Core Training
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Copyright© 2010 by Dave Schmitz All Rights Reserved No portion of this manual may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including fax, photocopy, recording or any informational storage and retrieval system by anyone but the purchaser for their own personal use. This manual may not be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Dave Schmitz, except in the case of a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages for the sake of a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or journal – any of these cases require written approval from Dave Schmitz prior to publication.
For more information on resistance band training or other products please contact:
Dave Schmitz at: [email protected]
Dave Schmitz Websites: www.resistancebandtraining.com ©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Disclaimer
The information in this manual is offered for educational purposes only. The reader should be cautioned that there is an inherent risk assumed by the participant with any form of physical activity. With this in mind, those participating in strength and conditioning programs should check with their physician prior to initiating such activities. Anyone participating in these activities should understand that such training and stretching initiatives may be dangerous if performed incorrectly. The author assumes no liability for injury; this is purely an educational manual to guide those already proficient with the demands of such programming.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
"Core Training" With Resistance Band
Defining the core as it relates to movement and function in baseball The core is made up of the lower abdominals, pelvic, and hip (LPH) muscles. Often the mid back and neck muscles are also considered part of the core due to their role in postural control. Based on function, core muscles can also be considered postural muscles or postural stabilizers. However, for sake of this manual the focus will be primarily on the abdominal region, but, realize the entire postural stabilizing system will be involved. Knowing how important the hips are to baseball, it becomes obvious the abdominals are going to play a significant role.
A few facts about the abdominal or core muscles
The Core muscles are no different than any other muscles of the body They are reactors not contractors. They respond to changes driven by momentum, ground reaction and gravity They must be loaded before they can explode They must be lengthened to some degree before a concentric force will be produced. They must be “proprioceptively turned on” first They must have the ability to lengthen which means arms and legs must be involved Pain will inhibit loading Muscle control occurs by getting stationary (isometric control) first, than control with mobility before developing total movement integrated control…. Control – Rhythm – Power
Function of the Core Dynamically, the core, maintains the body's center of gravity (COG) over its base of support (BOS). Simply stated, it keeps us balanced over our feet by controlling how far the body's COG moves forward, backward, sideways, or rotationally. Individuals that have a weak core often are unable to let their arms and legs move aggressively ©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
through large amplitude movements because the momentum knocks them off balance. Aggressive actions of the extremity as seen with throwing, sprinting or swinging in baseball creates greater momentum force which reflexively challenges the core to stabilize more. This in turn also increases the forces created by ground reaction forces as the foot contacts the ground. All together these forces will increase core activity while challenging the core to maintain the body’s COG over a changing base of support.
Swinging your arms and legs like in running is a perfect example of aggressive extremity action. Since extremity movement is what drives our body's ability to move fast, either linearly or laterally, it is safe to say the core is truly "the Engine" that makes all integrated movement occur. Without a dynamically stabilizing core, the body will inhibit aggressive large amplitude extremity movement, which in turn results in decreased swinging, throwing and running power.
Anatomy of the Core Like all muscles the core muscles follow a multi-planar 3-dimensional configuration. This is critical information to consider when developing a reactive core strength and conditioning program for baseball. Also it should be noted that either directly or indirectly (muscle attaching to muscles) all muscles of the body attach into the abdominal region. Therefore anatomically the key to developing and training the core muscles (in this case the abdominals) is to incorporate multi-plane, total body movements that are driven from the extremities in both a top down or bottom up fashion.
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Understanding the “Abdominals" as it they relate to Baseball Performance “Eliminating the Abdominal Myths in Baseball” What are the most common misconceptions or myths about training the abdominals for baseball? 1. Abdominal isolated exercises will magically create better on the field core strength and function 2. Lying down is the best way to train the abdominals for baseball 3. Flexing the spine as seen with crunches or sit-ups are the key exercises to developing the abdominals as it relates to enhancing baseball performance 4. Abdominal muscles are different than other muscles of the body and therefore should be strengthened differently 5. Twisting the trunk is a must when training the core muscles for baseball The abdominals are the least understood muscles of the body and yet functionally it is the heart and soul of our ability to move effectively and create power when needed. Let’s begin to understanding how to best train this region by addressing the above myths first.
Abdominal isolated exercises will magically create better on the field core strength and function
The core muscles are not separate from the rest of the body. Training the abdominals in isolation will ultimately teach them how NOT to react to the upper and lower extremities. Therefore the worst way to train the abdominal muscles is by eliminating upper and lower body movement. Doing a consistent ground based interval strengthening program and a high intensity cardio program will do more, to strengthen the abdominals and prepare them for the rigors of baseball, than any sit-up or side crunch variation.
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Lying down is the best way to train the abdominals for baseball Fact 1: Baseball is played on our feet 99% of the time. Fact 2: Jumping, hopping, stopping, reaching and sprinting are the actions that happen in baseball and are when most injuries occur Fact 3: Lack of abdominal strength is a key reason why 90% of the baseball athletes will suffer a low back injury sometime in their career Fact 4: Sit-ups or crunches are the most common abdominal exercise performed in baseball training facilities Fact 5: Carrying additional fat around the waist does not enhance baseball performance These facts tell me we are not training the abdominal region correctly. Our body is designed to function in an upright, standing position. Therefore, all our muscles including our abdominals function best in an upright position. Training a muscle the way it is designed to function, makes it a stronger, leaner and faster reacting muscle. Our body is designed for upright locomotion.
Flexing the spine as seen with crunches or sit-ups are the key exercises to developing the abdominal region as it relates to enhancing baseball performance
Stand up and bend over to touch the floor. Did your abdominals feel like they contracted? Probably not very much… Why not???? Gravity assisted your upper trunk to the floor. Therefore your abdominal muscles did not have to work. As a result, spending time doing sit-ups or crunches is time spent on something that functionally is given to you for free when in standing. Throwing a ball, running, and swinging a bat are not performed in a bent over flexed spine position or in lying. Why would we train the abdominal muscles in that posture to enhance baseball performance if we do not use that posture??
