Healthy and enlightened
Now you know how to be truly healthy in a world of unhealthy health foods, health treats and bottomless bowls.  This knowledge is powerful, but nothing is more powerful than knowing yourself and listening to your instincts.  Healthy eaters, you know when you're eating something that isn't so great for you or your goals.  You must stop justifying your choices because they are 'healthy,' and start owning up to all your decisions on an even gradient.  If something is harming your body or bringing you farther away from your goal, cut it out.

Bulky

I Don't Want to get 'Bulky'
I assume this means either:
a) I don't want to get bigger/beefier or,
 b) I don't want to look extremely muscular.
It has come to my attention that many believe lifting weights will make him or her get 'bulky.'  Along these lines, many believe that muscles can be bulky or long and lean depending on the exercises they perform.  If you are not one of these people, you must know someone who is.  For all my bulk-fearers, please, read on, you will discover that your fear is is keeping you away from the body you want.  For my friends-of-bulk-fearers, sharing is caring, help your pals and loved ones know the truth about muscles and strength training.

Disarming time
I will step out of my normally objective shell to help you digest this information more willing.  I am quite small, 5'2 under 100 lbs, under 15% body fat.  I lift heavy weights 5-6 times a week and do no cardio except for walking.  I have always been small but my body fat used to be much higher, I was 'skinny-fat.'  My body fat went down when I started lifting heavy, I also began to look more defined and 'toned.'  All of my clients lift heavy things and have gotten leaner and more defined, no one has ever complained of getting 'too bulky' in the 5+ years I have been a trainer.

Me deadlifting

Lean tone
When a client comes to me wanting to get learner or more toned, I assess how much lean/muscle mass they have.  When you don't have a lot of muscle it becomes very hard to get lean.  Muscle is a crucial component to being lean.  Muscle mass is lean mass, so all muscle is lean.  Muscle is metabolically active, whereas fat is not.  This means having more muscle will increase your ability to burn calories, even at rest.  Muscle is what makes a person look 'toned.'
Increasing muscle mass can be done while decreasing body fat, this will make a person look leaner.  Muscles are cells, so when you 'gain muscle mass,' which can sound scary to bulk-fearers, you are just increasing the size of a cell.  Gaining muscle is a very slow process, it often takes months to notice any positive difference in appearance.  The difference might be that your triceps have a little shape when your arm is straight, or your leg looks more defined in certain light.  You will not wake up one day to look like a lumberjack or bodybuilder, this doesn't happen by accident or with the amount of time you (non-fitness industry person) have to train.
The most efficient way to get 'lean and toned' is to strength train with moderately heavy weights and keep calories and portions in check.

Why lift heavy things?
Lifting heavy is the only way to make your body prioritize muscle over fat.  Muscle is like a Ferrari with its engine idling, fat is like a Prius.  Your body wants Prii (Toyota approved plural), not gas guzzling (calorie burning), expensive (amino acid needing) Ferrari.  In order to get your body to trade in its sensible Prii for extravagant Ferrari, you have to make it an offer that it can't refuse.  This offer is moderate to heavy strength training.  Lifting heavy-ish (ballpark 70-90% of your maximal load) and will create enough of a stimulus for your body to build muscle.  Lifting heavy will make you stronger, which is really exciting and esteem boosting.  A lot of adaption in muscle has to do with its ability to be activated.  This means you can get stronger and leaner without gaining tons of mass.  Muscle also increases your cardiovascular capacity making running, biking and 'conditioning' easier. Lifting light weights for really high reps is better than sitting on your butt, but it won't get you toned or stronger.  You must make it crystal clear to your body that you are in need of more muscle or it won't change.

But what about this athlete who looks like...
Maybe you don't want to look like (what your image is of) a bodybuilder or powerlifer or CrossFit games athlete.  Don't worry, you won't.  Bodybuilders work day in and day out to acquire a very specific look.  I bet they wished their extreme musculature appeared overnight.  Powerlifters and CrossFitters and fill-in-the-blankers care more about what their bodies allow them to do than how their bodies change to accommodate their sport.  Maybe these athletes are drawn to sports that support their natural frame.  For example, maybe super heavy powerlifters are bigger people who found a sport they can excel in.  The same can be said for the 'dancer's body' you might want.  Dancers may excel because they already have a certain desirable body structure.  Also, these athletes put in countless hours of training, the way they look may not be deliberate, but it sure isn't accidental.

But what about this workout in this magazine...
Magazines are written by journalists.  It is a journalist's job to sensationalize reality.  How exciting would your favorite magazine be if this article was in it every month: "Strength training still works, eat moderately."  Magazines can't really publish a lot on strength training with barbells because the movements are difficult to learn from photos and have a higher injury potential (when done by the general public out on their own) than a pair of pink dumbbells.  As for celebrities, they're strength training.  Again, 'strength training' doesn't sound as sexy to some people as 'lengthening toning stretching class.'  Slight digression: muscle looks longer when you have longer limbs and certain genetics, no exercise makes it noticeably longer.  Celebrities also have someone making sure they eat properly, and they have the media.  If someone took a photo of you everyday and showed it to everyone, you would get your self to the gym.

