The Spine 125another set of 6 to 12 repetitions of abdominal work.
During this recovery time, other muscle groups could
be strengthened or stretched. The common practice
of performing multiple sets of abdominal exercises
immediately following one another generally results
in little if any improvement in strength and makes
the exercises primarily beneficial for muscular
endurance. For the dancer who wants to maximize
improvement in both strength and endurance, the
first three sets of abdominal muscle exercises
can be performed in a strength format with
adequate overload and recovery and the final
set performed in an endurance format with
lower overload and higher reps.
Stabilization Exercises Because the abdomi-
nal muscles play a very important role as pos-
tural stabilizers as well as spinal flexors, some
exercise specialists advocate that strengthen-
ing the abdominal muscles is not sufficient in
itself and recommend the inclusion of exer-
cises that emphasize the abdominal muscles
working in an isometric manner to help sta-
bilize the trunk while the upper limbs, lower
limbs, or whole body moves. Stabilization exer-
cises generally emphasize co-contraction of
trunk muscles including the spinal flexors and
extensors while a neutral position of the pelvis
(not tucked) and spine (with a normal lumbar
lordosis) is maintained. These exercises are
designed to emphasize the motor control
aspect of developing core stability. Although
this is currently a very popular notion, what
exercises best develop core stabilization is
controversial and will require sound scien-
tific investigation. Furthermore, some of the
exercises advocated for stabilization are low in
effectiveness for building abdominal strength,
and so, in the opinion of the author, should
be done in addition to, rather than in place
of, traditional abdominal exercises.
An example of a stabilization exercise is
the leg reach shown in table 3.4G (p. 136). As
skill improves, learning to stabilize the torso
while the torso changes its position in space
and relationship to gravity is a way to try to
foster transfer to more complex movement.
For example, side support positions can be
performed on the elbows or hands, focusing
on keeping the spine and pelvis stable as the
body shifts from side, to facedown, to opposite
side (figure 3.42A). Similarly, the abdominals
can be used to posteriorly tilt the pelvis as the
ball is brought toward the shoulders and then
to stabilize the spine and pelvis as the ball
moves away and the body moves into an extended
plank position (kneeling abs, figure 3.42B). This
ball exercise can be made more challenging by
starting with the feet on the ball and lifting the body
with the knees straight to an inverted āVā position
(table 3.4F [p. 136]) as the ball moves toward the
shoulders. Adding a push-up in either the inverted
(figure 3.42C) or plank position can also be useful
for developing stabilization skills. ElectromyographicFIGURE 3.41 Using different types of muscle contraction to
develop abdominal strength in a greater range of motion. (A) This
is the height that can be reached with a concentric contraction.
(B) Hands are used to pull up slightly higher; then hands are
released, and this higher range is isometrically maintained.
(C) Start from sitting and curl back to use an eccentric
contraction in a higher range than can be obtained concentrically.