Dr Mel Siff Blog

Several folk have requested that I review a few articles that Paul Chek wrote
for Testosterone magazine on “How to be Back Strong and Beltless”, as
published on the following webpages:

< http://t-mag.com/html/body_121back.html >
< http://www.t-mag.com/html/body_122back.html >

He has not submitted Part 3 of this series, so, if he is still working on it,
it will be interesting to see if my review influences what he submits. These
two article already suggest that he has taken some of our earlier criticisms
to heart, because he is now admitting in this series that breath holding does
indeed stabilise the trunk.

HOW TO BE BACK STRONG & BELTLESS

PART 1

<<Regardless of your opinion about the origin of man, if you believe in God,
you have to wonder why he didn’t provide weight belts as standard-issue
equipment. On second thought, maybe he did, and we just don’t know how to use
them correctly.>>

*** Exactly the same remark may be applied to the wearing of shoes and it is Read more…

<< I am a novice powerlifter and I train and compete raw (no wraps, no suits,
no belt) and I was wondering what I should be doing with my abs during the
squat. Should I be sucking them in, or pushing them out, or something else
altogether? Does the same apply to the deadlift and bench? Note that, I hold
my breath throughout most of the lift(s). I begin to exhale after the
sticking point. Will this have any bearing on how I should use my abs? >>

*** What you appear to have been doing intuitively is most appropriate.
Breath holding is a reflex action meant to stabilise the body or to enable it
to produce maximal force or power under heavily loaded or suddenly imposed
stress.

There have been numerous claims that sucking in the abs or deliberately
trying to activate the transversus abdominis (TA) muscle is the best way of
stabilising the trunk during all activities. While one can voluntarily
control muscles during the initial phases of an exercise or during very slow
manoeuvres, it is not possible to do so under dynamic conditions, such as
encountered in the later stages of lifting or in any complex sporting
actions. In fact, any attempts to do so may profoundly disrupt your movement
patterns, as has been pointed out for many years in the form of this aphorism:
‘paralysis by analysis’.

Another anatomical principle should be remembered in this regard, namely “The
body knows of movements not muscles”, so that any attempt to deliberately
alter patterns of muscle activation during dynamic movement in a person who
is not exhibiting any neuromuscular pathology may instill faulty patterns,
timings and rates of muscle synergism.

Note that all or most advice on ab ’sucking in’ and TA recruitment has been
extrapolated from the world of ‘average’ folk and not elite athletes, least
of all any type of competitive lifter, few or none of whom would ever
consider sucking in abs or trying to activate TA during the dynamic or
explosive phases of the lifts, because these unproven actions could cause
spinal injury.

Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA