The British version of runners world recently did an expose on the benefits of hill running. They suggest that hill running strengthens tendons and ligaments, reduces the risk of injury and improves overall running form. Most of us these days will incorporate some kind of strength training when we go to the gym and lift weights. The problem is that while these exercises do increase strength and muscular power, they do it in isolation of your running, focusing on individual joints and small sets of muscles.

Hill sessions, in contrast, force the muscles in your hips, legs, ankles and feet to contract in a coordinated fashion while supporting your full body weight, just as they have to during normal running. In addition, on uphill sections your muscles contract more powerfully than usual because they are forced to overcome gravity to move you up the hill. The result is more power, which in turn leads to longer, faster running strides.

Are you still not sold on running hills? The Karolinska Institute in Sweden carried out a study to see what the benefits of hill running were. One major study carried out on marathon runners discovered that after 12 weeks of twice-weekly hill sessions, the athletes’ running economy had improved by three per cent. Although the subjects were trained runners, that improvement would still have helped them clip as much as two minutes off a 10-mile time or six minutes off a marathon.

Other research, carried out by Dr Bengt Saltin, discovered that runners who trained on hills have much higher concentrations of aerobic enzymes – the chemicals which allow your muscles to function at high intensity for long periods without fatigue – in their quadriceps muscles than those who did all their running on flat terrain. Heightened aerobic power in your quads gives you improved knee lift while running and also accelerates each leg forward more quickly as you run, which improves your speed.

Those who run on hills have also been shown to be less likely to lose fitness when they take time off from training. And many scientists believe that hill training can improve the elasticity of muscles, tendons and ligaments, allowing these tissues to carry out more work with less effort and fatigue.

The following are three types of hill exercises that can be added to any running workout.

1.    The Basic Hill Interval. Add a set of hill running intervals (anywhere from 3-7 repetitions, ranging from 50 to 800 meters in distance), at a slow to moderate pace. This can be done as part of any run. During your run, you simply run up some hills. The pace is not a sprint or hard effort at all, and the point of doing such a set of intervals is to develop specific upper leg strength that develops the muscle used to lift the knees. Additionally, keep your hips forward and drive off of the back of your leg as your opposite knee is lifted high. There is sometimes a tendency to slouch or hunch forward the shoulders. This happens particularly if you are feeling fatigue, either in general or from the workout itself. Be sure to keep this from happening by maintaining a ‘proud’ form throughout the intervals.

2.    Hill Sprints. These are short but intense efforts on steep hills. Start with a few intervals of 8 to 10 seconds each, then very gradually increase repetitions and durations. When executing hill sprints, each stride should be strong. Focus on a powerful movement that brings your knees up as you drive hard off of the back of your opposite leg. The key here is to straighten the leg that is doing the driving. This movement translates into one thing: Power. If you find yourself slowing considerably or feeling quite fatigued, you have done enough repetitions.

3.    Hill Bounding. On a gentle hill, using your body as resistance by bounding as high as possible. There is little forward momentum needed here, as the point is to gain vertically more than horizontally. By landing on the ball of one’s foot, this action in turn forces the runner’s ankle to increase in flexibility and power, both up and down. It also strengthens leg muscles similarly to plyometric exercises. The number of repetitions, like the hill sprints, can be determined by performance during the intervals: If you begin to feel tired or your execution of the action begins to wain, it is most likely time to move on to a cool down in your workout.

All I can say is I hope to see some of you out on the hills in the coming weeks before the USA’s biggest 15km, the Gate River Run.

Happy Running! 

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/everything-you-need-to-know-about-hill-training/159.html

Phys Ed: How Exercising Keeps Your Cells Young

Chev Wilkinson/Getty Images  

Recently, scientists in Germany gathered several groups of men and women to look at their cells’ life spans. Some of them were young and sedentary, others middle-aged and sedentary. Two other groups were, to put it mildly, active. The first of these consisted of professional runners in their 20s, most of them on the national track-and-field team, training about 45 miles per week. The last were serious, middle-aged longtime runners, with an average age of 51 and a typical training regimen of 50 miles per week, putting those young 45-mile-per-week sluggards to shame.

