Brandon Charls – Fitness that gets results

Stretching is widely used by many people to improve flexibility, increase circulation to muscles, prevent injury, and to just loosen up a bit. There are different forms of stretching such as: ballistic, dynamic, self-myofascial release, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, and active isolating stretching just to name a few. All of these stretches are beneficial in their own way, but the stretch that is most widely use with athletes and non-athletes is static stretching. According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, static stretching is “the process of passively taking a muscle to the point of tension and holding the stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds” (Clark, Luccett, Corn, 2008, p. 153). In the past, static stretching has been widely used as a warm-up by athletes to help them loosen up before a game or an event. What those athletes did not realize was their pre-game static stretch warm-up was inhibiting their ability to perform at their peak performance.

For instance, the ability to run faster than your than your opponent in a game or event is one of the most important keys to success in sport. Speed is the ability to move the body in one direction as fast as possible and it is the product of stride rate and stride length (Clark, Lucceet, Corn, 2008, p. 260). According to Baechle and Earle (1994), sprinting is broken down into three main goals:
1. Braking forces at ground contact should be should be minimized by planting the foot directly beneath the athlete’s center of gravity and by maximizing the backward velocity of the lower leg and foot at touchdown.
2. Brief ground support times must be emphasized as a means of achieving rapid stride rate. This requires a high level of speed-strength.
3. Eccentric knee flexor strength is the most important determinant of recovery as the leg swings forward (p. 480).

Some factors that might prevent an athlete from achieving these goals maybe be from poor running mechanics, lack of fast-twitch muscle fibers, footwear, lack of recovery, and most importantly, incorporating static stretching into a warm-up. Recent studies have shown that static stretching impairs sprint performance and more of a dynamic or ballistic type of stretching is more beneficial to achieve maximum speed for athletes. Three separate studies that consisted of a track and field team, women’s soccer, and men’s rugby investigated the effects of static stretch warm-ups on the performance of sprinting. All three studies had different sprint distances that range from 20meters-40meters, concluded that static stretching reduced the stiffness of the musculotendious unit, which in turn decreased the sprint performance.

For example, a recent study was performed on the Louisiana State University track and field team. In this study, eleven males and eleven female athletes performed a dynamic warm-up followed by either a static stretch routine or a rest. The group of athletes then went on to perform three 40 m sprints to investigate the effects of static stretching on sprint performance when preceded by a dynamic warm-up (Winchester, Nelson, Landin, young, Schexnayder, 2008). There were four passive static stretches that were performed on the stretch group done by fellow teammates. Those stretches were supine hamstring, triceps surae (calf), gluteus, and prone quad. The stretch was maintained for 30 seconds. The cycle of stretches were done three times with a 20-30 second rest in between each cycle. After the stretch or rest period, the athletes then went on to run three 40 m sprints with a five minute minimum rest period (Winchester et al. 2008). The results showed that there was a 3% decrease in sprint performance for the athletes that incorporated the static stretch routine immediately after their dynamic warm-up. According to Winchester et al. (2008) he states, “Consequently, an acute bout of passive muscle stretching might compromise the effect of the stretch-shortening cycle by decreasing active musculotendinous stiffness, thereby reducing the amount of elastic energy that can be stored and re-utilized” (16). This shows that the power of the muscles was reduced because the elastic energy was too relaxed. Performing a dynamic warm-up keeps the musculotendinous unit at adequate stiffness.

Furthermore, a similar study showed that static stretching inhibits sprint performance in elite soccer players. In this study, twenty elite female soccer players were randomly assigned to a stretch or no stretch group. However, both groups performed the same standard warm-up protocol which consists of an 800m jog, forward skips (4 x 30m), side shuffles (4 x 30m), and backward skips (4 x 30m). After the standard warm up, the no-stretch group performed three 30m sprints while the stretch group performed their static stretches. The stretch group performed 30 second static stretches of the hamstrings, calf, and quadriceps. They repeated this cycle of static stretches for a total of three sets and then proceeded to run their sprints. The mean and standard deviations were the only numbers recorded in this study. The numbers showed that, the group that performed the static stretches before running a 30 m sprint, resulted in a significant increase in time to complete, compared to the group that did not perform static stretches. The surprising difference in overall sprint performance between the stretch and no-stretch group was 0.39 seconds, and the mean difference was 0.1 seconds.