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Also, research shows us that spinal flexion, along with rotation, are the most common motions that lead to spinal disc herniations which is something that can quickly end a baseball career.
Trunk muscles are different than other muscles of the body and should be trained differently Trunk muscles are just as dumb as all the other muscles of the body. They do not consciously respond or think. They react to functionally based drivers which primarily include forces created from the arms and legs that influence the impact of gravity, ground reaction, and momentum. By training the abdominals with artificially force driven machine or equipment will not teach the body how to effectively recruit the abdominals on the field and therefore negatively impact performance as well as lead to potential injury. In reality the best abdominal exercises are sprinting, throwing and swinging once isometric stability is effectively achieved. Anatomically 3 out of the 4 abdominal muscles follow a diagonal or rotational pattern. Yet most traditional abdominal exercises are performed in a sagital (forward – backward) plane or using weighted objects like dumbbells, medballs or kettlebells that only creates a vertical force vector. To optimally train and prepare the abdominals to react in baseball, using tools that create diagonal or horizontal force vectors is a must.
Twisting the trunk is a must when training the abdominal muscles for baseball As we proceed in this manual, it will become increasing obvious that the abdominals play a much greater role in slowing down the trunk then they do accelerating it. However often what is seen when it comes to training the abdominals for baseball are movements that lock in the feet and cause the low back to actively twist over a rigid base of support.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Swinging and throwing are not performed with lower body locked down. In reality the lower body typically initiates the movement. As for swinging a bat, it is really the hips loading through the ground before moving forward which than initiates the arms to move forward.
In baseball, if the feet are right, everything else works well
Twisting or rotational movements of the spine, done with poor weight shifting, will create unnecessary stress to the joints and soft tissues of the low back and probably lead to soft tissue breakdown.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Understanding the “Trunk" as it relates to Baseball Performance “Developing Abdominal Integration not Isolation” The abdominal muscles are very dumb and function just like all your other muscles….
…They React not just Contract!
Muscles like the abdominals “React (or become loaded) as a result of forces created by gravity, momentum and ground reaction. They don’t just contract by themselves or by conscious recruitment. Instead they respond to movements of your arms, legs, and especially the hips. This initial reaction loads or lengthens the abdominal muscles which in turn neuromuscularly activates them to respond and create force.
Muscles that are not turned on by loading first do not respond effectively
Let’s take a look at jumping as an example. In order to jump vertically, an individual must load their lower torso by squatting and swing their arms back. The higher the “intended” jump, the greater the greater the squat and arm reach. If you don’t squat and swing your arms back, you can’t jump very high. Optimal strength along with this sequencing of movements creates a muscle reaction that in turn creates an explosive jump. If sequencing is off, vertical jump will be less than optimal regardless how strong the athlete is. You can use the same analogy for any baseball movement. As a result, if you really want to train your abdominal muscles for baseball, you better be training them to load quickly and efficiently while simulating baseball postures and not just consciously contracting them with a sit-up or crunch.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
How do I load the abs??? To best understand how to load or lengthen the abdominal muscles, we must first understand the direction that the abdominal muscles run. 3 out of the 4 key abdominal muscles (internal obliques, external obliques and transverse abdominus) al run either in a horizontal or diagonal direction with a “top to bottom” orientation. Therefore, to optimally load or lengthen the key abdominal muscles we will need to drive them into a slight side bending, rotation and extension by using upper and lower extremity movements.
Try this!! Stand up, stagger your feet about 3 to 4 feet apart with the right leg forward. Make sure you can keep your balance. Reach up like you are trying to touch the ceiling. You should feel your abdominal muscles drawing in towards your spine. Now reach slightly back taking the weight off your right front foot. You should feel your trunk immediately tighten and become loaded. If you attempted this you may have felt your low back arch or begin to tighten up. You may also have felt the front part of your left hip stretch, your rib cage muscles stretch or your shoulder blades pinch. This will occur as a result of compensations that include:
The key abdominals not being strong enough to slow down your upper torso momentum, thus the low back is allowed to over-extend or excessively arch. If your hip flexors or quadriceps muscles (which attach into your lower spine) are restricted due to poor dynamic flexibility, they will not allow the lower abdominals to lengthen from the bottom up. If you have tight anterior hip structures, your abdominals will need to fight against that resistance in order to effectively load. If the lower abdominals are weak or not strong enough to overcome this tightness, they give up and subsequently allow the low back to hyperextend and compensate.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Lastly, if the latissimus dorsi (which is also attached into your lower spine) is tight, the low back will again compensate into excessive extension to effectively position the arms behind the head. Knowing this, the role of the abdominal muscles must be to prevent excessive low back extension or “arching”. If that is what you thought, you would be exactly correct. That is a significant contradiction if you look at what a sit-up or straight leg raise does. Actually the role of the lower abdominal muscles (specifically the internal obliques, external obliques, and transverse abdominus) is to control or decelerate lower spine rotation, extension and side bending.
The lower abdominals are “Not” designed to create motion, which is what a sit-up or crunch does. They are designed to stabilize or decelerate motion and prevent end range joint trauma to the lower spine.
This statement will provide us the key to understanding and designing a functionally reactive abdominal training program using resistance bands.
3 other key elements to “Developing a Reactive Abdominal Band Training program” 1. You should exercise your abdominals in weight-bearing or partial weight-bearing postures all of the time 2. Your upper and lower extremities should be moving and/or assisting with stabilizing 3. Think “deceleration or loading first” when training the abdominals 4. Train abdominal should always occur in multi-planes 5. Abdominal training should not create low back pain or compensations
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Understanding the Trunk Getting your Abs to “React not Just Contract” to effectively train for Baseball
Muscles don’t think they simply react to momentum, gravity or ground reaction forces that are transferred through your arms and legs. The faster and more efficient muscles react and load when driven, the leaner, stronger and more developed they become. Many trainers, baseball coaches, and athletes understand the role of the abdominals as it relates to static or isometric stabilization. However, often the concept of training the abdominals by applying the use of momentum or ground reaction forces, transferred through the upper or lower extremities, is typically not well understood and effectively implemented in a baseball training program. Training the trunk only as an isometric stabilizer is not going to create a reactive trunk in standing and subsequently will not prepare the body’s abdominals to optimally handle baseball movements effectively.
