Global/Israeli Corruption!
What depth of blind insanity has inflicted itself upon Israel's politicians, and such as George W. Bush and Condoleeza Rice?!!??So, in order to bring about disarray within the ranks of those opposing the Disengagement, a specially trained "Gestapo/KGB type" unit is to be deployed a week before the Withdrawal begins, to totally disarm the "settlers," and to drag protest leaders from their beds in the middle of the night.. It would appear then, that the authorities have identified who the protest leaders are, where they reside, and the magnitude of their "threat" to the Withdrawal! Obviously, they expect a great deal of resistance!I hope their prediction is accurate! The resistance must become even more organized, so that everyone knows what they must do, regardless of whether the protest leaders are incarcerated or not! What they fail to comprehend, is that those apprehended will in fact become hero's, strengthening the resolve and bravery of the anti-withdrawal folk.But what is worrisome, is the fact that police and military heavy-handed tactics are be

Borrow Money In A Jiffy
Loans are very much a part of everyone’s life. You can do away with many things in life but money is not one of them. You need it, you adore it, you borrow it and, most importantly, you fall for it. You do not know when you might have to take a loan to meet an emergency. It means that if loans are not disbursed in time, the very purpose of borrowing may get defeated.Loans touch your lives, offering something for everyone. You may be thinking to go on holidays without disturbing your savings or you may like to revamp your home or you may need money to repay your credit card bills. All these things are possible by borrowing money and keeping your investments intact (if any).All UK residents are not homeowners and this call for loans that can be availed by non-homeowners also. Unsecured loans do not require any security and, therefore, tenants find such loans a wonderful opportunity to borrow money. The most significant aspect of unsecured loans is their fast availability. Now, fast unsecured loans are a reality.If you want fast unsecured loans, you ca

How to Create a 66% Chance to Increase Your Direct Mail Response Rate?
I guarantee you, if you ask 100 marketing professionals today about the most important thing you can do to maximize your direct mail sales, one answer would float to the top:Testing, Testing, and Testing…But how do you test a direct sales or a fundraiser letter?This is how I’d do it:Have at least three different versions of the same letter and mail each to 10% of your total sample.Then select the letter that has the maximum response rate and mail it to the remaining 70% of your list.Doing so would give you a 66% chance of increasing your response rate.How? Let me explain.Let’s assume that you have A, B, and C versions of your basic letter.You mail each to 10% of your mailing list and you receive 1%, 2% and 4% response, respectively.If we assume that your total “sample population” consists of 1,000 names, this means you receive 1, 2 and 4 responses from each of your 10% mailings.I’d take the letter which rang up a 4% return rate (Letter C) and mail it to the remaining 700 addresses, for 28 responses.rticle is to take a closer look at either side of this heated debate and come up with some logical conclusions based on current scientific and anecdotal research. Strap in, it’s going to get bumpy!

The Theory Behind Drawing-in

We’ll begin our tour of the abdominal universe by looking at the proposed theory of the benefits of drawing-in or bringing the belly button towards the spine. By completing such an action, the body’s inner muscular unit is supposedly activated which starts a complex process of stabilization mechanisms for the lower back, spine, and pelvis. The real impetus behind this theory stems from some physical therapy research down in Australia in the 1990’s. What these researches found was that many post-injury and post-surgical patients had delayed activation of the transversus abdominus and lumbar multifidus muscles upon initiating many types of movements such as reaching for example. For the interested reader, get the book Therapeutic Exercise for Spinal Segmental Stabilization in Low Back Pain by Richardson, Jull, Hodges and Hides. In this text, the authors put forth their theories based on research of low back pain patients. The basic gist of their theory is summed up in the introduction of the above-mentioned text:

“Spinal segmental stabilization is designed to specifically improve the underlying joint stabilization rather than training functional movement and hoping joint control improves concurrently”

Hmmm, let’s get this straight; train in an isolated way and then “hope” that joint control improves during functional or “real-life” movements and performance! I’d call that a giant leap of faith based on what motor control research tells us about specificity. Try it with any healthy athlete and be prepared to be disappointed. Here are some of the reasons why this theory does not pan out in the real world:

1. Firstly, there’s very little evidence that training stabilization, balance or any other motor skill in an isolated way carries over to real world type of situations that often occur under rapid or ballistic type of conditions. This goes back to the good old SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demands) principle that has been known for decades. On a similar note, balance strategies that are often encountered in sport rely more heavily on feedforward systems rather than the common gym forms of balance training that are based more on feedback systems. In discussing issues such as balance and stability these issues are important to distinguish because they are the most fundamental principles of motor learning. Feedforward systems basically are preprogrammed movement strategies in the brain. One does not have time to think, or adjust their body to accommodate the situations. Feedback systems allow one to make corrections to the movement such as in squatting, deadlifting, or pressing a weight overhead.

2. Inner-unit activation type of exercise strategies involves conscious activation of specific isolated muscles that can lead to “paralysis by analysis” during real life and sporting-type of situations. The old axiom of the body knowing “movement not muscles” comes to mind again and again. Also, it is not realistic to think that one could consciously contract their inner-unit while fighting, sprinting, changing d

bar multifidus muscles upon initiating many types of movements such as reaching for example. For the interested reader, get the book Therapeutic Exercise for Spinal Segmental Stabilization in Low Back Pain by Richardson, Jull, Hodges and Hides. In this text, the authors put forth their theories based on research of low back pain patients. The basic gist of their theory is summed up in the introduction of the above-mentioned text:

“Spinal segmental stabilization is designed to specifically improve the underlying joint stabilization rather than training functional movement and hoping joint control improves concurrently”