From the first, the scientists noted one aspect of their older runners. It ‘‘was striking,’’ recalls Dr. Christian Werner, an internal-medicine resident at Saarland University Clinic in Homburg, ‘‘to see in our study that many of the middle-aged athletes looked much younger than sedentary control subjects of the same age.’’  

Even more striking was what was going on beneath those deceptively youthful surfaces. When the scientists examined white blood cells from each of their subjects, they found that the cells in both the active and slothful young adults had similar-size telomeres. Telomeres are tiny caps on the end of DNA strands — the discovery of their function won several scientists the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine. When cells divide and replicate these long strands of DNA, the telomere cap is snipped, a process that is believed to protect the rest of the DNA but leaves an increasingly abbreviated telomere. Eventually, if a cell’s telomeres become too short, the cell ‘‘either dies or enters a kind of suspended state,’’ says Stephen Roth, an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Maryland who is studying exercise and telomeres. Most researchers now accept telomere length as a reliable marker of cell age. In general, the shorter the telomere, the functionally older and more tired the cell.

It’s not surprising, then, that the young subjects’ telomeres were about the same length, whether they ran exhaustively or sat around all day. None of them had been on earth long enough for multiple cell divisions to have snipped away at their telomeres. The young never appreciate robust telomere length until they’ve lost it.

There are plenty of reasons to exercise — in this column, I’ve pointed out more than a few — but the effect that regular activity may have on cellular aging could turn out to be the most profound. ‘‘It’s pretty exciting stuff,’’ says Thomas LaRocca, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado in Boulder, who has just completed a new study echoing Werner’s findings. In Mr. LaRocca’s work, people were tested both for their V02max — or maximum aerobic capacity, a widely accepted measure of physical fitness — and their white blood cells’ telomere length. In subjects 55 to 72, a higher V02max correlated closely with longer telomeres. The fitter a person was in middle age or onward, the younger their cells.

There are countless unanswered questions about how and why activity affects the DNA. For instance, Dr. Werner found that his older runners had more activity in their telomerase, a cellular enzyme thought to aid in lengthening and protecting telomeres. Exercise may be affecting telomerase activity and not telomeres directly. In addition, Stephen Roth has been measuring telomeres and telomerase activity in a wide variety of tissues in mice and has found, he says, the protective effects from exercise only in some tissues.

Another question is whether we must run 50 miles a week to benefit. The answer ‘‘can only be speculative at the moment,’’ Dr. Werner says, although since he jogs much less than that, he probably joins the rest of us in hoping not. Given his and his colleagues’ data, ‘‘one could speculate,’’ he concludes, ‘‘that any form of intense exercise that is regularly performed over a long period of time’’ will improve ‘‘telomere biology,’’ meaning that with enough activity, each of us could outpace the passing years.

An earlier version of this article stated incorrectly that the Saarland University Clinic is located in Hamburg.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/phys-ed-how-exercising-keeps-your-cells-young/?ref=magazine

Quite often I get asked why people need a coach. It is an interesting question and one that needs answering. Often as runners we are consumed by the next step, mile, and race that we lose sight of everything that stops us from training smart or listening to our body’s. I for one can attest to this. I often plan out my athletes training 2-3 months in advance with a goal race or races in mind. Then we break down the weeks and plan specific workouts and runs. Many of the athletes I coach often get caught up in the numbers I schedule rather than the way their body is feeling and how they are handling the training. For example, this past week I had an athlete complete a HARD workout of mile repeats on a weekday only to have them come back over the weekend and run a 13mile long run. In an email I recieved Monday this athlete wrote: “I ran an additional loop and a half and so I think I ran just over 13…. I was also worn out overall.  I’ve got a long way to go before I’m going to be able to run 26 miles! ” 

When I reminded this athlete of their HARD workout during the week and then their other mileage before the weekend it gave this athlete a bit of perspective. This is where a having a coach is a good thing. Many of us as athetes have the drive and determination to improve our performance. However, it is often this same drive and determination that ends up getting an athlete over tired or god forbid injured or hurt. It takes someone other than the athlete to see and know when an athletes needs to have an easy day, and/or to take a day off. 