Taking advantage of the Feed Forward System Your key abdominals, especially your deep transverse abdominus (TA), are neurologically set up to actually fire or react a split second before actual movement occurs. This is known as a “Feed Forward” system and for the most part is only found in the neuromuscular make-up of the key abdominals. That said movement is a must to getting the abdominals to react effectively.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Getting Your Abdominals Reacting Getting your abdominals to react comes down to following these 4 principles of functional movement.
1. All muscles must be loaded and lengthened before they can react and produce force. Therefore focus on the load not just the explode. 2. Muscles are best turned on in weight-bearing since this is the posture and position our body was designed to function in. 3. Muscles must be turned on by utilizing drivers like momentum (or speed), ground reaction forces (or weight shifting) and gravity (or body weight). This will occur by creating extremity driven movements using multi-vector resistance. 4. You must train muscles to react to force vectors that occur in all planes of motion.
Why Bands??? The elastic nature of resistance bands accelerates momentum, speeds up gravity, and challenges ground “reaction time”. Training with bands subsequently trains muscles to react faster with improved integration as they learn how to effectively handle these changes. Bands also allow you to challenge muscles in all planes of movement and multiple force vectors. Bands are not gravity dependant like weights, med balls or kettlebells and therefore can simulate functional drivers more consistently. Lastly, bands increase resistance as you work further into the range of motion. This in turn creates greater effort at the end of movement which forces muscles to work harder to actively lengthen.
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Secondly, the accelerated rebound you incur as you return out of the concentric phase of the movement will cause the body to reactively stabilize on every rep due to the accelerated eccentric force.
How do I implement resistance band training into my abdominal training program?? First remember, that if you are always training in standing, every exercise is an abdominal reacting exercise. However isometric stability must occur first. Therefore the best place to begin a reactive abdominal training program is with plank isometric with bands providing the proprioceptive feedback (tactile sensation) at the low back. This feedback can occur as either an assisted or resisted training stimulus. Initially many abdominal weak individuals need assistance to develop an appreciation for where their trunk must be positioned to effectively activate the abdominals and avoid postural compensation.
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Assisted Isometric Stabilization
Applying the band at the Anterior Superior Iliac Spine (ASIS) – front hip bones will provide less band irritation and better proprioceptive feedback.
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Once this appreciation is developed through assisted band training, it is time to remove the bands begin developing good body weight control against gravity.
Body Weight Isometric Training
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Once individuals can demonstrate effective isometric control by holding each position for 60 seconds, applying a resistance band for additional resistance is an effective way to increase trunk isometric stabilization endurance.
Band Abdominal Isometric Training
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Once able to demonstrate good floor stabilization, taking this similar isometric approach to a standing posture is the next step. This will now bring in ground reaction forces from the “bottom up” as well as horizontal vector forces from the band. It is very important to key in on posture and positioning as it relates to shoulder, pelvis, low back and base of support as indicated with the black line. Again these are simple isometric exercises with no movement occurring.
Standing Isometric Trunk RBT (Band only)
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Dowel-Band Isometric Training
Incorporating a similar isometric training in standing using a band connected to a dowel or baseball bat allows you to increase the force producing lever arm.
Dowel-Band training also provides great visual feedback to athlete. Essentially the dowel reflects an athlete’s pelvic alignment. If the dowel is moving or not maintaining a good level position that is a strong indication the abdominals are not maintaining good isometric control. Lastly the dowel provides a means of implementing a rotational vector by placing the dowel parallel with the frontal plane and loading only one end of the dowel. This immediately creates a rotational force vector that will activate the opposite side abdominals. Considering baseball is a unilaterally dominated swinging and throwing sport, this simple dowel-band training sequence is very functionally effective at training the abdominals.
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Developing a Reactive Abdominals with Resistance Band Kick-outs The role of the abdominal muscles (especially the lower abs) is to maintain your center of gravity (COG) over your base of support (BOS). Therefore if we change your base of support by going from 2 legs to 1 leg, your abdominal muscles immediately activate with greater force. By increasing the lever arm or the distance from the Point of Resistance (POR) to your COG (usually near the navel), the abdominals once again are asked to react more aggressively. The Kick-out Drill or dynamic single leg balance drill is a great way to develop dynamic trunk control in a safe, slow and effective manner. By incorporating a mirror it also becomes a great self teaching technique. The goal of the Kick-out Drills is to maintain your body in line with the moving leg. This will automatically cause the trunk to decelerate lumbar extension or low back arching. Forward bending of the upper torso as well as side bending or hyperextension of the lumbar spine during the kick out motion is considered compensation and a sign of weak lower abs. Correcting these compensations by decreasing the amplitude of the kick-out and increasing the focus on the lumbar spine will usually eliminate these compensations quickly. The key to maintaining a solid posture is to emphasize a long reach with a gradual increase in speed and amplitude of movement. Speed + length + an increased lever arm all create a greater stabilization demand.
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Short arm Single Leg Kick-outs
Extended Lever Arm Kick-out By extending the arms out into full extension you now increase the lever arm and make the abdominal immediately become more active. This will create a greater force at your center of gravity, causing increased need for abdominal stabilize. Make sure to monitor the low back as it relates to arching or side bending.
