I overhear all kinds of discussions between trainers and clients on training tips, strategies to build core strength and methods of losing body fat at the gym I train at. Nothing gets me more fired up than the misuse of the global term: CORE TRAINING. For example, I hear comments like “Doing exercises, like a seated overhead press on a ball makes them more functional for your core.” Or, “by using the stability ball you will activate more core muscles on every single exercise.” This generalized rationale is making my head spin as trainers gleefully sell the false cause and effect relationship between the use of the stability ball and the definition of core training.

So if exercising on a stability ball trains your core and is now bought into by the masses . . .

Like any critical scientist, my question to the instigators of this idea is

– Compared to what?

To cut to the chase (and yes, I have a reputation for this), you don’t need to do anything on a stability ball to strengthen your “core” muscles. If your main goal is to build muscle, doing more exercises on a stability ball isn’t just unnecessary, it may actually slow your rate of muscle growth and strength development!

Here’s my pitch:

According to over 90% of the personal trainers I’ve met, performing strength exercises on an unstable surface, such as sitting on a standing ball or standing on a BOSU, is supposed to place a greater emphasis on some of the muscles in your core, helping to improve core stability, protect against back pain, improve athletic performance, and so on. Right?

Well heck, these exercises are often a lot harder than their more stable counterparts.

Hmmm, let’s qualify “hard.”

You are simply working hard to stay balanced. And because these exercises have a high “novelty factor”, this creates mayhem for your nervous system as your muscles try to sort out the wibbly-wobbly’s.

I have even heard an international speaker claim that “performing three set of squats on a BOSU ball is the equivalent of three ordinary sets, because you engage more muscle groups to stabilize yourself.” Good Gawd.

While there are benefits to exercises done on an “unstable” surface, it’s my opinion that they are as overdone as Elizabeth Taylor’s make-up job. I guess I shouldn’t complain – it keeps personal trainers out of the lifting area where the real work is accomplished – (more room for me and my clients).

Time is money folks and if someone is paying you good money (in this economy), you better deliver. And if your client tells you they need to improve their core strength – then teach them how to lift. And you know what else, that might mean YOU need to know how lift. And if you want to learn – call me; I am more than happy to share what I know. 604.908.1321.

What is the core?

For the purpose of this article, let’s define the core as the muscles of the trunk and hips — basically, anything that isn’t the head, arms or legs. And it’s these muscles that are supposed to benefit from exercises done on an unstable surface, such as the BOSU and the stability ball.

As I mentioned earlier, there are benefits to these kinds of exercises. For example, I remember reading an article about a pro snowboarder who did a lot of work on unstable surfaces. This type of training could definitely help to improve his balance and prepare him for the unstable environment that he’s going to experience on the slopes.

And therapists have been using unstable exercise devices (e.g. Wobble boards and Rocker boards) for years to help with the rehabilitation of knee and ankle injuries. Perfect for restoring a neuromuscular deficit.

So, there is a time and a place for instability. But it’s not a universally effective way to make all exercises better, especially if you’re trying to build significant strength levels.

Let’s get strong!

The equation for muscular growth is a time under tension + progressive overload, which involves adding more weight to an exercise over a given period of time. But if you’re exercising on an unstable surface, the amount of weight you’re able to use is going to be reduced. And using a lighter weight is a step in the wrong direction if you want to get bigger and stronger. Yes, even for the girls – throw away the pink dumbbells and chalk up ladies!

At Human Motion, we teach people how to get strong. Strong at the basics first (squats and deadlifts), then get strong at more complex lifts (cleans and snatches). In the gym, I see clients doing squats on BOSU’s when they can barely squat properly on the floor. I question this progression as adding an element of instability will only teach them incorrect patterns of movement. When more than 50% of strength in athletics comes from a highly tuned nervous system, developed from correct patterning, this plan will lead to nowhere.

There is an inverse relationship between the stability of the base support and the power potential of the lifter or athlete. Wobble boards used in an athletic training setting will help the athlete get better at standing on a wobble board. Where is the transfer to sport?

If you are looking to develop true core strength, you have to lift.