So how do you pick a coach?

There was recently a great article in the National Masters News written by Eric Dixon (USATF Level II Sprints/ Hurdles/ Relays Coach). Even though this article was aritten for an athlete looking to hire a sprint coach some of his points do cross over into other running distance areas.

1) Does he or she have experience to handle a broad range of clients and issues? For example, this would entail the coach recognizing things in their athletes such as age, work schedule, fitness background, other time/life constraints such as family.

2) Does the coach possess the ability to foster a good coach-athlete relationship. Any good coach will eventuall become your training partner, your friend, your ally, and your mentor and this is how it should be. Do you feel that this coach will looking out for your best interests.

3) Does the coach work with you to identify short and long term goals. Did the coach ask for your goals upfront and then work with you to develop your training plan.

4) Is the coach a good communicator. If you have an issue does the coach listen and respond to your concerns and help solve this issue.

5) A good coach will individualize your program to meet your age and lifestyle. They need to be able to consider things such as, training volume, nutrition, recovery, and strenghtening exercises just to name a few.

6) Does the coach try to give everyone equal time and is accessible to all their athletes.

7) Does the coach recognize your strengths and weaknesses and if so has the coach a plan to make the weaknesses better.

Durbin Creek Peninsula Perserve Trail

Off St. Augustine Road in Bartram Park in South Jacksonville. One of the best off-road courses in the Jacksonville Area. Map shows a six mile course, but can be 7 miles with out and back section between 3 and 4 miles as shown on map. There is also a three mile loop that you can run if you go to the next right after the two mile mark.

Northbank River Walk 5K

This is a great little course along the Riverwalk starting and finishing at the Hyatt Hotel on Coastline Drive.

Festival of Lights 5K Course

In San Marco from the Baptist Eye Institute. This is one of Jacksonville most scenic 5Ks. The race is run at night, so the runners miss the true beauty of this certified 3.1 mile course.

Downtown Bridge Loop

Nice 5 mile run starting from the YMCA on Riverside Ave. Course incorporates the new Northbank Riverwalk.

Meandering 5 Mile

Starts at 1st Place Sports on Baymeadows. This is a nice loop around the San Jose Country Club.

Loop the Loop 5 mile

Starts at 1st Place Sports on Baymeadows. Nice course along Beauclerc Road and Forest Circle. Bascially an out and back with a loop in the middle section.

Canal 5 1/2 lake loop

Starts at 1st Place Sports on Baymeadows Road. This is a great run for adventure seekers. The course cuts through Tomahawk Park and then runs the canals to Skinner Park. You can also run 7 miles by entended the run north of Skinner Park along the canals.

Canal 7

Longer version of above run.

Meandering 7

Starts at 1st Place Sports on Baymeadows Road. This is a great run along San Jose Blvd. Route takes you around San Jose Country Club.

Gate River Run Course

This is the big one in Jacksonville. This course is used as the site of the 15K national championship. Course starts on Duval Street in front of the Jacksonville Faigrounds, runs from the sports complex area, through downtown, San Marco, and back over the Hart Bridge to finish.

Jacksonville Marathon Course

This is a great course. 26.2 miles of beauty. Large oak, magnolia and Maple trees line this very scenic and flat course. Starts and finishes at Bolles School.

Jacksonville Bank 1/2 Marathon Course

1/2 marathon runs with the Jacksonville Marathon course above.

Ortega River Run Course

This 5 mile course starts and finishers at St. Mark’s Episcopal on Ortega Blvd. This is a very scenic course along the banks of the Cedar River.