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Dowel – Band Stabilization Adding a dowel to this simple exercise immediately increases the lever arm making the abdominals once again increase recruitment. Make sure you securely attach the band onto the end of the dowel to avoid it slipping off.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Getting Total Abdominals Integrated Reaction Using Resistance Bands With isometric control and mobility control using kick-outs now mastered, it is time to develop a total abdominal integrated reaction. For many years it was felt that if the abdominals were isometrically strong, functionally your abs were in great shape. However, if you bench press 400 pounds does that make you a good offensive lineman? Obviously the answer is no. You must be able to harness that strength and integrate it into “usable strength”. The same is true for the abdominals. Isometric strength is important but you must be able to harness that isometric strength and integrate it into functional movements. In the case of baseball, that means making sure you have reactive abdominals when it comes to swinging, throwing and fielding. The lumbar spine can provide a small percentage of movement in all planes of motion. Therefore training only isometric strength will NOT create “on the fly” dynamic deceleration control of the center of gravity. This is easily accomplished using the Band Overhead Step Matrix. The key to these drills is rhythm and timing. When the foot contacts the ground, the abdominals must reflexively engage and protect the lumbar spine from traveling to far. The overhead position will pre-load the abdominals from the “top down” while the stepping action drives the abdominals to react from the “bottom up”. This multidirectional driving of the abdominals is exactly what happens when it comes to throwing or swinging. If the Band Overhead Step Matrix is effectively performed you will see:
No loss of balance during the stepping action No secondary steps upon returning to the starting position No Low back collapsing, hyperextension or tightness felt A tall “Pillar” like posture with no deviations occurring at the waist A smooth rhythmic movement pattern when going from deceleration to acceleration
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Essentially what you are seeing is the abdominals ability to quickly load, decelerate and convert that into an explosive accelerated movement.
Band Overhead Step Matrix Again we will implement the same overhead position as used with the kick-outs. However now instead of kicking out, you will perform a backwards step, lateral step, or a rotational drop step while maintaining your hands directly over your head in a tall posture. As your foot contacts the ground, ground reaction forces cause the abdominals to react instantly. This reaction, decelerates the lumbar spine, loads it and allows the body to accelerate back to the starting position. To get optimal abdominal reaction, the arm must remain fully extended. As you perfect this movement, you may begin to let the arms release backwards which now creates additional momentum and abdominal reaction from the top down. Finally by releasing the trail foot off the ground, it will create a smaller base of support which in turn will create a greater need for abdominal reactive stabilization.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Band Only Step Matrix
Drop Step
Step Back
Lateral Step
Step Matrix with Dowel & Band
Drop Step
Backwards Step
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Lateral Step
Multi-Vector Reactive Abdominal Band Training
The final abdominal reactive progression is to now create force vector at the hip while continuing to create an upper torso driver with the original band. This is an example of multi-vector band training with the abdominals being the target.
Drop Step
Lateral Step
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Backwards Step
Dowel-Band Multi-vector Step Matrix
Drop Step Backwards Step
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Start Position
Lateral Step
Drop Step
This is a highly advanced training approach that will challenge the abdominals and hip musculature to become integrated stabilizers of the lumbar spine while maintaining optimal control of your Center of Gravity.
Special Note: Even though some of the movements may not reflect exactly the movements of baseball, from a neuromuscular standpoint, the body will easily carry over the same reaction with “on the field" movements.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Final thoughts on Developing a REACTIVE Core 1. Speed kills Control, Rhythm, then Speed…. When you are first learning to load the abdominals make sure you progress carefully and do not accept low back pain as a part of the exercise. These are not a low back exercise…. …These are low back protection exercises If your abdominals are well integrated and are not being over challenged by tight anterior hip structures or to strong of a band, your low back will not feel a thing except the joy of not being asked to compensate.
2. Load with a band you can handle Even though your extremities can handle the load this does not mean your abdominals can. Pay attention to foot work, balance, low back control and ground contact force. Keep your foot contact soft and your body posture looking long and strong. Typically a simple red or orange band is all that is needed.
3. Isometric strength can never be too strong Developing weight-bearing integrated abdominal stability is the goal. But continually increasing isometric abdominal strength will only help ground reaction stability. Continually challenge your isometric strength. Do not go strictly with weight-bearing stabilization once you have reached the initial isometric goals.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
4. Load in all planes It is important to make sure you create multi-plane reactive abdominals. Avoid over training in just the sagital plane. Challenge frontal and rotational planes equally and often. The abdominals are three dimensional and must be trained accordingly.
5. It is all in the load When training the abdominals, remember it’s all about the load. How your abdominals handle deceleration and being driven in the opposite direction of the intended movement is far more important than the final movement. In other words, it not the swing, it’s how fast and efficient the body loaded for the swing. It’s not the throw, it’s how well the body loaded up for the throw.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Functionally Training the Abdominals Resistance Band Abdominal Workouts
The following workouts will help you begin to reactively train your core muscles and bring them up to reactive speed quickly
Workout #1
Plank-Band Isometric Workout
Prone Plank Lateral Plank Right Lateral Plank Left 30 seconds on 10 seconds off x 3 each position. Add stability ball for added stabilization.
Workout #2 Extended Mobility Plank
Push up Position Plank hold x 30 Sec. on 10 sec. off performing each exercise 6 time Mountain Climber Lateral hip Drops Right Lateral Hip Drops Left Lateral Mountain Climber
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Workout #3 Band Overhead Kick-outs
30 sec on 10 sec off x 3 sets of all of all 3 positions Facing away Lateral Right Lateral Left
Workout #4
Dowel-Band Step Matrix
Keep dowel in an isometric Horizontal position, Vertical position, or Three-quarter position and perform these 3 movements x 45 sec. on each arm x 2 sets
Alternating Back step Alternating Lateral Step Alternating Drop Step
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
_____________________________________________________________________
Who is Dave Schmitz??
Dave is a Licensed Physical Therapist, CSCS, LAT and PES who since 1997 has continued to perfect the art of Reactive Resistance Band Training (RBT) while training all levels from professional athletes to fitness minded individuals and youth. He has written several articles, E-books and created 4 DVDs all exclusively devoted to resistance band training. He lectures nationally to physical therapist, fitness professionals and coaches on the role of RBT in enhancing human movement and performance.
