Mastering Scapular Control And Proper Abdominal Recruitment
Brian Devlin
BS, CPT, LMT, NMT
How often have you heard people complain of back pain when they are doing sit-ups?
Why does this happen?
Let’s start by first understanding the role of scapular control and how that effects core strength which in turn achieves lower abdominal strenth and a flat stomach.
The scapulas move in basically four directions.
These four movements affect how our spine and abs will be recruited during movement.
Scapular protraction moves the shoulder blades forward on the rib cage and shoulder girdle in a forward direction. The muscles working in this scapular exercise are the pectoralis minor and the serratus anterior.
Scapular retraction moves the shoulder girdle and blades together toward the vertebral column. The muscles working in this scapular exercise are the rhomboids and middle trapezius.
Scapular depression moves the shoulder girdle and blades down the back and involves the pectoralis minor and lower trapezius.
Scapular elevation moves the shoulder girdle and blades up the back toward the ear, like a shoulder shrug. Muscles working in scaular elevation exercises are the upper traps and levator scapula.
Here is a secret that most people don’t know…
If one can not forcefully protract the scapula, one cannot effectively engage the pelvic tilt muscles responsible for flattening out the lower stomach.
It is this pelvic tilt response that allows us to flatten the lumbar curve during a sit-up.
If your client can not effectively engage their protractors and use proper latissimus tension, they will forever have low back pain upon attempting a sit-up.
Watch the video below for some clips from Spider Training that may help you see the light during your next personal training session.
Spider Training 1 Mastering Scapular Control
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9 Responses to “Mastering Scapular Control And Proper Abdominal Recruitment”
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Feel free to ask any questions on this post. I will try to answer ALL.
B
Brian-
Hola! Maybe you can help me think a situation through. I’ve brought it up over at Super-Trainer and also on JP forums, and no one had any insight. I do overthink things, lol. Anyhow, I have been working with a particular client for 4 years now. She is kyphotic, and although I am always working to help alleviate this, it’s genetic. Her mother is the same way. It’s frustrating b/c I know what to do with her, but I realize I can’t do it all for her. What I began to put together is the link between the scaps and hips. More specifically, her left shoulder has issues and so does her right hip. What connects it? Obviously, the core, and go figure…she cannot brace her abs to save her life. It’s almost like the longer we train, the less progress I feel she’s making. Also, she’s prone to grumbling about almost every exercise and tends to “zone out” during workouts, so I have to re-explain stuff. Anyhow…yadda yadda yadda…where I stand these days is i’m very hesitant to put her in a pushup position. I do a lot of band work with her (pulls, lo to hi diagonals, etc) and am really trying to find ways to force her to brace her abs. I figured out that doing dead bugs with a stability ball (push palms and knees against the ball, which causes reflexive bracing) is something she likes, feels, and doesn’t complain about. So, since she’s in the protracted position already, it’s obviously affecting the position of her hips and shutting down her core. She has a chin up bar and i’m really thinking getting some of the ab wings wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Yeah, I guess I was just kinda talking myself through this and not raising a specific question, but perhaps you have some insight?
Thanks, B, I really appreciate your blog and am wanting to order the Spider Training DVDs with this client in mind!
Sarah
Hey Sarah, This is from Brian:
The problem with turning on and continuously activating the lower abs, or should I say pelvic tilt muscles, lies in your client’s ability to produce protraction and lat tension simultaneously. This blog post should brush on this topic. But if you really want to go deeper, spider training 1 will definitely not disappoint you in your search for answers. Congrats on being Georgettes forum monitor btw.
Thanks
B
Love the scapula pull ups, been doing them for years now with clients who cant curl hips up for low ab knee raises. Your explanation on the subject was brilliant.Although I have used this pull up method mostly for curling the knees to the chest,It gave me so many new Ideas for making other exercises easy,already know the clients I’m going to torch er with this One.
Hey John!
How’s it going?
Heard you been talking to Steph
Lets talk soon..
B
Thanks, Brian!!!!!! I’m gonna order! And I hope to help Georgette get things rockin’ on the forum!!!!!!!
Thanks for the drills, Brian – Excellent video content as usual -
Hey Kaiser,
Whats up bro?
Give me a shout some time..
Sorry I didn’t post sooner…great stuff..really!!