Core (Transverse Abdominis) Reactive Integration - Crunch & Catch

Core (Transverse Abdominis) Reactive Integration - Crunch & Catch is an innovative approach to improving core stability and function. This program utilizes a combination of intentional breathing and dynamic exercises to quickly activate the deep core muscles, including the transverse abdominis, to help recruit and re-pattern muscular engagement. The ‘Crunch & Catch’ component of the program serves to improve neuromuscular control of trunk and torso movements, as well as increasing the timing and recruitment of the

Transcript

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This is Brent the President of B2C
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fitness and we're doing reactive
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integration for the core. At this point, I will assume that we've already done
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our stretching and release work for our short, overactive structures. We've also
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already done isolated activation for our long, under active structures. Now,
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what we want to do is increase the ability, specifically, of our core
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musculature, to react in a timely fashion.
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I'm going to have my friend Laura come out to help me
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demonstrate these exercises. Now, what we're going to do is 'crunch to catch',
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which is a great exercise, and a lot of fun. The first thing we need to
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do is make sure we set this up so that we don't add to our dysfunction. We want
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to make sure that we don't have our over active synergists, those muscle that've
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become synergistically dominant, taking over. We're trying to increase this deep,
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intrinsic, subsystem of the core, and get it firing the way it should be. So, a couple of easy
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tricks we can utilize to make sure this happens... I'm gonna set Laura up in a
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nice ball crunch position. Her glutes are touching the ball,
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feet, knees, and hips are all alignment. The way I'm going to get her psoas, which is the
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overactive synergist in the core, out of the equation is, I'm going to have her use her gluteus maximus to reciprocally inhibit
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the psoas. So I'm going to have her basically hold a bridge,
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squeezing her glutes while she's doing this exercise.
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I'm going to make sure she's drawn in, and then what we're going to do is go
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through a series, I'm going to go through all of the progressions here. I'm going
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to have her crunch, then we're going to throw this ball to
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add that reactivity to this exercise. So I'm going to have you back up. So, the first
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exercise we're going to work on, we're going to keep static in here, and we're just going to
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work on that chest pass in a crunch position with perfect form. So she's
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doing her bridge notice she's drawn in, and now we're going to do a nice chest pass.
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Good. Now, be careful, don't concentrate so hard on the chest pass
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that you forget about what we're working on. The only thing I'm really focused on at
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the moment is making sure she can keep her glutes tight and that belly button
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doesn't pop out. We're landing without abdominal distension, that is our marker
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for disengagement. That intrinsic stabilization subs for what the deactivation
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stabilization services. She has that down,
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obviously. Now we'll start making this more dynamic. When you catch
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the ball, smoothly catch the ball and eccentrically decelerate by
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going through your full crunch position. Then, as you're crunching up, pass back.
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For some reason whenever you throw things at people they tend to smile.
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As you can see on Laura we have none of that deactivation of that
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subsystem, no belly button to sticking out. So I want to take this another step.
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We're going to go over your head and make that really long, make sure your core stays engaged, make sure your glutes stay engaged.
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Trainers, be careful with this exercise because your client is going to pick
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up a lot of speed, and throw that ball pretty hard, so it may be worth
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it to back up as they're throwing it, step in, and toss over their head.
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Good!
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If you want to get really really tricky with this exercise, we can add a
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little transverse plane of existence, as well as a whole lot of coordination
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movement. We can do it one hand at a time. It's pretty tough. Let's try the other
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side. Especially tough with people's non dominant hand. But you can have fun with it,
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as long as they keep engaged here. Having their glutes tight will add to that reactivity
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of this usually under active subsystem.