So, you're an athlete....You realise that you suffered from a few injuries last season and you want to become bigger, faster,
better and stronger for next season. Well, in today's world, the first thing one does when
wanting to know more, is instead of consulting a professional like they
would've done pre-internet, they google something like "The best way to
get strong" or more naively, "The FASTEST way to get strong".
This leads to a common sight, Google presents you with a few options such
as:
Mark Rippetoe's - Starting strength
Strong lifts - 5 x 5
Reg Park - 5 x 5
Jim Wendler - 5,3,1
Westside barbell method
Now, don't get me wrong, these programs have a great track record as being
some of the top ways to developing some good baseline and intermediate
strength. Arnold Schwarzenegger used Reg Park's program and was a huge advocate
of the 5 x 5 system. BUT, there is something that all these programs have in
common....they only cater for building raw strength and not conditioning movement or developing athleticism.
A typical program like this would consist of the big compound movements e.g
squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press and bent over rows and then
(depending on the program) possibly have some accessory movements at the end of
each compound lift e.g if the compound lift was squats, you could supplement
this by bangin' out a few sets of leg press and hamstring curls.
So, the big question is....How does this type of static, sagittal plane program prepare
and condition an athlete for their sport??
The truth is...it doesn't! Sure,
they will get stronger...sure, they will put on lean muscle mass (or reduce it
depending on the sport and programming) but that doesn't mean they are necessarily
'conditioned' for the sport they are in.
Let’s take a rugby player for example: A rugby player has to have many
qualities to be an efficient athlete on the field. Qualities like strength,
mass, agility, mobility, reaction time, speed, power, balance and co-ordination. The standard strength training program only accounts for three of those components - strength, mass and (marginally) power.
We all know guys who are bulky and brutally strong! Some people only have to look at a dumbbell and they seem to put on muscle. But it's not good enough. On the playing field, a guy who is agile, explosive and can cut like a cheetah will smoke any giant in their path.
Think about this, If you were stranded in the wild and you had a face-off between a Silver-back gorilla or a Cheetah, it's likely you would favor your chances of escaping the gorilla alot more than the Cheetah! Or put it this way, the chances of escaping Sebastien Chabal, (Rugby Union - French number 8) compared to someone like Brian Habana (Rugby Union - South African number 11...Oh, and one of the fastest men in rugby!). I would take my chances with Chabal any day!
Right now, you're probably thinking, "Yes, but these are two totally different players chosen for their individual attributes to fill a certain role on the team"....You are correct, but the purpose of this article isn't limited to the notion of developing a type of position on a rugby team. It is to reinforce the fact that an athlete (in whatever sport they do) needs to be proficient through various components of fitness and spending all your time lifting barbells statically is NOT going to do that...ever!
The reason!!?....because none of these systems aid in developing the human body's primary systems for movement. (Drum roll please) Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...the Anterior Oblique Sling (AOS) and Posterior Oblique Sling (POS).
The oblique sling system coupled with an efficient posture forms what therapists refer to as the 'Gait' cycle. The average Joe knows this as simply putting one foot in front of the other regardless of whether you are running or walking. But it's the quality of an athletes gait that determines their potential for injury and determines the benefit they will get from ALL types of training modalities. Without an efficient gait, bombarding the body with specialised training regimens will be like painting a house made out of cotton wool. You aren't going to achieve anything except more problems and once you realised what's happened to you, there is not a chance in hell that you will get a refund for all that paint! You just got to leave it in the shed and wait til you've replaced the cotton wool with bricks and cement.
To help you understand this, here are some simple anatomical illustrations:
When you run, your arms and legs move in what is called a contra-lateral motion (left arm/right leg or right arm/left leg). This is 1) so that you maintain a high level of balance during forward momentum, 2) You are able to keep a high level of dynamic torque and stability through the spine and mid-section and 3) The attachments that some of these muscles (along with many others not mentioned in this article) have to the spine are perfect for supporting rotation. Without going into too much anatomical detail here, the muscles and fascial lines largely responsible for generating that mid-line stability during gait are the same muscles and fascial lines which make up the AOS and POS.