In addition, in 2004 a study was performed to analyze different warm-up stretch protocols on a 20 meter sprint performance of rugby players. In this study, 97 male rugby players were separated into four groups: passive static stretch, active dynamic stretch, active static stretch, and static dynamic. All of the participants started off with a 10 minute jog and then ran two 20 meter sprints. Then, they separated into their assigned groups to perform their stretch protocols. The passive static stretch group stretched the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, hip flexors, and calf for 20 second per muscle. The active dynamic stretch group performed exercises such as: high knees, butt kicks, hip rolls, running cycles, and straight leg skips. The active static stretch group performed the same stretches as the passive static stretch group but contracted the agonist muscle to its full inner range, while stretching the antagonist’s outer range. The static dynamic group did all the same exercises as the active dynamic group but in a stationary position for 20 reps per leg (Fletcher, Jones, 2004). After all participants completed their stretch routine, they ran two more 20 meter sprints. Fletcher and Jones took the mean sprint times pre- and post stretch, and the mean difference in sprint times for each group. They found out that the passive static stretch group and the active static stretch group increased in sprint time after they stretched. The active dynamic group showed a decrease in sprint time while the static dynamic group showed no significant difference in sprint time. The clearly showed that static stretching impairs sprint performance.

In conclusion, to achieve top sprint performance, warm-ups should not incorporate any type static stretching. As clearly shown by the numbers static stretching inhibits sprint performance in athletes. I believe that static stretching makes the serial elastic component of the muscle too loose, which in turn decrease the power out-put of the muscles. According to Fletcher and Jones (2004) the reduction of the musculortendious unit stiffness leads to neural inhibition and a decrease in the neural drive to the muscles, resulting in a reduction of power. Research shows that, performing a general warm-up and a dynamic warm-up before any activity that requires power of the muscles should be implemented before competition and exercising. I think that static stretching should only be used in a cool down or rehab tool to help the athlete recover.

References
1. Clark, M. A., Corn, R. J., & Lucett, S.C. (2008). Nasm essentials of: Personal fitness training. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
2. Baechle, T.R., Earle, R.W. (1994). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
3. Winchester, J.B., Nelson, A.G., Landin, D., Young, & Schexnayder, I.C. (2008 January). Static stretching impairs sprint performance in collegiate track and field athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22(1), 13-18. Retrieved October 18, 2008, from NSCA database.
4. Sayers, A.L., Farley, R.S., Fuller, D.K., Jubenville, C.B., & Caputo, J.L. (2008 September). The effect of static stretching on phases of sprint performance in elite soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22(5), 1416-1421. Retrieved October 18, 2008, from NSCA database.
5. Bethan, J., & Fletcher I.M. (2004). The effect of different warm-up stretch protocols on 20 meter sprint performance in trained rugby union players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18(4), 885-888. Retrieved October 18, 2008, from NSCA database.

To really get the most out of your fitness/strength & conditioning program, you are going to have to learn and live by the FITT principle.  Applying the FITT principle to your program will allow you to progress through those frustrating plateaus that everyone faces from time to time.  The reason why you are not achieving success in your program is because your body is getting used to the same routine day in and day out.  ROUTINE IS THE ENEMY! However, implementing the FITT principle into your program will take you to the next level.

Frequency:  Is the number of days you are working out in the week.  You may have to increase your frequency or decrease your frequency depending on how your body is adapting to the program.  Most hardcore athletes need to decrease their frequency due to overtraining because they are not getting enough rest for the body to repair itself.  However, people who are trying to lose weight need to increase their frequency so they are achieving an overall calorie expenditure.   This does not mean that you have to “workout” more but, you do have to increase your levels of physical activity which means…

• Walk or bike instead of drive
• Wash your own dam car
• Join a sports league
• Learn a new sport
• Just stop sitting on your ass

Intensity:  Training intensity is defined as an individual’s level of effort compared with their maximum effort.  This means different things for different goals.  If you are trying to lose weight you must cut down your rest time to keep your heart rate up to burn the most calories.  For example, circuit training, interval training, and Crossfit do a good job at keep you moving with little to no rest in between workout.  However, if you are trying to pack on some muscle you must make sure that every set is to failure.  Thus, increase weight = increase in intensity!  And for athletes who are trying to make it to the next level, intensity means not to take plays off and practice hard day in and day out.  Only the strong will survive in the world of sports and if you don’t work hard at your craft 24/7 you will be left in the dust.

Type:  This corresponds to the types of exercises that you are performing in your training program.  However, you must understand that the human body is a highly adaptable machine that can readily adjusts to the imposed demands of training.  Therefore, exercise selection should be functional and specific to the individual’s intended goal.  Make sure to implement variations to each exercise but keep the movements functional, move in all planes of motion, and stay away from isolated movements like bicep curls.

Time:  is the time frame of a workout or the length of time (number of weeks) spent with a certain program.  A general workout including warm-up and cool-down should take 60-90 minutes.  A professor once told me, “If you’re in the gym for more than one hour…you are making more friends than muscles.”  Furthermore, Workouts that exceed 90 minutes will lead to rapid declines in energy levels which can lead to discrepancies in hormonal and immune responses that can later have negative effects on your training program.

It takes the body approximately 3 weeks to adapt to a fitness program.  However, if you apply the FITT principle to your program, you will be able to break through plateaus and reach your goals quicker.  Good luck!

There is saying that is always used in the game of football and I’m sure it can be used in all sport and it is “SPEED KILLS!”  The ability to run faster than other athletes on the field or the court gives you a great advantage to becoming very successful as an athlete.  However, training athletes to become faster is somewhat of an enigma to trainers and coaches who inspire to find a cure of making their athletes faster.  To train athletes to run faster you must find a way to increase their stride length and stride frequency.  Here are some of my thoughts and ideas on training for speed.

1. Genetics:  Speed comes from the genetically makeup of your muscle fiber type.  The more type II/fast twitch muscle you have, the faster and more explosive you will be.  However, you CANNOT train to increase type II fibers in your muscles (it’s impossible).  You can train the remaining muscles that are not type II (type I/slow twitch) to have similar characteristics as the fast twitch fibers. 
2. If you don’t use it, you lose it:  To play fast/run fast you must train fast.  This means you must train the neuromuscular system to be more efficient at firing signals to the muscles so they can contract at a faster rate.  You won’t get any faster if you are half assing it in practice or in your training.  Every rep/second counts in the world of sports so go 100% every single time!
3. Newton’s 3^rd law:  For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Everything in the body is connected which means that speed and power does not just come from the legs themselves.  The faster you mover your arms in opposition to your legs…the faster your legs will go.  The harder you push off the earth…the more acceleration you will gain and the faster you will become.
4. Proper form:  Form is the key for everything that you do in sport even with running.  Most of the time I see young athletes really tense up when they are trying to run fast and this inhibits the open kinetics chain (proper firing sequences of the neuromuscular system).  In addition, these athletes are running with “wasted movement” that won’t allow them to reach their peak speed.   
5. Ideas on training:  Train fast and be functional.  Train for the demands of your sport and involve plyometrics, speed training, and power training into your workouts.  In addition, you must stretch the tight muscle to allow for full range of motion when you are running. 
   1. Plyometrics:  Exercise that enhances muscular power through quick, repetitive eccentric and concentric contractions of the muscles.  Example: Box jumps
   2. Speed training:  This involves resisting and assisting running.  This will allow you to work on functional speed strength while also focusing on form.  Resistant speed training can be as simple as sprinting hills and assistance training can be just the opposite…sprinting down hills
   3. Power training:  Squat, bench, press, pull etc. at 30% of your 1RM and moving the weight as fast as you can.  Speed squats are a great way to increase speed because it involves hip flexion and hip extension just like sprinting.

Follow these eight steps in order to achieve total workout that involves injury prevention, core, strength, power, speed, agility, and flexibility.

1.  General Warm Up:  This consist of any low impact/low intensity cardiovascular work to increase heart rate, body temperture, and increase blood flow of the body.  Exercises consist of jogging, rowing, versa-climber, jump rope, jumping jacks, bike, etc.  A general warm-up take about 3-5 minutes.

