With Gavin Buehler
For this F.I.T. Tip installment I’m going to share with you one of my favorite exercises to address the abdominal obliques and the Spiral Fascial Line.
As I mentioned in the article, Knee Pain? Tibial Rotation & The Core, the abdominal obliques are a common area where I find imbalances from one side to the other resulting in an off balance between tensions of the Spiral Fascial Lines. An imbalance between these lines can cause rotational issues with the body lapsing into an offset position at rest and/or throughout daily activities of living feeding into compensatory patterns increasing the risk of injury.
This exercise can help expose an imbalance as well as help restore even tensions between sides. It has a great functional carry over as it mimics a position that we find ourselves in often, being bent over with some degree of a twist. If you participate in any kind of rotational sport such as golf, hockey, tennis or baseball, this movement can be very humbling and game changing for your activity.
I call this an Isometric Shovel Scoop as that’s what it reminds me of and keeps things simple, but there’s likely other names out there for it.
I love this exercise because of its high level of effectiveness. Having your feet contacting the ground provides a functional leverage and feedback loop to generate and transfer force through the core. The hinge persuades glute engagement and synergistic recruitment with the core as well as accentuating the need for hip stability from the internal obliques to keep them from rotating. It also creates more need for the cinch of the transversus abdominis (TVA) and the cradle of the Spiral Line slings (where they cross and the navel) to support the weight of your organs. Holding the rotation through the thoracic spine (T-spine) requires full contraction of the external obliques. It’s a beautiful collaboration!
Detailed instructions are below along with the video reference.
Hold a weighted bar with a double over hand grip in an offset position so that it is longer on one side than the other. Hands can be shoulder width to start. Having a wider grip can made this movement easier, and a narrower grip will be more difficult. The larger the offset, so the more length you have on the longer side, the more difficult the movement will be. Vary the offset according to your needs.
Stand tall with feet about hip to shoulder width apart and anchor yourself into the ground by engaging your core, gripping the floor with your feet and adding a gentle external rotation from the hips.
With a slight bend in the knees, hinge at the hips gliding them back while maintaining a neutral spine thinking of being long from the crown of your head through to your tailbone. The bar should travel straight down keeping a line over your mid-foot. You will only hinge to the point where your hips stop travelling back. Torso should remain above 90 degrees.
From this position, rotate only through the upper back allowing the long end of the bar to touch the ground. Hips should remain square and centered without deviation.
Raise the long end of the bar up by thinking of scooping the bar like a shovel, rotating only through the upper torso keeping your hips square and centered throughout the movement. Scoop to the height that your range of motion allows without compensating and hold top position for specified time.
Slowly return to start position with long end of the bar touching the ground, and repeat for specified reps.
Complete full set on weaker side first before switching sides.
Recommended Protocols:
2-3 sets, 6-8 reps of 5 second holds per side. Start with your weaker side first.
As always, these tips and videos are for entertainment and educational purposes only. Please consult a health professional before attempting new exercises or protocols, as the following suggestions may or may not be appropriate for you.
Comments