Power Abs - Psoas Muscle Training
In the group fitness arena, instructors are given the challenge of offering up a great workout to appease the masses.
Easier said than done.
In a never-ending world of new fad diets and cutting-edge muscle-training technology, the fitness aficionado's demands can border upon schizophrenic.
Add to that, a sprinkling of fresh-faced hopefuls who are looking for a guiding light on their journey to improved health and wellness - or at very least a diminished feeling of lethargy - and the instructor is often faced with a nearly impossible task of delivering a great workout to each participant.
This paradigm is hugely apparent toward the end of the class - when participants have already exerted a sufficient amount of energy.
Up next, the dreaded "Ab Workout".
How does one give the seasoned veteran a rockin' CORE workout, yet not scare the newbies? Thankfully, this part of the class only lasts about 10 minutes...
unless, of course "Abs" is in the title of the class format.
Then, you're looking at 20 - 40 minutes of wonderfully gut-wrenching crunches, twists, turns and hold maneuvers.
Whoo-yah! It's at the onset of this portion of the workout that I introduce my secret weapon for powerful abs: "PSOAS" training (also called iliospoas).
I discovered this very important "Core of Your Core" on the Chiropractic table some 2 decades ago while receiving treatment for my sciatic nerve pain.
As part of my therapy, the doctor instructed me to raise my straightened leg as I laid very flat on my back.
Oh! And...
I had to do this while she held my leg down from several seconds to a few minutes at a time.
That no-frills resistance training at first, felt like a slow, tingling burn; but soon became a familiar and strangely enough, an almost welcomed feeling.
This "workout" was repeated 3 times weekly for a couple of months.
By the end of that time, my doctor announced to me that she had never met a stronger set of psoas muscles - woman, man or athlete.
"Why, thank you...
I guess?" Then, I thought, what can I do with this talent / skill? "I know! I'll share it in class!" "The psoas muscle is the foundation of strong abs - the core of your core", I would explain.
"It's a long narrow muscle that starts about here, (pointing to the inner part of my upper thigh) and ends about here (pointing in the general area of my bikini line) and is the only muscle that connects your legs to your torso.
Your abs sit right on top of the iliospoas so if you hope to effectively work your abs, you must start here.
Building a strong mid-section depends on properly strengthening the core as a whole.
The center of that core is the psoas muscle.
To build a strong house, you must have a strong foundation.
The same applies to building your body.
Your core is the foundation of that body - the psoas is the foundation of your core" According to Liz Koch, author of "The Psoas Book", this little muscle has a profound influence in our well-being; saying that it is "critical for balance, alignment, joint rotation and range of motion...
also influences the circulatory system, the functioning of organs and diaphragmatic breathing.
" Working out the psoas is fairly simple - but if you've never done them before - you will feel a definite burn.
Sitting tall on your bench (I prefer 2 risers) straighten one leg forward with ankle flexed and toes pointed to the side.
Keeping the other leg bent so that you can hold yourself sitting up during the exercise, pull the leg in (toward the body) and out (away from the body) for several reps keeping inner thigh opened toward the ceiling.
Next, straighten the leg in front of you, toes pointed to the side and raise up and down for several reps.
Lastly, point the whole leg toward the side and raise up and down for several more reps.
Make sure you do not cheat by leaning back and resting on your arms.
Sitting up is vital to proper form.
"It's so simple to do" I announce, "that you can even do it from your chair at work".
Even better, you can do it from the comfort of your home-based business office (aka the backyard pool).
Another way to assist the psoas in strengthening and building the CORE is to cleanse your liver.
Your liver is the filtration system for your body and is phenomenal at keeping harmful substances, such as alcohol, away from the bloodstream.
However, we continually breath, drink and ingest toxins our liver was never designed to break down (like pesticides, household cleaning agents, flame retardants, etc), therefore placing undo stress on the organ and weakening its function.
The only way to release these toxins, which commonly bind together to form liver stones or gall stones, is to do a complete liver detoxifying cleanse.
Amazingly enough, by simply cleansing the liver, your body's other organs will function much more efficiently.
Metabolizing calories into energy or structure becomes more effective...
resulting in weight and fat loss (especially in the mid-section), making it easier to achieve a strong CORE! Have fun & welcome to the psoas burn!