You can learn more about Dave and his work at www.resistancebandtraining.com
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Copyright© 2010 by Dave Schmitz All Rights Reserved No portion of this manual may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including fax, photocopy, recording or any informational storage and retrieval system by anyone but the purchaser for their own personal use. This manual may not be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Dave Schmitz, except in the case of a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages for the sake of a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or journal – any of these cases require written approval from Dave Schmitz prior to publication.
For more information on resistance band training or other products please contact:
Dave Schmitz at: [email protected]
Dave Schmitz Websites: www.resistancebandtraining.com ©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Disclaimer
The information in this manual is offered for educational purposes only. The reader should be cautioned that there is an inherent risk assumed by the participant with any form of physical activity. With this in mind, those participating in strength and conditioning programs should check with their physician prior to initiating such activities. Anyone participating in these activities should understand that such training and stretching initiatives may be dangerous if performed incorrectly. The author assumes no liability for injury; this is purely an educational manual to guide those already proficient with the demands of such programming.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
"Core Training" With Resistance Band
Defining the core as it relates to movement and function in baseball The core is made up of the lower abdominals, pelvic, and hip (LPH) muscles. Often the mid back and neck muscles are also considered part of the core due to their role in postural control. Based on function, core muscles can also be considered postural muscles or postural stabilizers. However, for sake of this manual the focus will be primarily on the abdominal region, but, realize the entire postural stabilizing system will be involved. Knowing how important the hips are to baseball, it becomes obvious the abdominals are going to play a significant role.
A few facts about the abdominal or core muscles
The Core muscles are no different than any other muscles of the body They are reactors not contractors. They respond to changes driven by momentum, ground reaction and gravity They must be loaded before they can explode They must be lengthened to some degree before a concentric force will be produced. They must be “proprioceptively turned on” first They must have the ability to lengthen which means arms and legs must be involved Pain will inhibit loading Muscle control occurs by getting stationary (isometric control) first, than control with mobility before developing total movement integrated control…. Control – Rhythm – Power
Function of the Core Dynamically, the core, maintains the body's center of gravity (COG) over its base of support (BOS). Simply stated, it keeps us balanced over our feet by controlling how far the body's COG moves forward, backward, sideways, or rotationally. Individuals that have a weak core often are unable to let their arms and legs move aggressively ©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
through large amplitude movements because the momentum knocks them off balance. Aggressive actions of the extremity as seen with throwing, sprinting or swinging in baseball creates greater momentum force which reflexively challenges the core to stabilize more. This in turn also increases the forces created by ground reaction forces as the foot contacts the ground. All together these forces will increase core activity while challenging the core to maintain the body’s COG over a changing base of support.
Swinging your arms and legs like in running is a perfect example of aggressive extremity action. Since extremity movement is what drives our body's ability to move fast, either linearly or laterally, it is safe to say the core is truly "the Engine" that makes all integrated movement occur. Without a dynamically stabilizing core, the body will inhibit aggressive large amplitude extremity movement, which in turn results in decreased swinging, throwing and running power.
Anatomy of the Core Like all muscles the core muscles follow a multi-planar 3-dimensional configuration. This is critical information to consider when developing a reactive core strength and conditioning program for baseball. Also it should be noted that either directly or indirectly (muscle attaching to muscles) all muscles of the body attach into the abdominal region. Therefore anatomically the key to developing and training the core muscles (in this case the abdominals) is to incorporate multi-plane, total body movements that are driven from the extremities in both a top down or bottom up fashion.
©Copyright 2010 “Reactive Core Training for Baseball” (www.resistancebandtraining.com™)
Understanding the “Abdominals" as it they relate to Baseball Performance “Eliminating the Abdominal Myths in Baseball” What are the most common misconceptions or myths about training the abdominals for baseball? 1. Abdominal isolated exercises will magically create better on the field core strength and function 2. Lying down is the best way to train the abdominals for baseball 3. Flexing the spine as seen with crunches or sit-ups are the key exercises to developing the abdominals as it relates to enhancing baseball performance 4. Abdominal muscles are different than other muscles of the body and therefore should be strengthened differently 5. Twisting the trunk is a must when training the core muscles for baseball The abdominals are the least understood muscles of the body and yet functionally it is the heart and soul of our ability to move effectively and create power when needed. Let’s begin to understanding how to best train this region by addressing the above myths first.
Abdominal isolated exercises will magically create better on the field core strength and function
The core muscles are not separate from the rest of the body. Training the abdominals in isolation will ultimately teach them how NOT to react to the upper and lower extremities. Therefore the worst way to train the abdominal muscles is by eliminating upper and lower body movement. Doing a consistent ground based interval strengthening program and a high intensity cardio program will do more, to strengthen the abdominals and prepare them for the rigors of baseball, than any sit-up or side crunch variation.
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Lying down is the best way to train the abdominals for baseball Fact 1: Baseball is played on our feet 99% of the time. Fact 2: Jumping, hopping, stopping, reaching and sprinting are the actions that happen in baseball and are when most injuries occur Fact 3: Lack of abdominal strength is a key reason why 90% of the baseball athletes will suffer a low back injury sometime in their career Fact 4: Sit-ups or crunches are the most common abdominal exercise performed in baseball training facilities Fact 5: Carrying additional fat around the waist does not enhance baseball performance These facts tell me we are not training the abdominal region correctly. Our body is designed to function in an upright, standing position. Therefore, all our muscles including our abdominals function best in an upright position. Training a muscle the way it is designed to function, makes it a stronger, leaner and faster reacting muscle. Our body is designed for upright locomotion.
Flexing the spine as seen with crunches or sit-ups are the key exercises to developing the abdominal region as it relates to enhancing baseball performance
Stand up and bend over to touch the floor. Did your abdominals feel like they contracted? Probably not very much… Why not???? Gravity assisted your upper trunk to the floor. Therefore your abdominal muscles did not have to work. As a result, spending time doing sit-ups or crunches is time spent on something that functionally is given to you for free when in standing. Throwing a ball, running, and swinging a bat are not performed in a bent over flexed spine position or in lying. Why would we train the abdominal muscles in that posture to enhance baseball performance if we do not use that posture??
