July 28, 2010Read: Matthew 11

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened and I'll give you rest." --Matthew 11:28

We've all heard the phrase "God is in your corner." Sounds comforting, no? But if you've ever seen a cornerman at work, the phrase takes on new meaning. Especially if you compare what he does to what we know of God, the similarities are striking.

Let's see: He has his fighter's best interest in mind. He knows what his fighter can handle. He never takes his eyes off his fighter. He knows his fighter's strengths and weaknesses. He knows the opponent's strengths and weaknesses. He treats his fighter's wounds. He gives wise advice on how to win the fight. He knows when his fighter's had enough. Win or lose, he's always there to pick him up.

(Now, compare all that to what a cornerman does.)

Come to think of it, have you ever seen a fighter avoid his corner between rounds? Me neither.

--J.P.

PRAYFIT TIP: THE TIMING OF IT ALL You need your abs and core fresh during your entire training session, especially during bent-over moves like Romanian or stiff-legged deadlifts, and during all types of squatting moves. And that goes for both men and women!

Many of you might be working with a trainer who has you going from an abs move into a bent-over move or squat-type of exercise in superset fashion, and I realize he or she is doing it to keep your heart rate up, to keep it fun with lots of variety, etc. But realize that you could be putting yourself at risk of injury by doing so.

During squatting moves or bent-over moves, your core and abs work to stabilize your spine -- think of them as an inner weightlifting belt -- but if they’re weak and fatigued, you won’t be able to generate the necessary pressure inside to hold your spine in perfect alignment. The result: a weaker lift and a more unstable core.

Please don’t buy into the notion that you “fire up” the abs and core by training them first. That makes no sense and it won’t help you achieve your goals and, it bears repeating, could be promoting injury.

Finally, why put anything in a situation where you won’t be at your very best? By sacrificing your strength on multi-joint lifts that involve more muscle, you are working with less strength and building less muscle. You can always fatigue your abs last, when the need to have a stable core is not imperative.

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