Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Optimize Abs with Pelvic Tilt

This would be a healthier spine if 
it had the rest of the body

The pelvis is the area of the body between the lower abdomen and the thighs. You can imagine it being from the bottom of your pants' zipper to the top of the pants' waistline. Pelvic tilt refers to the movement of the top of the pelvis from a neutral/no tilt position to either:
  • Anterior/Forward pelvic tilt [APT]
  • Posterior/Backwards pelvic tilt [PPT], or
  •  Lateral pelvic tilt (upward shift of one side; this won't be discussed)
In weightlifting movements, you typically want to maintain a neutral pelvic tilt and spine posture. This is for the health of the spine as well as developing long term strength. However, some movements are done more efficiently - either performing it more easily or better engaging the desired muscles - by incorporating slight APT or PPT.

For example to combat lumbar flexion - rounding out of the low back - in an exercise, thinking about arching with minimal APT will keep your spine in a neutral posture. Note, I wrote minimal APT. The goal is to maintain the natural lordotic curve of the lumbar spine (low back).

Due to behavioral habits and strength discrepancies between muscles, pelvic tilt can also become exaggerated in a person's posture. Developing excessive APT is common from sitting for long durations over time. The degree of it will vary on other factors, but this won't be the topic. (You can read more in Mike Robertson's discussion of pelvic tilt at the end of this post).

Instead, I'm briefly going to point out a major issue I've come across with dead bugs and related supine (lying face up) abdominal exercises.

Most articles, videos, and diagrams may discuss and demonstrate the movement, but the problem becomes that the pelvic tilt is fairly hard to notice or understand when described. This goes right over a person's head and they incorrectly perform the movement.

The images below are shown as lying on the ground since that's how the supine exercises are performed. From this view, it's also easier to understand how to do the exercises.

No Tilt (Neutral)

This is "normal/ideal" posture - the lower and upper back both have their natural slight inward and outward curves respectively.

Here the top of the pelvis does not tip forwards or backwards. When lying against the ground, there's only a small amount of space between the low back and floor. There's just enough room for your fingers to slide under. Many exercises should be performed with a neutral spine.
Anterior/Forward Pelvic Tilt (APT)

Here the top of the pelvis is positioned forward causing the butt to stick out. The space between the lumbar spine and floor is substantial - almost enough for a fist to fit through.

I've found this is where a lot of people go wrong. Unknowingly, they perform an exercise in APT because they are not aware of it. In abdominal exercises - such as the dead bug - the focus is on the moving component. While a person concentrates on reps, time, and moving the limb, they will not consciously press their back against the ground.

Without that control, the result is repetitive motion without using the targeted musculature and a large arch causing discomfort in the low back.
Posterior/Backwards Pelvic Tilt (PPT)

As displayed, the pelvis is rotated backwards causing the low abdomen/ribs to "crunch." Done properly, the back is flush against the floor and there is no space whatsoever.

To emphasize how PPT feels, it's better performed on a bench or exercise mat. The padding will provide more feedback during execution. Think of pressing the low back into the ground and "scooping" your pelvis under. The key here is to maintain this position during a movement.

It should be focused on for better results. The PPT is the main aspect to a movement such as dead bugs, leg raises, or hollows. The arms or legs moving are secondary to it.
While I covered supine movements, PPT extends to planks, push-ups, and ab wheel rollouts as well. In these movements, it's common to see the hips sag down and the lower torso become lax. Rather than maximizing use of the exercise, gravity puts undue stress on the lumbar spine.

Pelvic tilt is straightforward to understand. The issue is that trainees aren't aware of it and how it plays a role in certain movements. By knowing how pelvic control is used in the right exercises, it increases their benefits.

Be prepared - you will definitely notice the difficulty change when tilting your pelvis posteriorly.

Further Reading,

Related articles,

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