Perfect 10

This ten mile course starts and finishes at the Lakewood Shopping Center at the corner of San Jose Blvd and University Blvd. West. This is the site of the orginial 1st Place Sports. The Perfect 10 gots is name not for it’s beauty or terrain, but because it was measured several times. The legend goes that every time one of the 1st Place Sports team members lowered the course record in training the course would be remeasured. John Rogerson, Bill Fisher, Pete Gambel, Jerry Oldin, Bill McCormick, Doug Alred, Mike Wachholz, and George Burns ran this course at least twice a week for several years. Rogerson held the course record with a 49:35.

RITA CASH 5K Southpoint

5K two loop course from Seven Bridges Restaurant at Tinseltown.

Outback 1/2 Marathon Course

Starts at Outback Steakhouse on San Jose Blvd just south of Baymeadows Road. Great course through some of Mandarin’s most scenic roads.

Toughest 10k in Jacksonville

This trail run starts at the Roosevelt Area trail head (off of Mt Pleasant Rd.) and winds through three parks(Roosevelt Area, Spanish Pond, & Fort Caroline) and has the steepest hills, roughest trails and best natural views in Jax. You will not be able to follow it as mapped, you’ll probably get lost (temporarily), but you’ll have a great time if you enjoy this kind of running. Definitely a run for the cooler months in FL.

Loop to Loop 10 Mile

Great ten mile course from the corner of San Jose and Baymedows Road in front of Hooters. Route runs along the recreation paths on Beauclerc and Scott Mill Roads. The route does a loop around Forest Circle on the way out and then on the way back. The route also has a 1.3 mile loop on the bottom of the course. The course gots it’s name from the type of workout that 1st Place Sports teams members ran on this course. The three loops were ran at race pace while atempting to run tempo pace betweeen the loops.

Retro River Run 5K

This course starts at “The Runner” statue on Coastline Drive and follows a route through downtown that closely follows the original River Run course. The route crosses the Main and Acosta bridges and finishes at the Jacksonville Landing.

Exploration Run

5 mile loop over the Acosta and Main Street Bridge and then out and back along the Northbank Riverwalk.

Celebration 5K

Certified 5K loop starting and finishing at 1st Place Sports, 3931 Baymedows Road. This course is used for the Celebration 5K and the 5K with the Tour de Pain.

Super Sunday 5K

This is a nice training course from the JCA located at the corner of San Jose Blvd and San Clerc Roads in the Beaulcerc section of Jacksonville.

Link to all posted Jacksonville running routes:

http://www.usatf.org/routes/search/searchResults.asp?distance_from=&distance_to=&distanceUnits=mi&startType=&startName=&facility=&city=jacksonville&state=FL&rating=&show=25&page=4

TECHNIQUE

Lie prone (face down) on the ball with your arms by your sides (picture 1). Your eyes should be looking at the floor (this keeps the neck in alignment with the spine). Lift your chest and shoulders off the floor and hold for 3-10 seconds then return to the floor. Rest and repeat

Increase the resistance of the movement by adjusting arm, hand and leg position. Options in order of difficulty are hands under the chin (picture 3), hands touching the side of the head (picture 4)

Picture 1: Start position with hands by the sides                           Picture 2: Hold position with hands by the sides

Picture 3: Hands under the chin                                 Picture 4: Legs and arms not touching the ground

EXERCISE STRUCTURE

Perform sets of 10-12 repetitions. As you become more proficient aim to first increase the duration of each repetition (up to 10 seconds) and then aim to progress the level of the exercise through the use of altered hand positions as described above. Remember to always keep the head down with the eyes looking at the ground. This exercise can be progressed by using a swiss ball and a back extension machine.

PROGRESSION OPTIONS

Swiss Ball Back Extension, Machine Back Extension

SWISS BALL LYING BRIDGE – CURL VARIANTS

TECHNIQUE

Begin this exercise by lying on the floor with your legs up on a Swiss ball. Your arms should be out to the side for improved balance with feet together, hips on the ground and eyes looking at the roof. Activate your core muscles while still in this position. All of the following variants begin with this starting sequence.

