5 reasons you should rock the hollow rock

5 reasons you should rock the hollow rock

By Dr. Dwayne Dunnil, RCFP Member, CrossFit Games Open Competitor

I am sure that everyone who has had the pleasure of completing a WOD lead by George has been introduced to the hollow rock body position. But what is it, and more importantly, why should you care if you can “rock” this position?

According to crossfit.com, the hollow body position is a gymnastic position of core contraction and stabilization where your pelvis is tucked under, your stomach is tight, your chest is rounded and your low back is straight. It is essentially the exact opposite of lifting posture, where you keep a proud chest and arched low back.

The hollow body position can be used to train your deep core muscles such as the transverse abdominus and multifidus, which are not recruited with traditional “core” exercises such as sit-ups and crunches. However when maximizing recruitment of the deep core muscles the term “bracing” may be more appropriate than the term “hollowing”.

So, what will recruiting your deep core muscles and holding a hollow body position mean to you?

• Dynamic Stability – Human movement is based upon your ability to move your extremities around your stable core. 

• Without a stable core, your extremities would have no base of support to work off of. When you can recruit your deep core muscles you will be able to turn your core into a rigid lever for your limbs to move around. Hello kick-ass toes-to-bar!
• Power Transfer – Do you want to lift more? Of course you do, or you wouldn’t be reading this. Many of the lifts that we use require us to generate force with the powerful muscles of our legs and hips and then transfer that momentum to our shoulders and arms (think thrusters). When we recruit the deep muscles of our core, forming that rigid lever, less energy is lost in this transfer. Wouldn’t that be Fran-tastic?
• Flexibility/Mobility – How many of us have limited hip, thoracic and/or shoulder mobility? When we try to move our bodies, without recruiting the deep core muscles, the spine is unstable. The body’s response to this is to restrict your movement in an attempt to prevent back injuries. Teaching yourself to fire your deep core musculature will give you the range of motion that no amount of stretching ever has!
• Injury Prevention – The bad news is that 4 out of 5 of us will experience at least one episode of back pain within our lifetime. The good news is that proper core stabilization can help you become the 1, not the 4, reducing your likelihood of experiencing a back pain or recurrence of previous pain. When active, the deep core muscles can absorb a significant amount of force, which would otherwise be placed on other tissues leading to injury.
• Beach Body – I know that Crossfit doesn’t focus on the aesthetics of fitness as some other gyms do. But for those interested, the fibres of the transverse abdominus wrap around your core like a corset. Training these muscles will pull everything in tight, enhancing your “hour-glass” figure or emphasizing your “six-pack” abs.

The hollow body position is one way to train the deep core muscles that often go missed in standard core programs. The truly exciting thing is that, once trained, the deep core muscles will learn to fire automatically when they are needed. The bottom line is that training these muscles can make you more stable, powerful, mobile and injury resistant all while making you look good! Ask your bicep if it can do all that for you.

References:

1. http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html Read September-28-12.
2. McGill, Stuart. Core Training: Evidence Translating to Better Performance and Injury Prevention. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 32: 3: 33-46. June 2010
3. Peate et al. Core strength: A new model for injury prediction and prevention. Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology. 2: 3. 2007
4. Grenier et al. Quantification of Lumbar Stability Using 2 Different Abdominal Activation Strategies. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 88: 54-62. January 2007
5. Kibler et al. The Role of Core Stability in Athletic Function. Sports Med. 36: 3: 189-198. 2006
6. Richardson. The Relation Between the Transverse Abdominis Muscles, Sacroiliac Joint Mechanics, and Low Back Pain. Spine. 27: 4: 399-405. 2002