Easier said than done.
In a never-ending world of new fad diets and cutting-edge muscle-training technology, the fitness aficionado's demands can border upon schizophrenic.
Add to that, a sprinkling of fresh-faced hopefuls who are looking for a guiding light on their journey to improved health and wellness - or at very least a diminished feeling of lethargy - and the instructor is often faced with a nearly impossible task of delivering a great workout to each participant.
This paradigm is hugely apparent toward the end of the class - when participants have already exerted a sufficient amount of energy.
Up next, the dreaded "Ab Workout".
How does one give the seasoned veteran a rockin' CORE workout, yet not scare the newbies? Thankfully, this part of the class only lasts about 10 minutes...
unless, of course "Abs" is in the title of the class format.
Then, you're looking at 20 - 40 minutes of wonderfully gut-wrenching crunches, twists, turns and hold maneuvers.
Whoo-yah! It's at the onset of this portion of the workout that I introduce my secret weapon for powerful abs: "PSOAS" training (also called iliospoas).
I discovered this very important "Core of Your Core" on the Chiropractic table some 2 decades ago while receiving treatment for my sciatic nerve pain.
As part of my therapy, the doctor instructed me to raise my straightened leg as I laid very flat on my back.
Oh! And...
I had to do this while she held my leg down from several seconds to a few minutes at a time.
That no-frills resistance training at first, felt like a slow, tingling burn; but soon became a familiar and strangely enough, an almost welcomed feeling.
This "workout" was repeated 3 times weekly for a couple of months.
By the end of that time, my doctor announced to me that she had never met a stronger set of psoas muscles - woman, man or athlete.
"Why, thank you...
I guess?" Then, I thought, what can I do with this talent / skill? "I know! I'll share it in class!" "The psoas muscle is the foundation of strong abs - the core of your core", I would explain.
"It's a long narrow muscle that starts about here, (pointing to the inner part of my upper thigh) and ends about here (pointing in the general area of my bikini line) and is the only muscle that connects your legs to your torso.
Your abs sit right on top of the iliospoas so if you hope to effectively work your abs, you must start here.
Building a strong mid-section depends on properly strengthening the core as a whole.
The center of that core is the psoas muscle.
To build a strong house, you must have a strong foundation.
The same applies to building your body.
Your core is the foundation of that body - the psoas is the foundation of your core" According to Liz Koch, author of "The Psoas Book", this little muscle has a profound influence in our well-being; saying that it is "critical for balance, alignment, joint rotation and range of motion...
also influences the circulatory system, the functioning of organs and diaphragmatic breathing.
" Working out the psoas is fairly simple - but if you've never done them before - you will feel a definite burn.
Sitting tall on your bench (I prefer 2 risers) straighten one leg forward with ankle flexed and toes pointed to the side.
Keeping the other leg bent so that you can hold yourself sitting up during the exercise, pull the leg in (toward the body) and out (away from the body) for several reps keeping inner thigh opened toward the ceiling.
Next, straighten the leg in front of you, toes pointed to the side and raise up and down for several reps.
Lastly, point the whole leg toward the side and raise up and down for several more reps.
Make sure you do not cheat by leaning back and resting on your arms.
Sitting up is vital to proper form.
"It's so simple to do" I announce, "that you can even do it from your chair at work".
Even better, you can do it from the comfort of your home-based business office (aka the backyard pool).
Another way to assist the psoas in strengthening and building the CORE is to cleanse your liver.
Your liver is the filtration system for your body and is phenomenal at keeping harmful substances, such as alcohol, away from the bloodstream.
However, we continually breath, drink and ingest toxins our liver was never designed to break down (like pesticides, household cleaning agents, flame retardants, etc), therefore placing undo stress on the organ and weakening its function.
The only way to release these toxins, which commonly bind together to form liver stones or gall stones, is to do a complete liver detoxifying cleanse.
Amazingly enough, by simply cleansing the liver, your body's other organs will function much more efficiently.
Metabolizing calories into energy or structure becomes more effective...
resulting in weight and fat loss (especially in the mid-section), making it easier to achieve a strong CORE! Have fun & welcome to the psoas burn!
Source...