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If familiar with T-Nation, you also know the editors take pride in their Hardcore, No BS, Tell-it-like- it-is approach.

Go here to see what the editors had to say about the Strength Training for Fat Loss & Conditioning DVD

You can also see for yourself with the two previews below.

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I’m my last post here; I provide a solid rational as to why I disagreed with Dr.Yessis’s article on why not to use the Abs Plank.

There are a few more points of disagreement that I wanted to make in regards to some other comments made by Dr.Yessis in his article.

Dr. Yessis claims that

“Many people do not have the strength to hold themselves in a plank position. Some lack the arm strength, especially when doing the side plank while others lack the abdominal strength to hold a straight line position through the midsection.”

First off, I have never worked with anyone from senior citizen to junior athlete who lacked the upper body strength to perform a plank.

This is because if you line up your elbow directly underneath your shoulder joint, there is little to no muscle involvement from the upper body at all. You are simply placing the force on your humerus (bicep bone) and using it to support you.

That said, there is some scapular stabilizer (serratus anterior) involvement, but even folks with severe serratus weakness can usually mange without trouble. These folks just need some extra coaching when it comes to positioning their scapulas when performing the Abs plank.

Secondly, Dr.Yessis mentions that many folks lack the abdominal strength to hold themselves up during the plank.

If that’s the case then wouldn’t this weakness be a perfect reason to use the plank?

Additionally, I agree that not everyone has the same level of strength. But, this is why is so important to develop exercise progressions and regressions to every exercise. The Plank is no exception and I’ve provided an in depth description of these progressions here.

The final statement that I would like to comment on is that Dr. Yessis claims that

“It does not affect the lower back muscles and only partially the hip flexors.”

I don’t totally disagree with this statement but I don’t agree either.

Saying that the Abs plank doesn’t affect the lower back is like saying training your glutes doesn’t have any affect on your knees.

The low back is not targeted during the Abs plank but it is influenced by pelvic position and how well the abs are working.

Many people with weaker abdominals will feel tightness in their lower back when performing a plank variation that is too advanced for them.

As far as the hip flexors go, I would say that they are working hard to prevent gravity from forcing your hips and belly toward the floor.

If you were to allow your belly and hips to drop toward the floor, your hips would be in extension. This in tern means that your hips flexors are turning on to oppose the forces of gravity.

Just because you’re not in hip flexion doesn’t mean that there is not a flexion force happening within your body. This is what my good friend and mentor JC Santana calls “training the invisible”.

Stay Tuned

In my next post I will reveal a killer hamstring training protocol that every serious athlete and fitness professional must know.

After my article Plank Progressions for Killer Abs got Published, I was made aware of another plank article written by Dr. Michael Yessis.

The title of his article is “Are Plank Exercises for You?”.

In his article, Dr.Yessis states, “In reality, however, the plank position is a very poor exercise for strengthening the core for several reasons”.

 
Although I respect Dr. Yessis and his work, I have to heavily disagree with the statements made in his article.

In this post I’m going to provide you with a solid rationale as to why I disagree.

Isometric Strength?

 
Dr. Yessis States “The strength that you gain is isometric (static) strength, which isn’t transferable to dynamic strength. Understand that dynamic strength is more functional because it can be used in your daily movements.”

 
He then goes on to say 
“This is why the plank exercise is effective only for developing static strength to hold the body in a straight line posture. It is not effective for enhancing any movements that use the core muscles, especially dynamic movements with the axis of rotation in the waist or hips.”

 
I do appreciate where Dr.Yessis is coming from here but what he is failing to mention is that the primary role of the abdominals (aside from respiratory action) is isometric.

This is clearly stated by world-renowned physical therapist Shirley Sarhmann, who in the book Diagnosis and Treatment of movement Impairment Syndromes states

 
“During most activities, the primary role of the abdominal muscles is to provide isometric support and limit the degree of rotation of the trunk which, as discussed, is limited in the lumbar spine.” (Sahrmann, p. 70)

“The overall range of lumbar rotation is … approximately 13 degrees. The rotation between each segment from T10 — L5 is 2 degrees.” (Sahramnn pg. 61-62)

 
The simple fact that the total Range of motion (ROM) at the Lumbar spine is only 13 degrees shows that there is little dynamic motion that goes on at that part of the body.

In truth, the abdominals can be thought of as Anti-Rotators during most functional activities.

In that, they function to prevent excessive rotation of the lumbar spine which as stated above is very limited.

Secondly, what do you think happens to your abdominals when you perform just about any standing lift like a Squat, Over Head Press or simply carrying your groceries?

 
The answer is that your abdominals are functioning isometrically to hold you in the optimal position.

 
So, if the primary role of the abdominals is isometric control and just about every functional activity we perform as humans requires some sort of postural (isometric) holding.

How can the Abs Plank exercise be a poorly designed exercise as claimed by Dr. Yessis?

Based on the evidence I just provided, I think that the answer is clear.

Stay Tuned

In my next post, I will continue to discuss the Abs Plank and refute a few more of Dr.Yessis claims.

 
Please keep in mind that I’m not bashing Dr.Yessis in any way. I’m simply providing a different view so that we all may benefit from both sides and continue to grow and learn.