BRIDGE: When ready raise your hips off the ground so that your hips are as high as possible(But not in hyperextension)  until you are in the position shown in picture one with only your shoulders, head and arms touching the ground. Hold each repetition for 5-6 seconds and squeeze your hamstrings and glutes. Lower the body to the ground, rest for 1-2 seconds and repeat.

Picture 1:  Bridge Top position (Beginner)                      Picture 2: Bridge + curl top position (intermediate)

Picture 3: Top position, arms across chest (intermediate)           Picture 4: Top position on top of toes

These next few variants are for the more advanced and should be approached with caution and correct technique is paramount.

Hamstring curl and one legged hold

This is a hard exercise and one that is very challenging. You are to start this exercise with the normal procedure, then you proceed to contract your hamstrings to bring the ball closer to you butt. Once there and in control you are to lift one of your feet from the ball and hold the ball and your body using your core. Like that seen in picture 6.

Picture 5: starting position of one legged hold    Picture 6: end position of one legged hold

Single legged hamstring curl

This is the most advance exercise in this series. The whole exercise is done with only one leg touching the ball and in control of balance, movement and support.

Picture 7: starting position                                           Picture 8: end position

EXERCISE STRUCTURE

Perform 2 sets of 10 – 15 repetitions. As strength and balance improve use the above variants to ensure you are still challenging yourself.

SWISS BALL ISOMETRIC PRESS-UP HOLD + VARIANTS

TECHNIQUE

This is the first exercise to get you ready for the Swiss ball press-up exercise. This exercise can be done two ways and both are shown here. In Pictures one and two you can see the first of these!

Pictures 1: Starting position with feet on the ball and your knees touching the floor. The ball can be pushed into the wall to add more balance, your hands are placed on the floor approx 20cm apart. Begin with contacting your belly button up to the ceiling to brace your stomach then lift your knees from the floor like that shown in picture 2 and hold for 10seconds. Please make sure that your body is held in a straight line (do not allow the hips to sag)

Picture 1: Starting position                                                Picture 2: isometric hold position

This variant with your hands on the ball instead of your feet is more difficult! It involves you to have good shoulder stability and works very well on making you tired a lot more quickly – so caution is advised.

Picture 3: Hands on ball starting position                               Picture 4: Hands on ball end position

To make this exercise even harder still you can push the ball further away from your head like that seen in picture 5.

Picture 5: Long lever arm – hard

EXERCISE STRUCTURE

Aim when doing the hold version of this exercise to balance for 10 seconds on each repetition and complete 3-5 repetitions. When you move to the press up versions of the exercise try to work up to 15 repetitions and do 2 sets.

Additional progressions are available such as moving the ball away from the wall during the press-up. Ift one of your feet from your base of support etc.

SWISS BALL WOOD-CHOP

TECHNIQUE

Lie with your shoulders and head on the ball with your feet placed firmly on the floor and you are to keep a flat spine but contracting your glutes, and then raise your hands and link your fingers together (picture 1). Then using your external and internal oblique muscles you are to rotate your trunk onto one shoulder slow and controlled (picture 2), while also trying to maintain your hips as level as possible.

Then you are to return back to the starting position while still controlling your speed.

Picture 1: Initial starting position                      Picture 3: The end position

EXERCISE STRUCTURE

Perform 8-12 repetitions per side – 2 sets.

PROGRESSION OPTIONS

You can increase the difficulty by increasing the hand held weight, or by taking the leg on the same side you are moving towards off of the floor.

4, 3, 2, and 1 POINT BALANCE

TECHNIQUE

Start by holding the ball in front of you with your knees lightly touching the leading surface.

Slowly roll forward onto the ball keeping balanced by using your hands, and try to maintain balance with your weight evenly distributed on each of the 4 points in contact with the ball (2 hands, 2 knees)

You can make this exercise more difficult by decreasing the number of points (hands or knees) you have on the ball like those seen in pictures 2 – 5 below.