Hmmm, let’s get this straight; train in an isolated way and then “hope” that joint control improves during functional or “real-life” movements and performance! I’d call that a giant leap of faith based on what motor control research tells us about specificity. Try it with any healthy athlete and be prepared to be disappointed. Here are some of the reasons why this theory does not pan out in the real world:

1. Firstly, there’s very little evidence that training stabilization, balance or any other motor skill in an isolated way carries over to real world type of situations that often occur under rapid or ballistic type of conditions. This goes back to the good old SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demands) principle that has been known for decades. On a similar note, balance strategies that are often encountered in sport rely more heavily on feedforward systems rather than the common gym forms of balance training that are based more on feedback systems. In discussing issues such as balance and stability these issues are important to distinguish because they are the most fundamental principles of motor learning. Feedforward systems basically are preprogrammed movement strategies in the brain. One does not have time to think, or adjust their body to accommodate the situations. Feedback systems allow one to make corrections to the movement such as in squatting, deadlifting, or pressing a weight overhead.

2. Inner-unit activation type of exercise strategies involves conscious activation of specific isolated muscles that can lead to “paralysis by analysis” during real life and sporting-type of situations. The old axiom of the body knowing “movement not muscles” comes to mind again and again. Also, it is not realistic to think that one could consciously contract their inner-unit while fighting, sprinting, changing d

faith based on what motor control research tells us about specificity. Try it with any healthy athlete and be prepared to be disappointed. Here are some of the reasons why this theory does not pan out in the real world:

1. Firstly, there’s very little evidence that training stabilization, balance or any other motor skill in an isolated way carries over to real world type of situations that often occur under rapid or ballistic type of conditions. This goes back to the good old SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demands) principle that has been known for decades. On a similar note, balance strategies that are often encountered in sport rely more heavily on feedforward systems rather than the common gym forms of balance training that are based more on feedback systems. In discussing issues such as balance and stability these issues are important to distinguish because they are the most fundamental principles of motor learning. Feedforward systems basically are preprogrammed movement strategies in the brain. One does not have time to think, or adjust their body to accommodate the situations. Feedback systems allow one to make corrections to the movement such as in squatting, deadlifting, or pressing a weight overhead.

2. Inner-unit activation type of exercise strategies involves conscious activation of specific isolated muscles that can lead to “paralysis by analysis” during real life and sporting-type of situations. The old axiom of the body knowing “movement not muscles” comes to mind again and again. Also, it is not realistic to think that one could consciously contract their inner-unit while fighting, sprinting, changing d

ity these issues are important to distinguish because they are the most fundamental principles of motor learning. Feedforward systems basically are preprogrammed movement strategies in the brain. One does not have time to think, or adjust their body to accommodate the situations. Feedback systems allow one to make corrections to the movement such as in squatting, deadlifting, or pressing a weight overhead.

2. Inner-unit activation type of exercise strategies involves conscious activation of specific isolated muscles that can lead to “paralysis by analysis” during real life and sporting-type of situations. The old axiom of the body knowing “movement not muscles” comes to mind again and again. Also, it is not realistic to think that one could consciously contract their inner-unit while fighting, sprinting, changing direction at a fast speed, or performing a complex sporting skill.

3. Conscious attempt to isolate the transversus abdominus muscle can actually result in posterior rotation of the pelvis which would also cause flexion of the lumbar spine; a strategy that cannot be recommended during exercises like squats or deadlifts! This is also contradictory to most sporting movements. So, while so many argue their inner-unit is more active the structure is actually severally compromised and at higher risk for injury.

4. Fourthly, using a suspension bridge model of the spine, Canadian Spine Biomechanist Dr. Stuart McGill has shown that hollowing (drawing in) the spine causes the spine to be unstable. This is because drawing-in actually reduces the size of the base of the guy wires, which reduces the muscles contribution to spine stiffness. Ultimately, this can only lead to a decrease in spine stability.

The Theory Behind Bracing

The theory behind bracing requires much less explanation because it is much easier to visualize and understand. By bracing, one activates all the layers of the abdominal wall including the glorified inner-unit muscles. Going back to the suspension bridge model explained by McGill, during a bracing maneuver, one maintains the size of the base of the guy wires and thus increases spine stability, which reduces the tendency for spinal segments to buckle. An interesting phenomenon is that this naturally occurs in most healthy non-injured back patients when breath is held during an exertion. It’s as if the body knows the kind of stability required and just unconsciously makes the person hold his or her breath. This breath holding significantly increases intra-abdominal pressure, which will be explained in greater detail below.

The role of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) is often a forgotten component of spinal stability. In Dr. Zatsiorsky’s famous text Science and Practice of Strength Training, he states that even when a person leans with 80 kg weight the load on the lumbar vertebrae exceeds 1,000 kg. As we all know the body is capable of lifting far more than 80 kg. Dr. Zatsiorsky states that IAP can reduce pressure on the intervertebral disks by 20% on average and 40% in more extreme situations.

IAP can be increased by utilizing the Valsalva maneuver and by through contraction of the oblique abdominal muscles. The Valsalva maneuver is very similar to Power Breathing taught by Pavel and this is why this method of breathing should be taught to those wishing to increase stability of the body during lifting. The obliques also are vital in creating IAP along with the diaphragm. Because of the insertion points of the obliques, they can help the extensor muscles by adding stability to the erector spinae fascia. Developing strong obliques appears to be necessity for creating a stable spine. Exercises such as Janda sit-ups, suitcase deadlifts, and full contact twists fit the bill nicely.

The late Dr. Mel Siff cites some other great methods of increasing abdominal tension, “Similarly, the traditional boxing technique of using punches, medicine balls, or powerful thrusts on the abdomen extrinsically increases the mechanical tension in the abdominal muscles. In other words, inward or outward distention of the abdomen during forced b