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Also, research shows us that spinal flexion, along with rotation, are the most common motions that lead to spinal disc herniations which is something that can quickly end a baseball career.
Trunk muscles are different than other muscles of the body and should be trained differently Trunk muscles are just as dumb as all the other muscles of the body. They do not consciously respond or think. They react to functionally based drivers which primarily include forces created from the arms and legs that influence the impact of gravity, ground reaction, and momentum. By training the abdominals with artificially force driven machine or equipment will not teach the body how to effectively recruit the abdominals on the field and therefore negatively impact performance as well as lead to potential injury. In reality the best abdominal exercises are sprinting, throwing and swinging once isometric stability is effectively achieved. Anatomically 3 out of the 4 abdominal muscles follow a diagonal or rotational pattern. Yet most traditional abdominal exercises are performed in a sagital (forward – backward) plane or using weighted objects like dumbbells, medballs or kettlebells that only creates a vertical force vector. To optimally train and prepare the abdominals to react in baseball, using tools that create diagonal or horizontal force vectors is a must.
Twisting the trunk is a must when training the abdominal muscles for baseball As we proceed in this manual, it will become increasing obvious that the abdominals play a much greater role in slowing down the trunk then they do accelerating it. However often what is seen when it comes to training the abdominals for baseball are movements that lock in the feet and cause the low back to actively twist over a rigid base of support.
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Swinging and throwing are not performed with lower body locked down. In reality the lower body typically initiates the movement. As for swinging a bat, it is really the hips loading through the ground before moving forward which than initiates the arms to move forward.
In baseball, if the feet are right, everything else works well
Twisting or rotational movements of the spine, done with poor weight shifting, will create unnecessary stress to the joints and soft tissues of the low back and probably lead to soft tissue breakdown.
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Understanding the “Trunk" as it relates to Baseball Performance “Developing Abdominal Integration not Isolation” The abdominal muscles are very dumb and function just like all your other muscles….
…They React not just Contract!
Muscles like the abdominals “React (or become loaded) as a result of forces created by gravity, momentum and ground reaction. They don’t just contract by themselves or by conscious recruitment. Instead they respond to movements of your arms, legs, and especially the hips. This initial reaction loads or lengthens the abdominal muscles which in turn neuromuscularly activates them to respond and create force.
Muscles that are not turned on by loading first do not respond effectively
Let’s take a look at jumping as an example. In order to jump vertically, an individual must load their lower torso by squatting and swing their arms back. The higher the “intended” jump, the greater the greater the squat and arm reach. If you don’t squat and swing your arms back, you can’t jump very high. Optimal strength along with this sequencing of movements creates a muscle reaction that in turn creates an explosive jump. If sequencing is off, vertical jump will be less than optimal regardless how strong the athlete is. You can use the same analogy for any baseball movement. As a result, if you really want to train your abdominal muscles for baseball, you better be training them to load quickly and efficiently while simulating baseball postures and not just consciously contracting them with a sit-up or crunch.
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How do I load the abs??? To best understand how to load or lengthen the abdominal muscles, we must first understand the direction that the abdominal muscles run. 3 out of the 4 key abdominal muscles (internal obliques, external obliques and transverse abdominus) al run either in a horizontal or diagonal direction with a “top to bottom” orientation. Therefore, to optimally load or lengthen the key abdominal muscles we will need to drive them into a slight side bending, rotation and extension by using upper and lower extremity movements.
Try this!! Stand up, stagger your feet about 3 to 4 feet apart with the right leg forward. Make sure you can keep your balance. Reach up like you are trying to touch the ceiling. You should feel your abdominal muscles drawing in towards your spine. Now reach slightly back taking the weight off your right front foot. You should feel your trunk immediately tighten and become loaded. If you attempted this you may have felt your low back arch or begin to tighten up. You may also have felt the front part of your left hip stretch, your rib cage muscles stretch or your shoulder blades pinch. This will occur as a result of compensations that include:
The key abdominals not being strong enough to slow down your upper torso momentum, thus the low back is allowed to over-extend or excessively arch. If your hip flexors or quadriceps muscles (which attach into your lower spine) are restricted due to poor dynamic flexibility, they will not allow the lower abdominals to lengthen from the bottom up. If you have tight anterior hip structures, your abdominals will need to fight against that resistance in order to effectively load. If the lower abdominals are weak or not strong enough to overcome this tightness, they give up and subsequently allow the low back to hyperextend and compensate.
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Lastly, if the latissimus dorsi (which is also attached into your lower spine) is tight, the low back will again compensate into excessive extension to effectively position the arms behind the head. Knowing this, the role of the abdominal muscles must be to prevent excessive low back extension or “arching”. If that is what you thought, you would be exactly correct. That is a significant contradiction if you look at what a sit-up or straight leg raise does. Actually the role of the lower abdominal muscles (specifically the internal obliques, external obliques, and transverse abdominus) is to control or decelerate lower spine rotation, extension and side bending.
The lower abdominals are “Not” designed to create motion, which is what a sit-up or crunch does. They are designed to stabilize or decelerate motion and prevent end range joint trauma to the lower spine.
This statement will provide us the key to understanding and designing a functionally reactive abdominal training program using resistance bands.
3 other key elements to “Developing a Reactive Abdominal Band Training program” 1. You should exercise your abdominals in weight-bearing or partial weight-bearing postures all of the time 2. Your upper and lower extremities should be moving and/or assisting with stabilizing 3. Think “deceleration or loading first” when training the abdominals 4. Train abdominal should always occur in multi-planes 5. Abdominal training should not create low back pain or compensations
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Understanding the Trunk Getting your Abs to “React not Just Contract” to effectively train for Baseball
Muscles don’t think they simply react to momentum, gravity or ground reaction forces that are transferred through your arms and legs. The faster and more efficient muscles react and load when driven, the leaner, stronger and more developed they become. Many trainers, baseball coaches, and athletes understand the role of the abdominals as it relates to static or isometric stabilization. However, often the concept of training the abdominals by applying the use of momentum or ground reaction forces, transferred through the upper or lower extremities, is typically not well understood and effectively implemented in a baseball training program. Training the trunk only as an isometric stabilizer is not going to create a reactive trunk in standing and subsequently will not prepare the body’s abdominals to optimally handle baseball movements effectively.