Picture 1: 4 point balance  Picture 2: 3 point balance #1                         Picture 3: 3 point balance #2

Picture 4: 2 point balance #1                            Picture 5: 2 point balance #2            Picture 6: 1 point balance

EXERCISE STRUCTURE

Aim to balance for 10 or more seconds on each repetition. Perform 3-5 repetitions, or you can work on playing for a set time of up to 2mins.

You can also make this exercise harder by taking away the use of the eyes by closing them

Here is a quick discussion on the do’s and don’ts of stretching:

Don’t bounce while stretching.

Hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds but preferably up to 30 seconds.

Don’t stretch past the point of resistance. You should feel the tension but it shouldn’t be painful.

Benefits of Stretching

Stretching will help with muscle soreness, increase your recovery, increase athletic performance, and will help to prevent injuries.

When to Stretch

Before Exercise

If you are going for a steady run or walk or jog, I think it’s OK if you just do a few light stretches (6-7 seconds) of the quads, hamstrings and calves and then proceed with your training. As you run, your body will start to loosen up. If for some reason it doesn’t, stop and stretch again for longer this time. If you are going to be doing a hard run or race, you need to warm the muscles up first with a jog for 5-10 minutes and then stop and stretch properly. Go through your whole stretching routine. Stretching is very important before your hard training session begins. You then proceed with a few fast strides and then you’re ready to go. The faster you have to run, the more you have to stretch. For example a mile race requires a lot more stretching time than a 5k or 10k race.

After Exercise

Go through your stretching routine properly as you will get a very good improvement in your recovery time. If you don’t stretch, you’ll be stiff (tight) most of the day and before your next training session.

Here are some examples of stretches:

Hamstring

Have stretching leg out straight in front.

Bend upper body with hands out stretched reaching for your toes. Check Picture.

Quads/thighs

Bring heel to buttocks while standing up tall.

Knees together and pelvis tilted forward.

Adductor Stretch:

While seated, bend your knees drawing your ankles up as close to the buttocks as possible. Put the soles of your feet together while lowering your knees outward to stretch the inside of the thighs. Hold your ankles while applying downward pressure with the elbows to the inside of the knees will increase the stretch.

Hip Flexor

Place one foot flat on the floor in front of you.

Then slowly push other leg back so that your leg is stretched out behind you.

Then tilt your pelvis forward and lean into the stretch.

Long Calf

Short Calf

Iliotibial Band (ITB)

Cross legs/feet over,

Bend to the side from the hip, keeping the body straight

Lean forward towards wall

As a result of training on a regular basis, there is a build up of lactic acid (toxins) in the muscle tissue which needs to be removed in order for the muscles to function properly and get the nutrients and oxygen they need.

In order to get the best out of our hard workouts and racing we need to have fresh legs. One of the ways we can get fresh legs when running high weekly mileage is to have massages.

But for most of us , we don’t put in the time to stretch properly after our runs because we are so busy and we don’t take stretching seriously.

Sports and Deep Tissue massage will not only supplement our lack of stretching but will work on our deeper layers of muscle tissue which we quite often can’t stretch because of a bio-mechanical impingement’s.

Massage will take you a long way. If you want to perform better and recover better, try it! You won’t be disappointed as your workouts and racing times improve dramatically with light, fresh legs.

Sports Massage

Sports Massage is a special form of massage which is typically used before, after or during competition to prepare the athletes body for peak performance, reduce muscle fatigue, reduce muscle tension (tight muscles) and to prevent injuries.

Sports Massage can be aimed at healing strained muscles and allowing healthy muscle to reach peak performance while minimizing the risk of injury.

Deep Tissue Massage

Deep Tissue Massage focuses on the deeper layers of the muscle tissue. This massage aims at releasing chronic patterns of tension with slow deep strokes and deep finger pressure.

