Typically in this column, we look at a simple component of the running experience and attempt to help you be aware of how to maximize or at least benefit from the proper implementation of that component. This month, we are talking about a muscle with a fancy name, but the concept is just as simple and important as topics like arm swing and hydration.
The transverse abdominis (TVA) is one of the innermost layers of flat abdomen muscle. The name refers to the horizontal direction of its fibers, but the muscle stretches from the bottom six ribs down to the iliac crest, or pelvic region, helping to stabilize both regions. The TVA also connects to the diaphragm, assisting with inhalation. If anyone has ever encouraged you to “tighten your core” they most likely were encouraging you to regain posture that the TVA helps to provide.
As it is such a deep muscle within the body, the TVA can many times go unaddressed, even when we are making a concerted effort to do “abs” or core exercises. However as a long, strong, and deep muscle connected to many of the parts of the body that drive running performance, we want to provide some tips for how to activate and strengthen this part of the body. As this month’s Pro’s Perspective featured athlete David Torrence attests – it really can help!
The Chek Institute of Vista, California provides a simple exercise with 4 steps for making yourself aware of the TVA and beginning the process of activating it.
1. Kneel on the floor on hands and knees and let the contents of your midsection rest against the abdominal wall.
2. Keeping your spine flat and straight, take a deep breath from your diaphragm.
3. Exhale, drawing your belly button toward your spine by actively trying to use the bands of muscle connecting your ribs and your pelvis. Do not flex the spine or rotate your pelvis area.
4. Hold your belly button to your spine for ten seconds. Relax for ten seconds and repeat the process several times.
Once you are aware of and comfortable activating your TVA, one simple exercise to begin with is the plank.
Plank exercises can be done in many different variations and difficulties, but to get started, lets begin with the simplest version. Get yourself into a lifted push-up position. Your back should be flat – one long line from your shoulders to your heels. Your feet should be shoulder width apart, and your arms can be either straight with your palms on the ground, or bent, resting on your elbows/ forearms. Your head should be neutral – just extending from your neck, not tilted specifically up or down.
Concentrate on engaging your TVA muscles much as you did in the previous exercise (pull your belly button toward your spine), while you simply hold this position for 20, 30, or even 60 seconds. When you feel comfortable with this exercise, able to do 2 or 3 times at 30-60 seconds, you could try going from resting on your forearms to your palms with arms fully extended or lifting one foot off the ground at a time slowly, making sure to maintain the same weight distribution as much as possible.
When you have built confidence with these or similar exercises, you will find that activating this muscle is an important component of our Whole Body Strengthening routine. It is particularly important in these exercises: Left & Right side planks, partner punishment, and pointers.
As David Torrence suggests, don’t let your core “crumple” at the end of your next race. Get to know your transverse abdominis and prepare to finish strong!
Personal Best: Mental Strategies for Hard Workouts
It has been sitting on the schedule since you first looked a week or two ago. Your first 10 or 20 miler, or the first time you are doing a tough track session more challenging than anything you have attempted to this point. Or, maybe it is a workout or a run you have done before, but it didn’t go so well. If one of the primary reasons we run is to enjoy ourselves, how do we find enjoyment in these seemingly daunting tasks? Below are a few strategies for taking these challenges head on, not so you merely make it, but so you conquer and thrive.
US 5k champion Lauren Fleshman talks about some of these and others in our September Pro’s Perspective as well. Read it here.
1. Remember that although this may be a first time for you, others have gone before you and have been successful.
Whether you are beginning your first training cycle with Focus-N-Fly or have been with us for 10 years, you can rest assured that every workout you’re given is based on what has worked for other runners. It is exactly through these successful experiences of novice and experienced runners that we have built the system that is helping you now. Know that your path has been trod before, that it is possible, and that it can be done.
2. Take one step at a time
One almost universally shared tip is to take a tough workout and break it down into manageable pieces. Notice how both our beginning runner, Terri Wojtalewicz, and our experienced professional athlete, Lauren Fleshman, both talk specifically in their profiles about taking a long race one mile at a time or a hard workout one interval at a time. You may not know if you can run 20 miles, but if it is on your schedule, you can be confident you can run a large percentage of it because it wouldn’t have been on your schedule otherwise. So, say you know you can run 15 miles. Beyond that, promise yourself you will run at least one more mile. Focus on a task that will take several minutes vs. one that might take hours. Conquer the one mile and celebrate it to yourself as you finish it. Consider if you can focus again for one mile. Buoyed by the sense of accomplishment from the 16th mile, you might just be able to. Before you know it, you’ll be at your goal distance and you will have built up a reservoir of confidence and positive self-talk that will be helpful for the next challenge.
3. Take as many variables out of the equation as possible.
No, you can’t control everything. However, if you can set yourself up for a tough workout with food you know will work for you, and your “go to” shorts/ shirt/ socks, it may take one element of worry from your minds. Find a routine by experimenting with fueling and clothing approaches on easy days, you so are confident in your choices on hard days, leaving your mental energy for the task itself.
4. Prepare in advance with the positive self-talk you are going to give yourself when you are in the thick of a tough day.