2.  Dynamic Warm Up/Movement Prep:  Multiple joint movements of your own body weight to increase body temperture, stretch muscles, and prepare the body for the movements you will do in your workout or on the field.  Exercises include push ups, squats, multiplanar lunges, single leg squat react, etc…This should take 8-10 minutes.  For more information about dynamic warm up.  (refer to blog “Time to Stretch” June 16, 2009)

3.  Prehab:  The focus to stregthen the most vulnerable areas on your body that get stressed in everyday movement (Verstegen 2004).  These exercises will strengthen your shoulders, hips, and core muscles to allow you to correct any muscle imbalances while also preventing injury. 5-8 minutes

4.  Core:  This puts a little more emphasis on your core muscles.  I believe that you should perform exercise that focus on the transverse abdominis, internal/external obliques, and back extensors.  8-10 min 

5.  Skills and Drills:  Even if you are not an athlete, you should still incorporate plyometrics, speed, and agility training into your workouts.    10-15 min

7.  Energy System Development (ESD/”cardio”):  Run, swim, bike, jump rope, row, and even elliptical your way to achieve optimal cardiovascular shape.  However, in ESD training you must keep your heart rate up through a series of sprint intervals… intensity is the key!  When is the last time you have seen a fat sprinter? (Verstegen, 2004)
15-30 minutes

8.  Regeneration:  Foam roll and stretch to correct any muscle imbalances and help speed up recovery.  Takes about 10-15 minutes.  (Refer to blog “Time to Stretch” June 16, 2009) 

This is just the very basic layout of a typical workout routine that covers all forms of physical fitness.  In addition, there is so much more detail that goes into every step of this eight step process.  If you have question, please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me at anytime.   

Stretching gets over looked a lot by many people and athletes who are trying to achieve an optimal level of fitness. The reason why flexibility training does not get much attention is because people do not fully understand the concepts of stretching. The main reason why flexibility training is so important is because it will fix muscle imbalances, decrease joint dysfunctions, and decrease overuse injuries. According to Micheal Clark (President and CEO of the National Academy of Sports Medicine) states,

Today’s society is plagued by postural imbalances, primarily owning to sedentary lifestyles caused by the advancements in technology. More people today are spending time in office-related jobs, which require individuals to sit for long hours. More than ever before, flexibility training has become a key component in developing neuromuscular efficiency and decreasing these dysfunctions. (140)

In addition, knowing what type of stretches to use before, during, and after your workout is crucial for correcting muscle imbalances and increasing neuromuscular efficiency. Here are some tips that will help you the next time you workout…

1. Ballistic Stretch: This type of stretching involves bouncing and skipping movements. This of movement is more of a general warm-up to increase the body’s temperature before you start your workout or activity. Arm circles, skips, and bouncing during your stretch are considered ballistic.

2. Static Stretch: Is the process of passively taking a muscle to a point of tension and holding the stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds (Clark, Lucett, & Corn 2008). Static stretching is the most widely used stretch that you see in fitness today. However, the best time to static stretch is after your workout or activity. The only time you should use static stretching before your workout or activity, is if you are really tight in a specific area and you want to loosen it up a bit more.

3. Dynamic/Movement Prep Warm-up: Is lengthening the muscles using force production of your own body weight. The reason that I also call it “Movement Prep” is because you are preparing the body for the movements that you will use during exercise or competition. This type of stretching should be executed right after a general warm-up (jog, jumping jacks, jump rope, etc.) and before your workout or competition. Some basic dynamic warm-ups consist of body-weighted squats, lunges, multiplanar lunges, push-ups, dips, figure skaters, etc. 1 set of 6-10 reps is enough for you to get warmed up.

4. Active Isolated Stretch (AIS): The process of using agonist (prime mover) and synergist (assist the prime mover) to move the joint into a range of motion. AIS is somewhat like static stretching but, in AIS you are stretching the muscle for 1-2 seconds and then relaxing. You would want to perform 1-2 sets of 5-10 reps of a stretch. AIS should be done before your workout or even during your workout to help clear up lactic acid.

5. Self-Myofascial Release (SMR): Also known as “Foam Rolling” this stretching technique focuses on the neural system and the fibrous tissue that surrounds and separates muscle tissue. This fibrous tissue sometimes sticks to the muscles and forms adhesions or “knots”. Using a foam roll (or softball, tennis ball, golf ball, etc) to apply gentle pressure (your bodyweight) to a muscle that might feel tight. Roll around that specific muscle and try to find knots or tender spots. Once you have located knot, apply pressure for a minimum of 30 seconds or until the pain goes away. The best time to SMR is after your workout or competition; however you can also SMR before you workout to loosen up muscles that might be extra tight.

