Blandine Calais-Germain - No-Risk Abs: A Safe Workout Program for Core Strength

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For their invaluable help, the author would like to thank:

Antje Baumann

Anne Debreilly

Enrique Bruguera

Franoise Contreras

Stphane Fernandes

Brigitte Hap

Christiane Mangiapani

Nuria Vives

AUTHORS NOTE

This book invites you to understand, better evaluate, and mitigate the risks that are inherent in certain abdominal exercises. To get in shape, or stay in shape, we often look first to our midsections and decide that were going to work our abs. Exercises to strengthen and slim the midriff are featured in gyms, fitness clubs, and every magazine at grocery-store checkout counters.

But abdominal exercises are never without potential risk, because they place in motion the very core of our bodies, in which lie:

• The vertebral column
• The spinal cord
• The abdominal cavity and the perineum
• The organs of respiration, circulation, and digestion

All of these vital structures and systems can be damaged by the wrong exercises. Conversely, they can be protected by the appropriate kind of abdominal work.

No-Risk Abs lets you explore this poorly understood region of the body. Together well evaluate the most frequently recommended abdominal exercises, and then well see how we can improve on them. Well explore:

• The risks associated with abdominal work
• The anatomical structures that make up the abs
• How to get great abs

No-Risk Abs is written not exclusively for medical professionals but also for anyone who wants to better understand, practice, or teach abdominal exercises. Youll find that the terminology in this book is designed to be accessible for the widest possible audience of readers. In particular, we have used the word abs to indicate the abdominal muscles in general, and/or the exercises that reinforce the trunk.

P A R T O N E

What Are the Abs?

INTRODUCTION

It All Starts with the Abdominals

At birth, the newborn forcefully contracts his abdominals to push out the cry that signals his arrival into the world. And it was his mothers superhuman abdominal contractions that propelled the infant into this realm just moments earlier.

Those very same abdominal muscles are involved with every emotion we feel. We contract them when we cry, when were angry, and when were afraid. Theyre there every time we speak, and with every breath we take. As they relax and contract, they influence the movement and health of our organs. They initiate or follow the movements of our torso. They also stabilize the trunk to allow more range of motion for our arms and legs.

The Gym Isnt the Only Place to Work Your Abdominals

Almost every activity works the abdominals to some degree. For example...

• Singing or public speaking demands intense abdominal work, as the abdominals must constantly vary their force in order for the voice to achieve range and intensity.
• Movement practices such as tai chi and qigong require a constant play of the limbs in a standing position. The abdominals are active here not just to keep the trunk vertical but also, and perhaps even more importantly, to hold the organs in place.
• Holding the myriad yoga positions calls for abdominal support.
• Doing a session of push-ups requires the abdominals to stabilize the trunk and prevent the belly from pooching.
• Dancing calls on the abdominals to fix or mobilize the pelvis.
• Even in a period of relaxation, when the abdominals dont actively contract, abdominal work takes place. You must know the nature of decontraction to know the contracted state.

The Abdominals and Abdomen

The Abdominals

The abdominals are a group of four pairs of flat muscles that wrap a portion of the abdomen (the belly).

You can see that the abdominals form something like a chefs apron that wraps the front and sides of the trunk.

The first is the rectus abdominis, found at the front of the belly. (This is the muscle that yields whats commonly called six-pack abs.)

The other three, found on each side of the waist, are the transversus abdominis and the internal and external obliques. Together they form an overlapping muscle sheath three layers deep.

Working the Abs

Working the abs means performing exercises that reinforce the abdominal muscles.

The Abdomen

The abdomen is the area that houses the viscera found below the diaphragm in the abdominal cavity. Above the diaphragm is the thoracic cavity.

The Abdominals Play a Double Role

1The Skeletal Role

The abdominal muscles attach to several bones of the trunk: the ribs, the sternum, the vertebrae, and the pelvis. They can therefore mobilize these bones. This is their skeletal role.

For example, we can see below how the abdominals bring the trunk into flexion, moving the pelvis closer to the sternum.

Without abdominals

With abdominals

2The Visceral Role

The abdominals make up a part of the envelope that encases the viscera of the abdomen, known as the abdominal sheath. When the abdominals contract, they can move the viscera, hold the viscera in place, or change their shapea bit like a toothpaste tube. This is their visceral role.

For example, here we see how the abdominals can pull the belly in without any movement of the trunk.