The old time strongmen, pound-for-pound, were some of the most powerful men who ever lived. Sport historians have written about Eugen Sandow, Arthur Saxon, Louis Cyr to name a few whom all displayed impressive levels of strength and power. These men put on strongman shows, wrestled and engaged in various other sporting endeavors. They would execute feats such as the two hands anyhow, the bent press, overhead support lifts, cable and strand pulling, swings, bridging feats, bending feats, gymnastics, hand balancing and more.

What did ALL of these strongmen have in common? Crazy core strength! They didn’t get it by doing crunches, they didn’t get it by wearing a belt and they didn’t get it by hanging out on a wobble board. They developed their torso strength and stability by engaging in compound multi-joint movements, that required every muscle group to work together, at the same time to execute complex movements.

So, what’s the bottom line here?

Leave the wobble boards and BOSU’s to the rehab experts or the prehab experts. Grab a good pair of flat-soled shoes, a handful of chalk, an Olympic bar and some plates and learn to lift. I haven’t done a crunch or a sit-up since the days of gym class, and I got off the balancing devices once I began cultivating my own company and its philosophy and I am the strongest I have ever been.

See you at the gym!

Coach Carmen




 

With 15 years industry experience and having spent a great deal of time and effort examining training protocols it is time to share some of the knowledge I have accumulated with, well, anyone who wants to listen!

On day to day basis, I often forget how much of my time is spent answering health and fitness-related questions, whether they come from my students, my clients or my peers.  I seem to just naturally fill into the role of advisor and find myself eager to share my knowledge and opinions of what might be a good approach to optimizing one’s health, fitness and physique.  The most common questions I have been getting of late are:  “Carmen,  how do you have so much energy?” “ How do you stay lean all year round?” “ What do YOUR workouts consist of?” “ Who do you see for nutrition advice?”

 It’s funny,  I never wanted to have any sort of celebrity status as a trainer.  And I always cringe when I see new training systems endorsed by good-looking actresses and actors, blessed by awesome genetics, saying you too, can be like me!  It all seems so far away, so out of reach for the average gym go-er.  Now, don’t me wrong, my idea of health and fitness is far more stringent than that of the recreational fitness bunny.  I like to TRAIN.  Not “workout.”  I said, TRAIN.  I enjoy pushing myself and seeing what my body is capable of.  I like to fuel my gas tank with high octane fuel rich in nutrients and I will seek out anyone and everyone who knows all about my OPTIMIZATION.  So, if you are like me, the type who doesn’t like the status quo, who questions the quick-fixes and is a bit of a sucker for hard work, then continue reading.  I will give you a glimpse into how I stay fit…..

 

O.K., so to answer to the energy question.  Well, first of all.  I am human.  I do get tired too, like anyone, but the real secret is that I am very diligent at going to bed at the same time each night . . .yes, even on weekends (I know, I am lame).  I always chill out before bed, meaning no business decisions, no marking papers, no writing articles, I just chill.  I aim for 8-9 hours of sleep per night and I have found that my body just naturally wakes up after 8 hours give or take.  Once you get into a routine, you just feel sleepy at the same time each day and it is easy to fall asleep.   I make sleep a priority as I know it is what allows me to accomplish all of the things I want to, in a day.

Staying lean and maintaining an athletic physique all year round takes discipline as well.  I am NOT talking about restriction, just a commitment to myself to eat very healthy and train consistently.  We all have choices in life and I choose to feel and look my best.  I also choose to seek help from experts in the areas of nutrition and the combination of the Cliff Harvey mantra of: Eat only whole, natural and unprocessed foods, (cliff@humanmotion.ca) plus the personalized supplement prescriptions my naturopath, Dr. Julie Durnin, (she is awesome!)I am in good hands.  I only supplement with fish oils, whey protein, calcium/magnesium and probiotics – I traded in my latte fix for these items and it is paying dividends.  So, in a nutshell, I have become a bit of a food snob – I will only put high grade fuel into this body, selecting these items on a daily basis:  Whole organic oats, berries and whey for breakfast, almonds and plain yogurt for snacks.  Veggies at BOTH lunch and dinner, covering 2/3 of my plate, topped with steak, fish, chicken or hard boiled free range eggs.  I eat A LOT (ask my husband) and I do eat carbs – just unprocessed ones, like ancient grains.  Maintaining a lean physique is more about WHAT you eat, not how much you eat.  I never count calories . . .(who has time for that?) 

