"I have been a client of Tommi's for 8 years. I have utilized many aspects of his broad expertise. He has been able to assist and motivate me with all of my personal goals regarding, Personal Training, Weight Loss and Nutrition, as well as rehabilitation. He is an outstanding intelligent professional." Mark D, NY
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"Tommi is a super professional who watches you closely to make sure you strengthen your body, understand what you need to do, and do it in a way without hurting yourself. Over the last 3 years, working with Tommi, I have strengthened by body without ever injuring myself; not even pulling a muscle. That's because Tommi pays close attention to what I am doing." (David Goodman, NJ)
"Tommi keeps my mind in the game and challenges me with new moves every day. Working with Tommi is more fun than eating marshmallows." (Sylvia G., NJ)
"For the past 20 years I have had to train around chronic knee and shoulder pain. Since training with Tommi, I am now pain free and no longer living on Advil!" (Ted D'Amico, NJ)
"The knowledge and skill set that Tommi possesses is incredible. He is a true movement specialist and has one mission: results." Evan Chait, PT, CNRT, L.Ac (Kinetic Physical Therapy)
Some of the most powerful anatomical and neurological linkages within the body are crossing over the body's center line. They are involved with rotational movement patterns.
Most movements that require power in sports are rotational, such as running, throwing, kicking or punching.
So how to activate the essential muscle connections that are involved in rotation?
In other words, what kind of exercises might help us prepare for rotational sports or even for a functional conditioning workout?
Here are some of the rotational medicine ball wall throws that we really like as a part of the dynamic warm up.
Why do the back-related pains and injuries often occur in the context of low-intensity, miniscule tasks, like picking up a pen from the floor?
Why didn't the musculature around the spine suddenly brace and support the lumbar region the same way as it did when doing crunches, deadlift or squats at the gym?
A research paper by Craig Liebenson,A modern approach to abdominal training might shed some light in this issue. Among other things the research paper states how important the involuntary muscle contractions are in the core musculature, especially in unexpected and reflexive situations. Those who have delayed in-voluntary contraction around the lumbar region were more prone to have back problems. Feel free to sink your teeth into this research paper before moving on...
Based on all this, I have to ask myself the following. Do my training and conditioning practices include exercises that prepare the body for the unexpected (read: life, sport) or have I just created a nice setof beach muscles that only contract when I flex them? And if so, what kind of training would "heal" this only-contract-when-told-by-me -syndrome?
One of the practical answers in creating involuntary abdominal stimulation is THROWING.
Throwing movements are task-specific exercises and create same involuntary contractions to support the spine. However, in order to avoid too familiar and too voluntary training, we should probably perform these exercises in a variety of ways and in multi-planar fashion to create an environment that would simulate a reactive sport or a true life situation.
Various medicine ball throwscan function as true and functional abdominal training. Here are some of the basic throwing movement patterns. Progressions include for example: A) A narrower base of support (1-leg) B) Combinations tasks (jump and throw) C) Load, distance and accuracy variations.
1. Overhead throw
2. Underhand throw
3. Rotational throw
4. 1-arm "shot put" throw
5. 1-arm slam
Hurl, cast, toss, fling, thrust, slam and have fun!
Tommi
PS: "Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water." Swedish Proverb.
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First, we need to understand how the human body works during movements. In a nutshell, the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) controls the muscles so that they can move efficiently to use energy wisely and to avoid injury. The central nervous system, in turn receives information about what’s happening from the muscles. Because of this process, movement patterns become important...
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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 4:52PM 
So how to activate the essential muscle connections that are involved in rotation? 