As promised, here is the third and final part of my interview w/ Coach Lorne Goldenberg, author of Strength Ball Training.

Check out Lorne’s offset chest press. Very cool stuff!

Now, I’m off to vacation. Catch you next week!

One more day and Im off to vacation with my girlfriend in the beautiful Dominican Republic.

As much as I love my clients and my work, I’m looking forward to getting away for a while. Plus, my girlfriend and I could use some good quality time together.

Before heading off, I wanted you to see this interview I did with my good friend and fellow strength coach Lorne Goldenberg. Lorne is one of the most experienced, respected and sought after coaches to come out of Canada.

He doesnt have any DVDs so its a rare oppurtunity to see this gus show his stuff on video. So be sure to pay close attention to what he and I have to say.

This is the second video in a three part series. I will post part 3 tomorrow before I fly out.

Part one is reserved for my newsletter subscribers. So, if you want to see part one, sign up at the top of the page. Its FREE!

Enjoy the video!

If you don’t want abs that look better and perform better, don’t read my new article – Plank Progressions for Killer Abs.

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Sports Specific Contrast Training for Striking / Combat Sports

First off, I’m not a huge fan of the term “sports specific training”.

To me, a golfer working with golf pro is sports specific training. Or a MMA fighter practicing arm bars is sports specific training.

That said, as a Strength Coach, I can tailor certain aspects of an athletes program to fit improve certain aspects unique to his or her given sport.

For instance, here is how I would use contrast training to improve explosive force production to a movement that will transfer into punching / striking for a combat athlete.

John Rallo is the MMA athlete featured in the video. Check out his MMA training center – Ground Control

Just got back from a great time presenting at the AFPA Beach Jam – Sports and Fitness Conference in Ocean city MD!

I spoke on all of the new concepts and techniques for warm up and preparation that I have been developing here at Performance U over the years.

Its great stuff and I can’t wait to show some of it!

I will have some videos of my presentation  posted here on the Blog shortly.

In the meantime, check out my newest T-nation article entitled Contrast Training for Strength, Size, and Power.

If you like this article, be sure to keep your eye on the Blog as I will also be posting some additional Contrast Training videos.

Why not just cut the fat?

It’s no secret that too much fat in a diet is not a good thing. But simply cutting out all fat is not a good idea either.

Keep in mind that1 gram of fat equals 9 calories, while 1 gram of protein and/or carbs equals only 4 calories.

So, if your current diet consists of 30% fat (or more, which is not uncommon) and you decide to simply just to cut it all out, you have eliminated a significant portion of your calorie intake.

If you drop your calories too low, you will drastically slow down your metabolism and your body will start to feed off of muscle tissue. Not good!

Additionally, we all know how bad it feels when we don’t eat enough and become malnourished. You have a hard time concentrating on a simple conversation, much less hitting it hard in the gym or engaging in sporting competitions.

I love to talk training! If you have read any of my past articles, like How Not to Warm Up, Making Gains with Pain, and Stick Your Neck Out and Everything Push Ups, you know that I always try to deliver the smartest, most innovative and most effective strength and conditioning concepts that I can.

Trust me when I tell you that there is plenty more where that came from.

With that said, I’m going to take a break from talking training and share with you my Performance U approach to nutrition.

Let’s face it, what you eat and how you eat it can really make or break the effectiveness of your program, regardless of how good it is.

It is for that reason that all of my clients and athletes receive an orientation class that lays the foundation for fundamental nutrition concepts in relation to performance and fat loss. This is a concept that I adopted from Phil Kaplan.

The class is always a big hit with everyone who takes it and I have seen drastic changes in how fast my folks excel during training since starting the class some years ago.

I cannot tell you that the method I use is the best and only way to do things. There are plenty of effective methods out there.

However, I will tell you that the Performance U method is simple, practical and most importantly, it works!

If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be in business.

Calorie Restrictive Diets   

Everyone knows the word “calorie”. Many folks even know how many calories they are consuming per day.

However, I’m shocked at the amount of athletes who still have no idea what a calorie actually is.

What is a calorie?

Do you know?

If not, you may not know as much about nutrition as you thought.

A calorie is a unit of heat.

Your body is essentially a heat machine. Hence the term “burn” calories.

Now, I will admit that there is some merit to the relationship of how many calories you consume a day to the amount you burn per day.

However, the way I recommend my clients and athletes to eat, they end up taking in less calories and burning more, which I will explain later.

In my opinion, unless you are an advanced athlete or a physique competitor in the later stages of a fat loss phase, I don’t recommend counting calories for the simple fact that not all calories are created equal.

Here’s an example of why not it’s not just about how many calories you consume:

Let’s say that we take two guys of fairly equal size and fitness level. We put both guys on the same training program and allow each man to eat 3,000 calories per day.

Guy A – can only get his calories from lean meats /fish, fresh fruits and vegetables and sweet potatoes and brown rice

Guy B – can only get his calories from candy, ice cream and fast food

After 8 weeks or so, who do you think is going to look better and perform better?

Obviously Guy A.

So even though both men trained the same way and ate the same amount of calories, they will most definitely end up with very different results.

This is why when it comes to calories, it’s not the quantity that’s most important, it’s the quality.

Coming Next

My next post will discuss Fat restrictive diets.

Be sure to check back tomorrow.