So stretch dam it!  Correct those muscle imbalances and stay injury and pain free

The fitness world goes through these phases in which certain exercise and theories get the most attention. Today, core training receives the most popularity among people who are trying to shape up their mid-section and achieve 6-pack greatness. However, the core is comprised of muscle located in the center of the body that stabilizes the body when it is in an upright position. When you walk, run, jump, squat, and lift weights you are using your core muscles. These muscles also control the head, neck, ribs, spine, and pelvis (Dominques & Gajda 1982). In addition, achieving a strong core will allow for greater neuromuscular efficiency, an increase in functional strength, and leads to improved performance on and off the field.

I believe that the best exercise to train your core is the overhead squat (OHS). The overhead squat is a very physically demanding exercise that not only challenges your core but, also every muscle in your body. If you have never done an overhead squat before, you must first start out light and focus on maintaining proper form throughout the whole exercise. A good way to practice is to start out using a PVC pipe or a broom stick. Using a wide grip, extend the bar over your head slightly behind your ears by retracting your scapula (shoulder blades) and maintain that position. Set your feet into a good squatting position while keeping your torso upright and your eyes focused straight ahead. Now, take a deep breath and hold it as you descend as deep as possible making sure that your heels are flat on the ground and your hips pushed back. When you are ready to ascent from your squat, stand up slowing and exhale while keeping your chest upright and your heels still flat on the ground.

 Practice makes perfect!  The more OHS you do will lead to greater flexibility, strength, and core strength.  It is also a great way to correct a lot of muscle imbalances you may have, which will help you prevent injuries from occurring and allowing you to move more efficiently. 

Put down the weights and tighten up those shoe laces for a workout that will have you burning more calories than you can ever imagine. In this workout you will have to be comfortable with running at high speeds on the treadmill and most importantly hoping off the treadmill while it is still going. For instance, on pretty much every treadmill there are ledges on the side of the rotating belt that are big enough for you to step on to and rest if you have to. You might have done this before when you were running on the treadmill one day and stepped off to the side to rest, get a drink of your water bottle, and then you proceeded to complete your run. However, in this workout you will be allowed to rest/hop off the treadmill after every assigned run, but the rest you take should not exceed past 45 seconds. In addition, there will be some runs in which you will hold on to the rail in front of you (usually where the heart rate monitors are) and perform the run. This workout is not easy! If you need to take more rest or adjust the intensity (speed/incline) do so to meet your needs. On the other hand…PUSH YOURSELF

Here’s how it goes…

This prescribed workout is for elite athletes who are comfortable at running high speed on the treadmill, as well as hoping off while the treadmill belt while it  is still moving. If you feel that you are going to fly off the treadmill because it is too intense, decrease the intensity (speed/incline) so you don’t kill yourself. This workout will allow you to burn a lot of calories and also increase your speed, agility, and joint proprioception (joint awareness).  Have Fun!

Are you in good cardiovascular shape???

 A good way to check if you are getting into cardiovascular shape is to check your resting heart rate (RHR).  To get an accurate reading of your RHR, you must take your pulse just after you wake up, while you are still lying in bed.  The best way to do it is to take your carotid pulse by lightly placing two fingers on the side of your neck, just to the side of the larynx (throat).  Once you have found your pulse, count the pulses for 60 seconds and record that number (or count pulses for 30 seconds and then times it by 2).  If you are training properly, you should see a decrease in the amount of pulses in 60 seconds.

What is this important?

1.      Your heart is getting stronger:  Seeing a decrease in RHR means that your stroke volume (SV) is getting stronger.  SV is the amount of blood the heart pumps out in a single beat.  Having an efficient SV will allow your heart to not work as hard to supply oxygen to your active muscles. 

2.      Blood Volume:  With your heart getting stronger, there will be an increase in blood volume and it will be easier for blood to supply oxygen to your active muscles and also clear up lactic acid.

a.      Lactic acid is the burning sensation you feel in your legs if you sprint up a flight of stairs.  In other words…lactic acid = muscle fatigue.  The increase in blood volume will buffer away lactic acid and keep you going longer.

3.      Increase in VO_2max:  Maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max) is regarded as one of best measurements of aerobic performance.  It is the maximal volume of oxygen that your body can consume per minute and used for aerobic energy production. 

What if you see an increase in RHR through your training program?

1.      You are overtrained:  This is a good indicator that you need to rest so your body can recover.  Overtraining will lead to a decrease in performance, decrease in motivation, decrease in weight, and an overall decrease in energy.