But what about that one time I got bulky...
I know this is a fear of you bulk-fearers.  Some of you have a time in your life when you tried lifting and it made you bulky.  This is always a matter of correlation, not causation.  Usually when this happens it is because you got fatter at the time of your lifting experiment.  The lifting didn't make you fatter, you just decided to eat more at that time.  Maybe you started consuming a seemingly healthy item at that time, like acai bowls or (certain kinds of) smoothies.  These items are extremely calorie dense and non-satiating, so they made you pack on the pounds.  Maybe you started walking less in your everyday life at the time of your lifting.  There are a lot of reasons for weight gain, lifting is not one of them.  Lifting will not make you bigger unless you are in a calorie surplus.  You could lift all the weights in the gym and loose weight if you didn't eat anything.  Give lifting another go under the eyes of a qualified strength and nutrition coach.  The results you will get will blow your mind and rock your body.

Position of Power

Position over range of motion

I often get asked about mobility.  Clients and friends want to know how to make their bodies feel better, what to mobilize to make ____ pain go away.  I was going to write a post on the most effective mobilization methods, but I realized this would be jumping the gun.   Mobility is an all encompassing approach to quality, pain-free movement.  Many forget that quality movement is the first component of mobility.  If movement is poor and positions are sub-optimal no amount of mobilizing will help.  Here I will teach you how to be in the best position for everyday life and performance. Know this: if you are out of position for repeated or long bouts you will eventually have pain.  The idea is to get in a good position before pain is created.  If you already have pain, you must address your position to make any mobilization techniques stick.

Take a deep breath

When asked to take a deep breath, most folks inhale through their mouth, making their clavicle and chest rise.  This kind of breath may feel big and deep (that's what she said), but it is actually unproductive and shallow.  A deep breath should be slow and through the nose, making the lower ribs (diaphragm) expand in a three-dimensional fashion.  It should look like a tiny person behind your navel just opened an umbrella inside of you.  If you put your hands around the bottom of your ribs, you should feel them expand.  One way to get better at proper breathing is to lie on your back, feet up against a wall.

 The best way I have found to teach proper breathing is to have my client smell peppermint oil.  Attempting to smell (not vacuum up through one's nose, as some will do) automatically makes everyone I've encountered breathe properly.  You can use coffee, toothpaste, essential oils, anything with a pleasant (for your sake) and strong odor.  A lot of my clients have peppermint oil (which can be purchased at Whole Foods, Fairway, etc) on them at all times to help them breathe under stress or at the gym.  In a pinch, you can  pretend that you are trying to smell coffee in the air, this often works like a charm.  Once you understand how to breathe properly, your spine will be much easier to stabilize, improving the quality of your movement and stability.

Brace yourself

Movement happens from core to extremity.  This means that the stability in your spine leads to mobility and power in your hips and shoulders,  If your spine isn't braced during performance and physical tasks, you are at risk for spinal injury and you are not being as powerful or as mobile as you could be.  The following is a universal bracing sequence from who else--Kelly Starrett:

1. Squeeze your butt and screw your feet into the floor.
2. Pull your rib cage down.
3. Flex your abs and breathe into the tight container you've made of them.
4. Set your head in a neutral position and screw your shoulders down and out.

This bracing sequence applies to almost all exercises.  The greater the load, the more intense and important the bracing sequence will need to be.  Even when you are just standing around, there should be some semblance of bracing happening.  If you stand all day (hi, trainers), make sure that your butt is squeezed and your abs are 'on.'  It is also important for your shoulders to be depressed (down) and externally rotated (rotated out).  Having your shoulders rolled in, abdominals soft, or standing on one hip will eventually come back to haunt you in the form of pain, injury or decreased strength and power.

Mike demonstrates a braced, neutral spine, an over-extended and an over-flexed posture
Photo taken at Crunch 34th street

If you sit all day, you should really find a way to stand more often.  Get a standing desk, take calls standing, move your wastepaper basket down the hall, a-la my mother.  When you do sit, brace before you sit down and attempt to keep tension in your abs while sitting.  If you find that you are slouching, get up, brace and sit again.  Fixing your slouch while sitting leads to being in another compromising position.