Taking advantage of the Feed Forward System Your key abdominals, especially your deep transverse abdominus (TA), are neurologically set up to actually fire or react a split second before actual movement occurs. This is known as a “Feed Forward” system and for the most part is only found in the neuromuscular make-up of the key abdominals. That said movement is a must to getting the abdominals to react effectively.
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Getting Your Abdominals Reacting Getting your abdominals to react comes down to following these 4 principles of functional movement.
1. All muscles must be loaded and lengthened before they can react and produce force. Therefore focus on the load not just the explode. 2. Muscles are best turned on in weight-bearing since this is the posture and position our body was designed to function in. 3. Muscles must be turned on by utilizing drivers like momentum (or speed), ground reaction forces (or weight shifting) and gravity (or body weight). This will occur by creating extremity driven movements using multi-vector resistance. 4. You must train muscles to react to force vectors that occur in all planes of motion.
Why Bands??? The elastic nature of resistance bands accelerates momentum, speeds up gravity, and challenges ground “reaction time”. Training with bands subsequently trains muscles to react faster with improved integration as they learn how to effectively handle these changes. Bands also allow you to challenge muscles in all planes of movement and multiple force vectors. Bands are not gravity dependant like weights, med balls or kettlebells and therefore can simulate functional drivers more consistently. Lastly, bands increase resistance as you work further into the range of motion. This in turn creates greater effort at the end of movement which forces muscles to work harder to actively lengthen.
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Secondly, the accelerated rebound you incur as you return out of the concentric phase of the movement will cause the body to reactively stabilize on every rep due to the accelerated eccentric force.
How do I implement resistance band training into my abdominal training program?? First remember, that if you are always training in standing, every exercise is an abdominal reacting exercise. However isometric stability must occur first. Therefore the best place to begin a reactive abdominal training program is with plank isometric with bands providing the proprioceptive feedback (tactile sensation) at the low back. This feedback can occur as either an assisted or resisted training stimulus. Initially many abdominal weak individuals need assistance to develop an appreciation for where their trunk must be positioned to effectively activate the abdominals and avoid postural compensation.
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Assisted Isometric Stabilization
Applying the band at the Anterior Superior Iliac Spine (ASIS) – front hip bones will provide less band irritation and better proprioceptive feedback.
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Once this appreciation is developed through assisted band training, it is time to remove the bands begin developing good body weight control against gravity.
Body Weight Isometric Training
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Once individuals can demonstrate effective isometric control by holding each position for 60 seconds, applying a resistance band for additional resistance is an effective way to increase trunk isometric stabilization endurance.
Band Abdominal Isometric Training
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Once able to demonstrate good floor stabilization, taking this similar isometric approach to a standing posture is the next step. This will now bring in ground reaction forces from the “bottom up” as well as horizontal vector forces from the band. It is very important to key in on posture and positioning as it relates to shoulder, pelvis, low back and base of support as indicated with the black line. Again these are simple isometric exercises with no movement occurring.
Standing Isometric Trunk RBT (Band only)
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Dowel-Band Isometric Training
Incorporating a similar isometric training in standing using a band connected to a dowel or baseball bat allows you to increase the force producing lever arm.
Dowel-Band training also provides great visual feedback to athlete. Essentially the dowel reflects an athlete’s pelvic alignment. If the dowel is moving or not maintaining a good level position that is a strong indication the abdominals are not maintaining good isometric control. Lastly the dowel provides a means of implementing a rotational vector by placing the dowel parallel with the frontal plane and loading only one end of the dowel. This immediately creates a rotational force vector that will activate the opposite side abdominals. Considering baseball is a unilaterally dominated swinging and throwing sport, this simple dowel-band training sequence is very functionally effective at training the abdominals.
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Developing a Reactive Abdominals with Resistance Band Kick-outs The role of the abdominal muscles (especially the lower abs) is to maintain your center of gravity (COG) over your base of support (BOS). Therefore if we change your base of support by going from 2 legs to 1 leg, your abdominal muscles immediately activate with greater force. By increasing the lever arm or the distance from the Point of Resistance (POR) to your COG (usually near the navel), the abdominals once again are asked to react more aggressively. The Kick-out Drill or dynamic single leg balance drill is a great way to develop dynamic trunk control in a safe, slow and effective manner. By incorporating a mirror it also becomes a great self teaching technique. The goal of the Kick-out Drills is to maintain your body in line with the moving leg. This will automatically cause the trunk to decelerate lumbar extension or low back arching. Forward bending of the upper torso as well as side bending or hyperextension of the lumbar spine during the kick out motion is considered compensation and a sign of weak lower abs. Correcting these compensations by decreasing the amplitude of the kick-out and increasing the focus on the lumbar spine will usually eliminate these compensations quickly. The key to maintaining a solid posture is to emphasize a long reach with a gradual increase in speed and amplitude of movement. Speed + length + an increased lever arm all create a greater stabilization demand.
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Short arm Single Leg Kick-outs
Extended Lever Arm Kick-out By extending the arms out into full extension you now increase the lever arm and make the abdominal immediately become more active. This will create a greater force at your center of gravity, causing increased need for abdominal stabilize. Make sure to monitor the low back as it relates to arching or side bending.
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Dowel – Band Stabilization Adding a dowel to this simple exercise immediately increases the lever arm making the abdominals once again increase recruitment. Make sure you securely attach the band onto the end of the dowel to avoid it slipping off.