Deep tissue massage releases sore, tight muscles, to prevent those niggling injuries that often get in the way of our performance whether we are a runner or a jogger.

A Deep Tissue Massage not only loosens muscle tissue, but releases toxins from the muscles (lactic Acid) and gets the blood flowing into the area so the muscle can “breath” again.

You may be a little sore for a couple of days after some deep tissue work but you’ll feel better than ever after that.

Personal Running Solutions Recommends contacting the following massage therapist’s today:

Jenny Lindley BS, LMT
Holistic Wellness Programs/Massage Therapy
By appointment (904) 614-7466
jlfcpt@hotmail.com

• Sports Massage
• Deep Tissue/NMT
• Structural rebalancing/Myofasicial Release
• Wellness profiles
• Holistic wellness guidelines
• Stretching Programs

SWISS BALL TRAINING FOR BEGINNERS

INTRODUCTION

In most gyms in the U.S.A. Swiss balls are now these days are as common as treadmills and dumbbells. However Swiss balls are a quite new addition to the health and fitness industry. Swiss balls are not the magic exercise tool to obtain the perfect physique but they are an excellent way to improve balance and strength and will provide challenge and variety to an exercise regime. As part of a general fitness program including aerobic exercise, strength training and flexibility exercises the Swiss ball can help you obtain a physical condition that will encourage good sporting performance, help you perform your job with greater proficiency and improve general quality of life. This small booklet has been developed to aid you to get the most out of your Swiss ball and ultimately achieve better Core strength’ and ‘functional stability’. By training your core strength you can reduce chance of injury, and can in fact help you perform better in all areas of exercise and daily living.

What is “Core Stability?”

The superficial and deep musculature found in the front, side and back of the hips and torso is referred to by fitness experts as the “core”. Core stability is being able to control the movements and actions of these muscles, and is thus the fundamental principle of core stability training. Knowledge of the muscles and the movements that they cause is important in understanding the exercises described in this booklet. The ability to control the pelvis and position it in the best position for certain movements provides better and more effective force application by the arms and legs. The core muscle group is said to need three key qualities; they need to have an appropriate ability to lengthen (stretch) (in particular the hip flexors and hamstrings), they need to be sufficiently strong, and they need to have the ability to be activated when needed and in an appropriate sequence with other muscles. Thus these three qualities are the foundation of designing a “core strength training program”.

Core Stability Training

An appropriate core training program consists of a wide variety of exercises and can in fact not only include a Swiss ball but such things as medicine balls, rubber-bands and of course weight training equipment found in most gyms. Many of you that have been doing weight room training in the past are already using your core but not in an isolated way. Many of the tasks we do in our daily lives works on our core strength like climbing a rope, digging a hole and shoveling dirt and lifting heavy boxes. Below are the important aspects of a core strength training program.

1. Variation

2. Appropriate exercises for your level

3. Exercises should include those that require the torso to twist, flexion and extension, and some isometric (no movement) muscle action.

4. If you are doing core strength exercises to enhance sport performance then sport specific exercises should be included.

Unfortunately research has not proven that core stability training directly improves performance but sport experts see significant benefits gained from this type of training both in terms of injury prevention and rehabilitation and for improving sporting ability.

Choosing the right Swiss ball

Which Ball?

With the explosion in Swiss ball use as a training tool there are now many models of Swiss balls. They range from a fairly basic and inexpensive model to a more expensive anti-burst model. The model you choose should be based upon your budget and your anticipated use. Some of the cheaper models can quickly lose their shape and be easily punctured, while the anti-burst balls do not appear to provide a sufficient increase in benefits from the mid-range balls to justify their higher price.