If you look at the diagram on the left (running man), the AOS is made up of the External Oblique, the contra-lateral Internal Oblique (via the Abdominal fascia Linea Alba) and then there is a fascial connection to the Adductor muscles. A good example of when you would utilise this sling is when throwing a javelin. As soon as that leading left foot (assuming your right handed) is planted on the ground, your body has a fixed point that it can generate torque through, allowing the right side of your body to rotate with considerable force, launching the javelin.
The POS (as shown in the middle diagram) is made up of Latissimus Dorsi and the contra-lateral Gluteus Maximus. A good example of when you would utilise this sling is when starting a 'pull-start' outboard boat motor. You would place your left leg on the edge of the boat (left of the motor) for stability, hold the pulley with your right hand and pull back explosively, starting the motor.
By having a well trained and conditioned sling system, the athlete's running, balance, agility, proprioception and all round movement efficiency will be well trained and conditioned also. Humans are contra-lateral movers, so by training the AOS and POS, the body will become very good at generating force through it's primary, biological.....for lack of a better word - 'Force generators!'
Kangaroos on the other hand move through the sagittal plane in a bipedal fashion. So if Kangaroos (God forbid!) started barbell training and working on one of the above mentioned strength programs, they would get the most benefit out of it because not only would they get super strong, but it translates directly into their biological movement pattern (Can you imagine how high a kangaroo could jump after a year of squatting!?....scary stuff!!)
Plus, training constantly in the sagittal plane (especially with existing dysfunctions) leads to problems when recruiting the sling systems to work efficiently. Through lack of use coupled with training like a kangaroo, the brain neurologically inhibits sling efficiency, leaving you open to a plethora of dysfunctions! Asymmetrical dysfunction in the AOS can lead to dyskinesis of the lumbar
and thoracic spine, SI joint, and pubic symphysis via rotation of the
spine and/or innominate of the pelvis. This dysfunction may present as rotation,
lateral flexion, a hip hike, anterior or posterior tilting of one or
both sides of the pelvis, and dyskenisis of the pubic symphysis (Brookbush, 2013). These dysfunctions will increase strain
on the human movement system leading to pattern overload and the
cumulative injury cycle.
So, now we know what it is and how it works, how do we train it??
When it comes to movement training there are three major planes of motion:
The Sagittal plane - the easiest to teach and (unfortunately) the most common plane humans train in. Example: Squat/Dead lift
The Frontal plane - the second most common but still hardly ever touched upon effectively. Example: side lunge/ speed skater
The Transverse plane - This is by far the least trained and most important because it encompasses thoracic rotation and contra-lateral movement, in other words....the essence of human kinesiology!
Bring on the exercises!......This is where I am going to give a shout out to Naudi Aguilar because in my opinion, he has this concept nailed!
(NOTE!! THESE LINKS MAY NOT WORK ON MOBILE PHONES)
1) Barbell core rotations - An excellent exercise for mobilising and tapping into the rotational capacities of the thoracic spine plus AOS and POS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT6O2FmAhc0
2) Sprinter push/pull - awesome full-body workout focusing primarily on the AOS and POS. NOTE: If you struggle and find this above your current ability, regress back to a step instead of a full switch of the legs. This would make it a contra-lateral step push/pull.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0ZsBDYb85o
With these exercises, it's important NOT to train through fatigue! You are not body building here, you want a good neurological adaptation to take place in order for your brain and body to become more efficient in integrating the best position you can be in throughout the exercise and movement in general.
Final thoughts:
This article is not saying you should stop lifting weights!...that would be silly!...loaded compound movements are still a necessity to building strength, power and gaining mass for certain sports BUT when it comes to actually performing in those sports, it will be down to your all-round athleticism and how well your body moves and adapts to the physical demands of that sport that will make the difference to your performance.
'Once optimal efficiency has been achieved.....the potential for athletic enhancement of any kind is at it's greatest!!!'
References:
http://brentbrookbush.com/anterior-oblique-subsystem-aos/
http://www.functionalpatterns.com