2.      You are detrained:  Your body cannot increase in performance if you don’t train properly.  This means you must increase in frequency, time, and intensity in your workouts.  The body adapts to everything you throw at it so challenge yourself every time you train.  If you train correctly, you will see a decrease in your RHR.

The normal values for relative (mL/kg/min) VO2for various groups of individuals?

Untrained College-aged Females 30-35 mL/kg/min
Untrained College-aged Males 35-45 mL/kg/min

Active College-aged Females 40-45 mL/kg/min
Active College-aged Males 45-50 mL/kg/min

Trained College-aged Females 50-60 mL/kg/min
Trained College-aged Males 55-65 mL/kg/min

Competitive College-aged Males 65-85 mL/kg/min
Highest measured VO2max ~95 mL/kg/min

A strong heart leads to a strong performance

1.  The Bench Press: 
“How much can you bench?” seems to be the question that every gym rat would like to know when you tell them you workout. In my option, I think the bench press is the # 1 most overrated exercise that is performed in the gym (especially on Mondays/National Bench Press Day). The reason I think this way about the bench press is because I am a man of functionality and I believe that you should train movements and not body parts (the body building era is over!). The only time you are lying on your back and pushing something heavy off of you is when you are getting your ass kicked in a fight or in competition.

2.  Bicep curl:  
I absolutely hate this exercise! I will just quote Alwyn Crosgrove who is a well renowned strength & conditioning coach and an overall great guy. He states, “If you cannot achieve 10 pull-ups on your own, you have no right doing bicep curls”. I’ll just leave it at that because I can go on for days about why this exercise is irrelevant…

3.  Leg press:
Ok, let’s load up 8 plates on each side of the leg press and have people be AMAZED about how much weight you are pressing. Let’s see…
8 plates x 2 sides = 16 plates total
16 plates x 45 lbs = 720 lbs that you are pressing while you are reclining in a chair with your feet up. That is amazing! So if you can leg press 720 lbs…How much can you squat???
(I had a professor once told me that “leg press is only functional for truck drivers”)

4.  Seated Adductions: 
Women love this exercise!…They believe that if they do enough reps, the fat will melt off of their inner thighs. Not only is this not true, but this will cause a major muscle imbalance in the body especially in women. For example, the next time you see someone squat notice their knees and how they move (in or out). If the knees move in towards one another then that is a perfect example of someone who has tight adductors. Having tight adductors will lead to someone having weak glutes and not having a strong ass will lead to sprain ankles and knee problems.

5.  Tricep Kick Back:
This exercise is ridiculous because for you to perform this exercise you must pull your arm into shoulder extension and maintain an isometric muscle contraction (no movement) in your latissimus dorsi and posterior deltoid. In other words, you are not just working your triceps in this exercise because your motor neurons are firing to your lats and deltoids to hold you in the proper position. You won’t be able to overload the triceps with weight and thus you will not see any gains by doing that exercise…throw it out!

Honorable mention
• Forearm curls
• Crunches
• Knee extension                                                                                                                                                               

Got to love Mondays

uh???

 Northridge CA, 91325

The body it divided into three planes in which movements are performed. These planes consist of the sagittal plane, frontal plane, and transverse plane.

1. The sagittal plane divides the body into right and left halves and 80% of movements in the gym are performed in the sagittal plane. Exercises in the sagittal plane include bicep curls, squats, walking lunges, crunches, shoulder press, triceps extension, shoulder flexion/front raise, etc.
2. The frontal plane divides the body into front and back halves and is associated with adduction and abduction. However, there are not as many exercises that are performed in this plane. Exercises in the frontal plane consist of lateral lunges, hip abduction, hip adduction, and lateral shoulder raises….I think that’s all of them.
3. The transverse plane (my favorite) divides the body into top and bottom halves. Anytime you are rotating/twisting your body, you are performing movements in the transverse plane. Exercises performed in the transverse plane include cable chops, Russian twist, crossover crunch, transverse lunge, and any other movement that involves rotation.

 
The next time you exercise, it would be a good idea to incorporate more lateral movements in the frontal plane, as well as more rotational movements in the transverse plane. If you play a sport, it is crucial to focus on movements in the frontal and transverse planes. Even in everyday life, you are performing movements in all three planes and training movements rather than body parts will allow you to improve the way you move on and off the field. If you want to look like an athlete, you must train like an athlete so challenge the body in multiple planes!