Dr. Yessis Sports Training Blog

In watching the speed skaters in the Olympic Games it was rewarding to see the start used by the skaters. They do exactly what I have been preaching for many years.

In essence, you push off with the rear leg and step out with a front leg. But yet, many coaches maintain that this is incorrect. Read more… »

There was still another exercise article in the San Diego Union Tribune that left much to be desired. They describe an exercise in which you begin standing with your hands flat on the ground, legs straight, and then inch your hands away from the body until you are in a full plank position. You then do three push-ups and return by inching your way back home to the original position.

According to the article, this exercise involves the shoulders, triceps, pecs and hamstrings. It definitely involves the first three but it does not involve the hamstrings. It does however, strongly involve the abdominal muscles, which were omitted. Read more… »

Contract the abdominals. I feel confident that you will see this recommendation with just about every exercise that is being described for you to execute. It appears with regularity in many newspapers as well as fitness magazines.

For reasons that I have been unable to determine, the proponents of contracting the abdominals state that is necessary to maintain good posture, protect the spine, prevent arching of the back, create greater force and most importantly, for safe and effective execution of the exercise. But yet, I have not seen any substantiation for these statements. Read more… »

After reading the reverse sit up blog, a few readers asked if the hanging leg raise was a good substitute exercise for strengthening the lower abdominal muscles –along with the hip flexors. Both of these muscles are strongly involved in hill running as well as in sprinting.

The hanging leg raise is a good exercise, but it mainly targets the lower abdominals. The hip flexors are involved but only moderately, unless you do straight leg raises in which you have a long lever and great resistance. If you raise the knees with the legs bent there is much less resistance. Read more… »

Many runners do substantial amounts of “core” training. The core training is done in the belief that it will assist them greatly during the run and especially at the end of the run, when fatigue begins to set in. Also the core training will enable them to maintain good posture and form during the run. To a good extent this is true.

However, in order to evaluate these statements it is first necessary to define what is meant by core. Originally core meant the lumbar area of the spine and the muscles that support and maintain it. This means the abdominal and lower back muscles. Today however, it appears that this definition is being greatly expanded. Read more… »

In working with a professional baseball ( minor league) player a few days ago, I learned of a new way to increase resistance in the reverse sit up. Because of the importance of this exercise in overall gameplay and especially in running, the player wanted to find a way to increase resistance. The typical way the excise is done, was too easy for him. Read more… »

When working the abdominal muscles most players do the crunch and/or variations of the crunch which develops mainly the upper portion of the abdominal musculature. To develop the lower abdominals which play a very important role in quick movement on the field or court, you should do the reverse sit-up, sometimes called the reverse crunch.

Keep in mind that the lower abdominals play a critical role in rotating the pelvis backward. This is needed to allow the necessary forward movement of the thigh which is the key to a quick first – and second – step. The lower back muscles play the major role in rotating the pelvis forward to allow for a long push off. Read more… »

Great emphasis is placed on core strengthening (training) in the fitness industry. To strengthen the core muscles and to improve balance, free weights and advanced exercises are not recommended. Instead, the use of devices on which you balance yourself such as wobble boards, different size balls, rollers and uneven surfaces are used. However, does exercising on such equipment strengthen the core muscles to prepare you, for dynamic movements?

A decade ago, balance was considered as mostly a negative factor in the fitness exercise field. Most recommendations for doing strength exercises revolved around the use of exercise machines that were supposedly safer since they did not require balance when doing the exercise. As a result, free weights were not recommended. Read more… »

In the fitness field and in the iron game, major emphasis is placed on flexion and extension movements in the anterior-posterior plane and movements in a side or lateral plane, which includes adduction and abduction in the shoulder and/or hip joints. There is little to no emphasis placed on rotational force.

As a result, the rotational muscles of the midsection are usually underdeveloped and often become a source of injury. This happens when you inadvertently twist or turn in execution of an exercise, especially when the spine is not held in its normal anatomical position. Read more… »

Many professional golfers and athletes in other sports are turning to physical fitness to improve their games. This is done in the belief that greater fitness will translate to hitting the ball further and harder, throwing further and harder, running faster and so on. Very few, however, are doing specialized strength and flexibility exercises that duplicate the joint actions seen in execution of the game skills.

Most athletes do general fitness type exercises to get the body stronger and more fit cardiovascularly. This helps improve your game especially when playing in the latter half of the game, but not to the extent that specialized strength exercises can benefit you. Read more… »

When working abdominals, most players do the crunch and/or variations of the crunch which develops mainly the upper portion of the abdominal musculature. To develop the lower abdominals which play a very important role in quick movement on the field or court, you should do the reverse sit-up, sometimes called the reverse crunch.

To execute, lie on your back on an exercise mat or carpeted floor. Keep your arms alongside your body with the palms down and raise your thighs with your knees bent until the upper legs are vertical. This is the starting position. Read more… »

When dealing with abdominal development many trainers use exercises executed on a physioball (Swiss ball or simply a large inflated ball). When using the physioball however, you should keep in mind that many muscles contract isometrically merely to maintain your balance. In other words, many muscles including the abdominals, come into play to maintain your position on the ball.

Because you must position your body on the ball, you automatically decrease the amount of freedom possible when moving the body or limbs. As a result, most exercises are done through a shortened range of motion. If you attempt to do an exercise through a full range of motion, you will invariably roll off the ball.
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The effectiveness of abdominal exercises such as the traditional crunch, modified crunch and exercises using gym and home exercise equipment were tested in a recent study. In first place was the bicycle maneuver in which you lie on your back and imitate riding a bicycle.

This study is questionable since it only examined a few exercises that are very limited or similar in nature. For example they did not test the reverse trunk twist, Russian twist, seated sit ups, or reverse sit ups which many can consider to be most effective. In addition, the study did not differentiate between development of the different sections of the abdominal muscles.
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