You are what you do

Before moving on to how to position yourself for movement, this point must be made:  if you are in poor static positions all day, your body will adapt to those positions, not to your 1 hour or so of exercise.  If you sit all day you will have a 'sitter's body,' your anterior hip and shoulder muscles will be locked in a short position and you will have a default over-extended or over-flexed spinal position.  You cannot take this sitter's body of yours and throw it into high level movement and strength training without pain or injury somewhere down the line.  You must strive to get into good positions throughout your day, and you must undo every hour you sit with at least 3 minutes of mobility work.  Here is a short clip with Dr, Kelly Starrett about sitting awareness and a few stretches you can do to undo your seated ways,

Keep your spine together

As stated earlier, the bracing sequence above applies to movement, it is a way to keep your spine from moving under load.  This means the way your back looks at the beginning of an exercise is the way it should look at the end of an exercise.  When performing movements, you should only be changing the angles of your hips, shoulders and appendage joints (like knees and elbows).  It is an error for any part of your spine to flex or extend locally during a movement.  

This can mean your lower back rounding in a squat, or you craning your neck to get it over the top of a pull-up bar.  If this happens it means you are either missing end range of motion or lack the motor control and strength to stay braced.  For example, missing end range of motion is expressed if you round your back to reach a bar because your hips are too tight to flex all the way down.  Arching your back and squirming to get out of the bottom of a dip is an example of not being strong enough to complete the movement properly.  The movement is so hard for you that you can't 'waste' any energy bracing, so your spine loses position. 

 If you are missing end range of motion, you will have to work on mobilizing the joint system that lacks mobility and restricting range of motion to what you can control.  If you lack strength, you must scale the exercise to a range of motion or degree that you can complete safely.  For personal records, some spinal disorganization may happen, you have to recognize this and not accept it for your working sets.  Ugly form and disorganized spines won't lead to strength in the right areas, you don't want to get good at an exercise doing it the wrong way.

*note: there are some positions, like those in yoga or gymnastics that cause the whole body to be arched or flexed.  These positions aren't bad because the whole body and spine are moving in the same way, the spine is not flexing or extending at one segment.*

Mike demonstrates global extension in this yoga position, his spine is not in danger.
Photo taken at Solace New York

Torquing 

At this point you should understand that the spine should be in a braced and neutral position during activity.  Having a braced-neutral spine will give you the stability needed to create force through your hips and shoulders.  Symbiotically, if you generate enough tension and force (torque) in your extremities, you  have a better chance of  maintaining a braced spine.  Generating tension in your hips and shoulders is crucial for optimal force, power and stability during movement.  The following cues should be part of your bracing sequence and movement prep:

• Screw your feet into the ground.
• Spread the floor.
• Push your knees out.
• Activate the arch in your foot.
• Break the bar.
• Tear the floor with your hands.
• Fondle the floor (a favorite cue from handstand and pole genius Samantha Star)
• Pull the bar apart (like a magician's scarf).
• Hide your armpits (for pull-ups)
• Armpits forward (for overhead pressing).
• Elbow pits forward (for push-ups and dips).

When you rotate your hips and shoulders into an 'on' position, they become powerful and stable.  If you create torque before you move, you can get away with missing a small bit of flexion or extension range of motion.  For example, if you don't have great hip flexion, but have excellent hip rotation/torque you will be able to lift an object safely and productively.  If you are missing shoulder or hip rotation, stabilizing your spine and generating force becomes exceedingly difficult.  

It is important to have your legs squeezed together when performing upper body movements and your shoulders screwed in when performing lower body movements.  Failing to do either leaks tension and force all over the gym floor.  It is also important to move with feet and hands (when performing push-ups, etc) facing forward, not turned out.  Squatting, for example, with turned out feet makes it impossible to facilitate hip tension.  Make a stable point to generate torque off of, a forward facing foot or hand.

Start good, finish better
Setting up your movements with spinal stability and torque at the hips and shoulders is just as important as finishing them in the same manner.  Movement has a start position and a finish position, the middle, where most movement occurs, is called the transition.  The transition is a product of the start and finish position.  If you have a poor start position and a good finish position or vice versa, your transition will be negatively affected.  For example, if your setup and bracing sequence is perfect but your squats still look and feel like crap, look at your bottom position.  The bottom of your squat should have knees out, shoulders screwed in and spine intact.  If you can't get into a good bottom position, you are either lacking end range mobility in your ankles, hips or thoracic spine, or you aren't strong enough to maintain the proper position under load.

Kyle demonstrates a good start and finish to his squat.
Photo taken at Solace New York

Mike demonstrates a really bad quarter squat bottom position.
Photo taken at Crunch 34th street 

Movement inventory

Now it is time for you to take inventory and responsibility for your movements.  Good positioning looks like this:

• Breathing diagrammatically
• Spine braced and neutral
• Torque at hips and shoulders
• Feet and hands forward

Poor movement and positioning signs:

• Chest breathing
• Local extension or flexion in spine
• Hips or shoulders internally rotated (except the back leg in a lunge or jumping prep)
• Feet and hands spiraled out
• Knees in, elbows flared

Look at movement and positioning as step one in your mobilization journey.  Once you understand how to be in good positions, you will have less pain, more mobility and power.  Digest and apply this information and you will be ready to learn about mobilization techniques.  If you sat while reading this, get up and move around.