Okay..here is Part 2 of my article. Please look for my website featured in the June edition of Fitness Management!
An efficient human body (meaning one without congenital functional restrictions or history of injury, surgery, or mental trauma) should be able to perform five basic primal movements learned within the first 4 years of life. The 5 basic functions of human performance translated into exercise are:
1.) Squat
2.) Lunge
3.) Step-Up
4.) Push-up
5.) Ab Crunch
Squat
The squat is performed in most sporting situations. However, it is also performed by GPC with every visit to the lavatory. You laugh, but this is why these 5 exercises are deemed “primal”. The human body should be able to perform these exercises if there is no congenital defect, function altering injury, or neurological impedance. The squat exercise involves bilateral, symmetrical, and functional mobility of the hips, knees, and ankles. The ability to perform the squat correctly requires appropriate pelvic rhythm, closed-chain dorsiflexion of the ankles, flexion of the knees and hips, and extension of the thoracic spine.
Lunge
The lunge is another primal movement that puts the body in a position that will focus on the stresses as simulated during rotational, decelerating, and lateral movements. The lunge places the lower body in a “scissored” position—similar to walking, jogging, and running—and requires stability in the stance leg (ankle, knee and hip) and closed chain hip abduction. The difficulty with the lunge in GPC’s is the lack of stability due to the rotational stress imposed. Bottom line...master the lunge and you are on your way to improve your walking and running mechanics. If you do that? Hello speed and elusiveness.
Step-up
Another primal movement that simulates activities of daily living (walking up and down stairs, overcoming curbs, getting in and out of a car) is the step-up. The step up helps in challenging the body’s stride mechanics using proper coordination and stability between the hips and torso. The step up is perfect for assessing bilateral function mobility and stability of the hips, knees, and ankles. In addition, the step-up exercise also involves adequate balance because of the demand for dynamic stability.
Push-up
This upper body closed chain exercise is the single best primal movement for upper body performance improvement. The push-up stresses trunk stability in the sagittal plane. Many activities require the trunk stabilizers to transfer force symmetrically from the upper extremities to the lower extremities and vice versa. If the trunk lacks stability, energy will disperse leading to poor functional performance, and increased chance of chronic injury. I have always been a fan of teaching clients the same cue’s I instruct them with, so that when they perform these exercises alone, they can visualize that correct positioning that I would request. One deviation from what I desire in a push-up is the “clothesline-effect”. This is characterized by the client getting into a
standard push-up position and performing 2-3 reps before witnessing the neck jut forward, and the abdominals fall down as if they are leading the exercise with the mid-section. In the same manner as a clothesline that has too many wet clothes in the center and both ends are stable. The “straight line” disappears. We want to maintain that line beginning with the trunk. Ideally, all GPC should begin this exercise in the modified position with knees on floor and ankles crossed. To decrease the lever arm (in this case, the trunk) allows the client more muscular control and proper execution of cues. Once the modified version is acceptable, the standard position can commence.
Ab Crunch
How many times are you going to be on your back and perform spinal flexion? Every morning you do. Unless you are a bat and hang upside-down. The crunch gets a lot of flack because it has been regarded as non-functional to sport and is merely a cosmetic exercise. However, if properly cued, the ab crunch can help the GPC engage the abdominals while decreasing the lordotic curve and accentuating proper TVA firing. Ahh...the beginnings of core work. Think about it...every morning you get up from a 7-8 hour sleep without a warm-up and rotate your trunk. I used to have clients perform a simple task of laying supine on the floor and practicing getting up. After they would get up, they would lie back down and repeat 10-15 times! Movement times decreased in the first week. Clients got up faster and had more control.
I am very content with these five exercises. To the contrary, I would have added chin-ups (or pull-ups), but in my experience, I never had access to a stationed bar to put clients on. The chin-up is an excellent indicator of pure
upper body strength and can definitely be the sixth, but because its need for a stable bar, the factors becomes skewed (frequency and versatility). When we think of a "pulling" exercise, we automatically think of biceps, however, why wouldn't ab crunches be considered a "pulling" exercise? Aren't we "pulling" the torso away from the floor? Something to ponder...
In Part 3, I will examine each exercise and provide tips for performing and cueing correctly.
References
Cook, G. and Burton L. 2006. The Functional Movement Screen. Perform Better – The Magazine (Spring 2006): 9-11
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