Everyone wants great sexy summer abdominals, and with Renew PT’s great new abdominal instructional video clip you will achieve this goal in time for swim suit season. Old fashion crunches will not help you achieve your sexy summer abs. Those types of abdominal exercises are outdated and not functional and do not translate to other body parts. What you need is an intelligent core program and that’s exactly what my new core video series does delivers. Simple yet effective exercises that improve the core-lumbar pelvic regions of your body. I call this the pelvic power exercise program. Click here to see the trailer.
The core series instructional video will help you get on track to a solid abdominal foundation, helping eliminate pelvic pain symptoms and getting you those sexy summer abs. In the meantime I will get you started by sharing with you the most effective exercise I know that will strengthen and tone your abdominals. This exercise is the building block of all abdominal exercises in our video and must be mastered.
This all important exercise is called the TA Hold and can be done any place, any where and in any position. The TA hold can be done at work, at stop lights, while brushing teeth and while checking emails.
The TA hold strengthens your transverse abdominal muscle. This muscle is also call the corset abdominal muscle because one of its jobs is to maintain tone of the waistline. The absolute great thing about the transverse abdominal muscle is that it is connected via fascia to the low back and pelvic floor muscles. So when you train your TA muscle you also strengthen your back and increase pelvic power. Please try the TA hold highlighted below, but don’t just stop there download our core video and continue your core program.
The TA Hold is a foundational exercise to help you achieve balanced toned abdominals in time for the summer season.
Transverse Belly Holds
WHAT TO DO:
1. This exercise may be done sitting, supine or standing. Keep a neutral spine as you take a full belly breath. As you exhale draw your belly closer and more firmly toward the spine. As you pull in your abdominals try to imagine that you are trying to squeeze into an old pair of jeans that don’t fit. Make sure to keep a neutral spine.
2. Additional cues that work well to activate and train the transverse muscle are:
a. Imagine that you are doing a Kegel that moves all the way up to the lower part of your abdominals.
b. Imagine that there is a guy wire from the right anterior hip bone to the left and imagine the guy wire becoming slack as you bring the two hip bones together.
3. Once you establish the above movement, hold for five seconds and repeat ten times. Do one to three sets per day. Use the different cues to help you. Although this exercise looks easy it is extremely difficult to train and isolate the transverse muscle. This exercise is the building block for all the exercises that follow so take your time and practice it.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR:
1. Holding the breath, which can increase leaking or pelvic pain.
2. Over-contracting the abdominals, which engages the more superficial abdominals, such as the rectus abdominis and external obliques.
3. Increased abdominal pain or trigger points in the abdominals and/or an increase in your symptoms.
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