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Getting Total Abdominals Integrated Reaction Using Resistance Bands With isometric control and mobility control using kick-outs now mastered, it is time to develop a total abdominal integrated reaction. For many years it was felt that if the abdominals were isometrically strong, functionally your abs were in great shape. However, if you bench press 400 pounds does that make you a good offensive lineman? Obviously the answer is no. You must be able to harness that strength and integrate it into “usable strength”. The same is true for the abdominals. Isometric strength is important but you must be able to harness that isometric strength and integrate it into functional movements. In the case of baseball, that means making sure you have reactive abdominals when it comes to swinging, throwing and fielding. The lumbar spine can provide a small percentage of movement in all planes of motion. Therefore training only isometric strength will NOT create “on the fly” dynamic deceleration control of the center of gravity. This is easily accomplished using the Band Overhead Step Matrix. The key to these drills is rhythm and timing. When the foot contacts the ground, the abdominals must reflexively engage and protect the lumbar spine from traveling to far. The overhead position will pre-load the abdominals from the “top down” while the stepping action drives the abdominals to react from the “bottom up”. This multidirectional driving of the abdominals is exactly what happens when it comes to throwing or swinging. If the Band Overhead Step Matrix is effectively performed you will see:
No loss of balance during the stepping action No secondary steps upon returning to the starting position No Low back collapsing, hyperextension or tightness felt A tall “Pillar” like posture with no deviations occurring at the waist A smooth rhythmic movement pattern when going from deceleration to acceleration
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Essentially what you are seeing is the abdominals ability to quickly load, decelerate and convert that into an explosive accelerated movement.
Band Overhead Step Matrix Again we will implement the same overhead position as used with the kick-outs. However now instead of kicking out, you will perform a backwards step, lateral step, or a rotational drop step while maintaining your hands directly over your head in a tall posture. As your foot contacts the ground, ground reaction forces cause the abdominals to react instantly. This reaction, decelerates the lumbar spine, loads it and allows the body to accelerate back to the starting position. To get optimal abdominal reaction, the arm must remain fully extended. As you perfect this movement, you may begin to let the arms release backwards which now creates additional momentum and abdominal reaction from the top down. Finally by releasing the trail foot off the ground, it will create a smaller base of support which in turn will create a greater need for abdominal reactive stabilization.
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Band Only Step Matrix
Drop Step
Step Back
Lateral Step
Step Matrix with Dowel & Band
Drop Step
Backwards Step
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Lateral Step
Multi-Vector Reactive Abdominal Band Training
The final abdominal reactive progression is to now create force vector at the hip while continuing to create an upper torso driver with the original band. This is an example of multi-vector band training with the abdominals being the target.
Drop Step
Lateral Step
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Backwards Step
Dowel-Band Multi-vector Step Matrix
Drop Step Backwards Step
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Start Position
Lateral Step
Drop Step
This is a highly advanced training approach that will challenge the abdominals and hip musculature to become integrated stabilizers of the lumbar spine while maintaining optimal control of your Center of Gravity.
Special Note: Even though some of the movements may not reflect exactly the movements of baseball, from a neuromuscular standpoint, the body will easily carry over the same reaction with “on the field" movements.
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Final thoughts on Developing a REACTIVE Core 1. Speed kills Control, Rhythm, then Speed…. When you are first learning to load the abdominals make sure you progress carefully and do not accept low back pain as a part of the exercise. These are not a low back exercise…. …These are low back protection exercises If your abdominals are well integrated and are not being over challenged by tight anterior hip structures or to strong of a band, your low back will not feel a thing except the joy of not being asked to compensate.
2. Load with a band you can handle Even though your extremities can handle the load this does not mean your abdominals can. Pay attention to foot work, balance, low back control and ground contact force. Keep your foot contact soft and your body posture looking long and strong. Typically a simple red or orange band is all that is needed.
3. Isometric strength can never be too strong Developing weight-bearing integrated abdominal stability is the goal. But continually increasing isometric abdominal strength will only help ground reaction stability. Continually challenge your isometric strength. Do not go strictly with weight-bearing stabilization once you have reached the initial isometric goals.
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4. Load in all planes It is important to make sure you create multi-plane reactive abdominals. Avoid over training in just the sagital plane. Challenge frontal and rotational planes equally and often. The abdominals are three dimensional and must be trained accordingly.
5. It is all in the load When training the abdominals, remember it’s all about the load. How your abdominals handle deceleration and being driven in the opposite direction of the intended movement is far more important than the final movement. In other words, it not the swing, it’s how fast and efficient the body loaded for the swing. It’s not the throw, it’s how well the body loaded up for the throw.
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Functionally Training the Abdominals Resistance Band Abdominal Workouts
The following workouts will help you begin to reactively train your core muscles and bring them up to reactive speed quickly
Workout #1
Plank-Band Isometric Workout
Prone Plank Lateral Plank Right Lateral Plank Left 30 seconds on 10 seconds off x 3 each position. Add stability ball for added stabilization.
Workout #2 Extended Mobility Plank
Push up Position Plank hold x 30 Sec. on 10 sec. off performing each exercise 6 time Mountain Climber Lateral hip Drops Right Lateral Hip Drops Left Lateral Mountain Climber
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Workout #3 Band Overhead Kick-outs
30 sec on 10 sec off x 3 sets of all of all 3 positions Facing away Lateral Right Lateral Left
Workout #4
Dowel-Band Step Matrix
Keep dowel in an isometric Horizontal position, Vertical position, or Three-quarter position and perform these 3 movements x 45 sec. on each arm x 2 sets
Alternating Back step Alternating Lateral Step Alternating Drop Step
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Who is Dave Schmitz??
Dave is a Licensed Physical Therapist, CSCS, LAT and PES who since 1997 has continued to perfect the art of Reactive Resistance Band Training (RBT) while training all levels from professional athletes to fitness minded individuals and youth. He has written several articles, E-books and created 4 DVDs all exclusively devoted to resistance band training. He lectures nationally to physical therapist, fitness professionals and coaches on the role of RBT in enhancing human movement and performance.
You can learn more about Dave and his work at www.resistancebandtraining.com
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