There will come a time when the run or the workout will require bigger than average effort. What are the keys you will remind yourself of when that time comes? Do your shoulders hunch and get tight when you are tired? Plan in advance that you will try to relax your shoulders for 30 seconds at a time when that occurs. Does your breathing get too shallow? Tell yourself in advance that when it starts to go that direction, you will commit to several long and deep inhales to help get you back on track. What are the types of encouragement from others that really have helped you succeed in running or in life generally? Tough barking orders, or soothing positive words? Prepare with these phrases already on tap to remind your body that you and your mind are in control and not the other way around.
5. Decide if knowing the workout well in advance is helpful to you or not.
If you find that you get too stressed out thinking about a big one in the week leading up, but know that every week on a certain day that type of workout will occur, resist the urge to look ahead or forgo the weekly email for a time and instead look at it a day or two ahead just for logistical planning purposes. You will know what type of effort is required (tempo run, track workout, long run), but you won’t have the time to build additional pressure on yourself.
6. Create accountability and a reward. Enlist others.
For many of you, just knowing you will return to the computer to log your workout is motivation enough to complete each day. For some, you are able to train with others who can keep you buoyed even when the running isn’t coming as easily as you had hoped that day. Others are training for a big goal with an emotional motivation, such as to honor a friend or family member, or to note one of life’s milestones. If so, one strategy would be to create a visual reminder around the house to keep track of the steps or miles you are logging on the way to that goal, and use it as a positive motivation to keep you going as well as a reminder to those in your household to help keep you on track with encouragement, even if they know nothing about running. Think of your training as a tower. You want a tower that is a tall and as strong as possible, but one sub par day doesn’t mean the whole thing falls over, it just means you need to put that next block on there the next time out.
On a lighter note, it is ok to concede to the occasional treat as motivator, whether it is the espresso and pastry Lauren writes about, a meal at your favorite restaurant, or perhaps a pedicure for your marathon worn toes. It need not cost anything, but if it is something you enjoy doing every once and a while, it might serve as a fun carrot for you as you travel toward the conclusion of your miles that day.
Remember, doing every single difficult workout to perfection doesn’t guarantee a perfect race, nor does missing one/ falling short a time or two necessarily mean you will not succeed. What we are looking for is a field of data points, from which you can reasonably conclude you are prepared for the race. Every challenging day you complete allows you to strengthen the argument you are going to make for yourself on race day when the going gets tough, and oftentimes, those days although difficult, can also end up being the most memorable.
Two weeks ago one of our runners wrote me about taking the "Albert Haynesworth Fitness Test".
For reference, Haynesworth is a star defensive lineman for the Washington Redskins. He made headlines at the start of training camp when the 'skins now coach, Mike Shanahan, refused to let him practice until he passed a "standard fitness" test. According to Shanahan this test was basic and had been completed by every other player. The fact that one of his most important players couldn't complete the test irked the new coach and gave cannon fodder to the media around the beltway for two weeks.
Here's the test:
Upon first glance this looks like a run of 300 yards (~275 metres) in 1 minutes and 10 seconds, a big recovery, and then the same thing in 1 minute and 13 seconds.
Oh, it isn't. 
The exercise is an accute assessment of explosiveness, quickness and balance. There are no less than twelve separate accelerations required along with ten 180 degree directional changes.
Our runner who ran the test told me "I felt like I was doing a strength test" and to an endurance runner this makes sense as we have developed our slow twitch, arobically funded systems in preparation for 3, 6, 13 and 26 Mile races. Even though Haynesworth (listed at 6' 6" & 350 lbs) could never hang with any of us in a 5K, his ability and fitness is undeniable for his trade. In fact my guess is that if we took a random sampling of Focus-N-Fly runners and had them race Albert Haynesworth this is the percentage of people who would beat him by distance:
In other words none of us big, slow distance runners would have any chance against a professional football palyer like Haynesworth in a short burst effort that falls right in his wheel house.
Hopefully this is thought provoking but I still haven't given you any practical advice so here it is.
We use running drills to help develop fast twitch muscles, anaerobic metabolism, and neurological response. These drills makeup less than 1% of total weekly mileage and less than 5% of total time spent training. We also use fast interval training (<1500m pace) as an extension of this development for 5-10% of weekly mileage. Both these exercises have specific objectives and can be beneficial. In fact if you weren't doing these then you would have no chance against Albert Haynesworth in any race of 100m or less. The bottom line is that we weigh this part of the regimen according to perceived value (it is valuable but not as valuable as all the aerobic work we do).
So you will continue to see the majority of your assignments focused on maintenance/easy and threshold/comfortably hard paces. We know for certain the benefits of extended aerobic stress and they are well documented for endurance races but could they help a high-performance, short burst athlete in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL?
My guess is they probably could and I often wonder why more professional ball players don't utilize distance running in the off season. It has been documented that the aerobic contribution is dominant in all races from 400m up so there is a contribution at shorter distances as well.
As distance runners we need to focus on the aerobic stresses that will help us improve the most. Just don't forget about those drills and faster intervals when they're assigned.
Oh and the next time you're watching football on the weekend and you see those big guys gasping for air - just think of the Albert Haynesworth fitness test and the fact that all those guys have passed the test.
Pretty incredible!
**BTW I am posting my Albert Haynesworth fitness test results on the forum in hopes that we might get a few others to take the test and post accordingly.
Unless you are nursing a lengthy consecutive day streak, there is probably a limit to the type of weather you will endure to complete or at least attempt your scheduled run. This line is probably very personal decision point, honed over time and perhaps drawn at a different place than when you first began running.
