Tuesday, September 14, 2010

How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck - or Crunch

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/two-reasons-for-throwing-out-crunches-and-sit-ups/

The definition of core strength is the ability the athlete has to resist deflection when the spine is under a load.  So how many crunches do you have to do in order to be able to hold your spine erect under a heavy barbell?  If you did 1000 crunches a day, would you have a strong core?

Obviously, the answer is no.  To have a strong core, you have to lift weight and support it with your spine, using the deadlift, squat, press, clean, snatch, overhead squat, or the kettlebell/dumb bell/sandbag/Atlas stone variants of the same movements.  This is why everyone - grandmothers, grandchildren, moms, dads, schoool teachers, cops, elite warriors or plain old folks - benefits from training in the basic lifts more than they will benefit from cardio, crunches, machine training and pec deck work.

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