Size and Shape and inflation

Swiss balls come in many different sizes (55-95cm) and it is very important to purchase a ball size that best matches your height and weight. Most individuals of average height should use the 65cm size Swiss ball. Shorter individuals and those taller may require a 55cm and 75cm ball respectively. However a perfect way to check your perfect Swiss ball size is to sit down on the ball with your feet planted flat on the floor. The angle of your knee joint should be 90 degrees, see picture one below for illustration. However something to watch out for is that there will be slight variations in ball size when it is inflated. When inflating you’re my suggestion is to use a compressor as it is difficult to gain sufficient pressure when using a hand-pump. It is important to inflate the ball to its certain size, but you need to understand the firmer the ball the more difficult many of the exercises will become (with a few exceptions).

Swiss ball don’ts

It is not a good idea to kick or bounce, leave it in direct sunlight as this will cause your ball to lose its shape more quickly. Please never use your ball near sharp objects.

Basic Training principles

To construct your own program or understand some of the theories behind the construction of this and the other manuals it is important for us to give you some basic training principles.

Principle of individuality

This Principle basically tells us that everybody has a different genetic makeup and thus adapts, and may benefits from exercise differently, so in many ways this should dictate the decisions concerning training differently for each individual to maximise your results.

Principle of specificity

This principle simply states that training must follow from a very general training program like the ones found here in this manual to very specific training like that found in the advanced manual. The principle of Specificity also implies that to become better at a particular exercise or skill, you must perform that exercise or skill. So in order to be a good runner, you must run. Therefore to benefit your core most you must do specific exercises but if we are training your core for a specific sport then as you get more advanced then you need to include some specific exercises.

Principle of progressive overload

This principle is probably one of the most important and implies that for you to improve and benefit from a training program you must overload (train) to stress your muscles and nervous system greater than the normal stress or load. Once the body has adapted then a different stimulus is required to continue the improvements. However there is an optimal level of training that should be achieved, and an optimal timeframe for this overload to occur. Training should not be increased too slowly or improvement is unlikely. Training that is increased too rapidly will result in injury or muscle damage. Exercising above the target zone is counterproductive and can be dangerous. The Principle also makes us realize the need for proper rest and recovery. Continual stress on the body and constant overload will result in exhaustion (staleness) and injury. You should not and can not train hard everyday. Doing so will lead to overtraining and a great deal of physical and psychological damage will result.

Principle of Disuse

This Principle implies that you need to “use it or lose it.” This simply means that your muscles and benefits from exercise deteriorate with disuse. It is important to find a balance between stress and rest. There must be periods of low intensity between periods of high intensity to allow for recovery.

Principle of periodisation

Periodisation is the process of varying a training program at regular time intervals to bring about optimal gains in physical performance. The goal of periodising an exercise program is to optimize training during short (e.g., weeks, months) as well as long periods of time (e.g., years, a life time, or an athletic career).

Principle of hard/easy

You will not become a better athlete by doing the same training regimen every day. Athletes train by taking hard workouts on one day, feeling sore on the next, and not taking another hard workout until the muscles stop feeling sore. If you want to become stronger or faster or increase your endurance, you have to exercise hard or long enough to make your muscles burn. Then your muscles will be sore for one or more days. If you try to exercise hard when your muscles are damaged, you will tear them and the muscles will weaken and can often lead to injury. However if you wait for the soreness to disappear, your muscles will be stronger than they were before your intense workout. As you continue to take stressful workouts only after the soreness disappears, you will become progressively stronger and faster and have greater exercise benefits. Athletes in most sports train once or twice a day in their sports, but they do not exercise intensely more often than every 48 hours.

Constructing your Swiss ball program

If you currently participate in a weight lifting program then you can include some of the following Swiss ball exercises as merely a training supplement. We would suggest including 2-4 Swiss ball exercises at the end of a resistance training session, as a short session later on the same day as your gym session, or on a completely another day. In these situations we suggest that the selection of exercises be altered every 5-6 sessions to develop a better overall level of balance and proficiency. If you are undertaking a split strength training program then you can select Swiss ball exercises that match the muscle groups that you are training in that gym session.

If it is your aim to use the Swiss ball as a stand alone exercise program then we would suggest following the sample programs suggested on this site. As with any strength program it is important to follow the fundamental principle of progression.