At last year’s conference they “announced” that the abdominal muscles aren’t for flexion of the spine (bending over). The abdominal muscles were now considered anti-rotation muscles. This was an entirely new training philosophy for me, at the time. Based on that information last July I changed my personal training routine and the training in the studio. I do believe we are working the anti-rotation capacity of the abdominal muscles more than the flexion (bending over) of the abdominals. This makes you more prepared for daily life and stronger in more planes of motion. This year, the emphasis was the same: your abs are anti-rotation muscles and we need to work rotational movement (transverse plane).
The reasoning behind this shift in philosophy is the ever increasing incidence of low back pain. As more research is published, the link between your core and low back pain is astounding and definite. Physical therapist, Sahrmann, states, “during most daily activities, the primary role of the abdominal muscles is to provide isometric support and limit the degree of rotation of the trunk…A large percentage of low back problems occur because the abdominal muscles are not maintaining tight control over the rotation between the pelvis and the spine at the L5- S1 level.” Basically, we need stronger abdominals to counteract rotational forces – our body turning. This we accomplish by training the transverse plane (rotation).
All training is a progression, like the 30MoE program. There is a reason why week 1 feels “easier” than week 8. We need to establish a base before we challenge your system with complex movements. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE to get a detailed explanation by Jessica Bento (the sandbag man’s (Josh) wife!). My goal is for you to understand why we progress movements in the way that we do and why your core is so valuable as an anti-rotation muscle. There is a reason why I don’t let you progress to more complex movements if your base movement isn’t solid. I would be doing damage rather than challenging you properly. This is also the reason why I will suggest you try something more challenging if I see that your form is solid. I’m watching your form to see when and how I can challenge your movements to boost your performance. The program is aimed to give you the best workout possible and have you work as hard as you can with proper form.