The Health Box Magazine April 2014

EXERCISE TRAINING YOUR TRUNK THE RIGHT WAY D ebate continues to rage over the ever popular ‘crunch’ or ‘sit up’ and rotational core exercises. Gyms goers continue to train the spine movements of flexion and rotation. The question is what’s right and what’s wrong? The 3 parts of the spine discussed in this article are the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine all of which have varying degrees of movement and functions on the body. Jono will be taking us through a 3 part series on back strengthening, with his top exercises featured once a month The biggest myth in the fitness industry is that hours of crunches and sit-ups will give you a highly definitive 6 pack! This is false! Abs start and end in the kitchen, what you’re feeding yourself and the way your body controls hormones when you eat is highly dependent on whether or not you’re going to have abs. Because of this misunderstanding it leads many individuals and health professionals to poorly construct spinal exercises that end up causing pain and possibly disc injuries. The cervical has 7 vertebras (spinal bones) and is designed to support the head whilst providing What is important is controlling the range of the ability to flex, extend and rotate. motion we have, rather then forcing the spine into crazy positions it wasn’t designed to go to. Next is the thoracic spine, it has 12 vertebrae’s and once again is designed to flex, extend and We need to understand that training the trunk is aid rotation (around 500). about incorporating total body movements that force us to reactively stabilise. Rather than bendLastly is the lumbar spine, As we move down ing our back over and over in the bid for a crazy into this region of the spine it is here that we lose 6 pack our ability to rotate, flex and extend due to physDoing things the right way will mean less injuiological make up of the vertebrae’s. ries when we exercise. Wouldn’t that be great! So what does this actually mean and how does this apply when we exercise? Expert Author: Jono Freeman Accredited Exercise Physiologist Health, Rehabilitation and Athletic Performance jonofreeman.com.au © 2014 The Health Box Magazine THE HEALTH BOX APRIL 2014

The Health Box Magazine April 2014 | Page 10