Now,  onto my workouts.  I do not have a fixed schedule per se.  Partly because I squirm when I hear the word schedule and it does take some out of the fun of training, but I do make my training a daily priority.  I play flag football 7 months of the year and it is very demanding on my body.  I get my wind sprints in at practice and games, so that takes care of most of my short-burst type training and agility work.  Some may ask – well do you do agility work outside of practice and to be quite honest, I don’t.  I was given some great genetics with quick feet and even at 33, they still shake and bake, so for now I won’t try to fix what ain’t broke! After all my ‘work’ commitments are taken care of, I have about 5 hours per week I devote to my training and of those 5 hours, I work mostly on conditioning and strength & power.  And to let you in on a secret – I stopped doing what I call ‘same stimulus’ cardio workouts some time ago and I haven’t looked and felt better!

On Sundays, I hit the gym in the morning, after my Saturday football games.  This workout is focused mostly on joint mobility drills, full-range movement exercises like bodyweight lunges and some aerobic work.  I get my cardio in a more varied manner by doing long cycle routines with 12kg kettlebells.  I do about 10 minutes of long cycle as a flush at a very slow, continuous pace.  It gets the kinks out and the blood flowing so I can recover faster from Saturday.  Plus, the varied stimulus has a much greater afterburn effect than any Sunday jog will ever give me – plus it spares my knees!

Monday, I train my whole body with heavier strength/power exercises like deadlifts, split jerks, squat to press, box squats and chin-ups.  I select full-body exercises to keep the time certain muscles are under tension shorter and so I can use my legs to generate all the power I need.  This type of prescription is key for staying or getting lean without gaining size.  I can keep my training intensity high as well and boost the levels of circulating catecholamines to help me burn fat for hours after my session.  I lift heavy (around 6 reps) and I rest 3 minutes between sets with my deadlifts, squats and pull-ups. Sometimes, on Mondays, I follow the Tabata protocol at the end of my workout, using a squat to press with 12kilo bells.  Check it out on my downloads page: http://www.carmenbott.com/training-downloads/

Tuesdays I often take the day off, or have football practice, which is often a lot less demanding than games.  I am not a young pup anymore!

On Wednesdays, my husband and I have date night, which is a workout together, then dinner.  This is my drop-set day where we pick about three exercises and begin at the heaviest weight we can tolerate.  Once we fatigue (not fail) at that weight, we drop to the next weight, then the next, then the next, until we get to the lightest weight.  We often use Renegade Rows, Yaw presses and Single Arm Clean and Jerks for this workout.  Sometimes I will also do a set of reverse lunges in the same manner, but only if my legs feel great.  If not, I give them a rest.  This workout is a bit torturous and heavily metabolic, but this is my last hard anaerobic workout for the week as I have to recover for my Saturday game!

On Thursdays, I go light with weights or kettlebells and do a 4 min on, 1 min off (Carmen’s  Fave 4×4) workout.  It is an aerobic workout for me, but still with varied stimulus – forget the cardio machines – they don’t work if you want to OPTIMIZE!  My muscles are always guessing and the movements help my recovery from Wednesday.  It is a short and sweet 20 minute session. 

Fridays are my game prep workout, where I hit the gym with technique work and lots of foam roller release and some dynamic range of motion exercises.  Joint mobility is gain the focus of Friday’s session so I don’t pull every muscle in my lower body on Saturday.

So, there you have it.  This is really what my training is all about.  It is not about volume.  It is not about boredom.  It is about challenge and discipline and consistency.  Most of all it is a lifestyle.  I could not imagine having a job where I am chained to my desk 10 hours per day.  I am thankful I have created the life I want to live: One that is filled with fun experiences, competition and physical goals.  And one that I share with my husband who has the same values.  I have never been able to answer the question of what drives me.  There is no scientific response I can come up with to answer this other than I truly do love the process and I think that is key to any level of achievement.

Happy Training everyone!

Coach Carm