Trafford Publishing: Hard "Core" Abs I: Building the Foundation

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Hard "Core" Abs I: Building the Foundation

by Nathan Harewood

132 pages; Black coil; catalogue #02-0435; ISBN 1-55369-622-0; US$22.50, C$25.95, EUR18.50, £13.00

The first ever progressive abdominal and core training manual based on a class that all fitness levels have used and found challenging. Everyone from housewives to professional football players. Goodbye lower back pain, hello Hard to the Core.

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about the book about the author sample excerpts catalogue info

About the Book

The first of a three part series. Most abdominal books or magazines show pictures of exercises that are meant for the advanced or people who do not suffer from lower back pain. But, I have taken a different approach. I picture the body as a house; there are certain steps to take to ensure that a house stays strong and sturdy for many years. You must develop the foundation before you can build the walls. The same goes for the CORE.

About the Author

Being active and being fit have been important to me since I was four years old and starting to play sports. However, I did not realize the importance of conditioning until I became involved in sports in high school. In high school I excelled at football and track and field. I was an all-star in football and set many records that still stand today. In track and field, I excelled in the one hundred-meter sprint, where I also set a provincial record for my age group, and the four-by-one-hundred-meter relay.
When I finished high school, I moved to Calgary, Alberta to pursue my football career. This plan was falling into place until I was rear-ended at a red light on the way home from work. I tore several muscles in my neck and was told by the doctor that I would never play contact sports again. This situation was hard for me to swallow, but I knew that many athletes had successfully faced similar challenges. At that point in my life, I made a very important career decision. I decided to further my education and start training for bodybuilding.
I was not sure where to start. At first I trained in massage therapy. After a couple of years of hard work, I completed training as a Massage Practitioner, Reflexologist and as a Sport Massage Therapist. I also took classes in relaxation and hydrotherapy. I was finally figuring out what I wanted to do to make a difference in the lives of people.
I started to work with a few sports teams and was amazed at the amount of lower back injuries that I encountered. I was curious and wanted to learn more about why so many injuries were occurring. My curiosity led me to one conclusion: core strength. I put my practice on hold and enrolled in the Mount Royal Personal Fitness Trainer Certification Program. This course was challenging and exciting-I just could not learn enough about the human body and the importance of personal fitness!
My personal fitness work has given me the opportunity to work with all types of people with all different levels of fitness and personal training needs. I have developed training programs for a wide variety of people, including older people with limited levels of flexibility, and professional football players who are already very fit. They all have one challenge in common: strengthening the abdominal muscles. I have taken up the exciting challenge of developing an abdominal fitness class that will work for all levels of fitness. I have compiled over 100 different exercises that people with almost every level of fitness will find challenging. Interest in my abdominal classes has been most exciting and encouraging! So, I have taken the next step: I have developed a handy manual that people can take anywhere! So here it is - HARD "CORE" ABS I ENJOY - AND REMEMBER: HAVE FUN, BE FIT AND WORK THAT CORE!

Sample Excerpts

HARD"CORE" ABS I:BUILDING THE FOUNDATION This manual was written with the reader in mind. It is designed for people that exercise at home as well as people who go to the gym. This book is composed of large illustrations that have a start and a finish pose to help ensure proper execution of exercises that will help build the strength needed to perform everyday tasks easier. You will also find that I have included some features that will help you along the way such as:
A training log to help you monitor your progress
Motivational phrases
Training tips from trainers of all specialties
Nutritional information
Information on programs that will help accelerate your results

Just when you think that you have mastered these exercises, look out for HARD "CORE" ABS II THE NEXT LEVEL . This is a manual that is full of new exercises and some exercises that the fitness world has never seen before. I would like to tell you more about it but the information is top secret and only people that are part of the HARD "CORE" revolution will have the honour of experiencing.
Welcome to the first day of your CORE transformation program and remember- this is only the beginning...
WHAT EXACTLY IS "CORE" & WHY TRAIN THESE MUSCLES? The term "core" refers to your abdominal and lower back muscles. There are several major muscle groups that make up your core, both in the front and the back of your body. All these muscles work together to maintain good posture and stabilize the spinal column. You also work these muscles when you pick objects up and move them around. Finally, these muscles keep your internal organs in the right place. In other words, if your body is in motion, then your core is engaged.
The core is not a muscle group whose sole purpose is to make us look good in the summer when we have that "six-pack" and nice groove in the lower lumbar. The truth is: every body has the same basic muscular structure. Whether you have the lean look or you are carrying a little more " stored energy" then you like, you still need to work your core.
Our core is one of the most neglected muscle groups. We often leave this group of muscles until the end of the workout or leave them out entirely. People treat their core muscles according to the old cliché: "out of sight out of mind". If you see an individual who appears to have no curvature, or too much curvature, in the lower back, it may be an indication of a muscle imbalance in the core muscles. Take some time, look in the mirror, look at people around you, and you will notice that people actually fall into one of these two categories.
People who have too much curvature in the lower back actually have tight or overdeveloped back muscles. By concentrating on stretching the lower back muscles and building abdominal strength, this situation can be corrected. People who have little or no curvature in the lower spine should concentrate on stretching the hip flexors and the rectus abdominus as well as strengthening the lower back muscles. It is common knowledge that lower back injuries happen during every day tasks such as picking something up off the floor or coughing or sneezing - not during exercising. Two of the major contributors to back injuries are poor core strength and underdeveloped muscular strength and stamina. It is amazing how easy it is to work your core muscles! With a few basic motions, practised a few times per week, the risk of lower back injury decreases and you feel better and more confident doing every day tasks.
There always has been the big debate about the proper way to train the core. One theory is that you should be able to do one hundred sit ups in one minute or be able to drop a twenty pound ball on your abdominals from fifty feet. In reality your core should not be treated any differently than any other muscle group. Core training should be periodized, which must include all the major components of training, including: power training (1-3 repetitions); strength training (4-8 repetitions); hypertrophy (8-12 repetitions); and endurance training (12-20 repetitions). This approach to training will cover all aspects of everyday living and will cut down your time in the gym!

Catalogue Information