Peggy Brill, P.T.
I am a fitness book fanatic. I’ve read, bought and borrowed thousands of fitness books and magazines. I felt that I had heard it all until I read The Core Program. It had more unsubstantiated crackpot pronouncements than I have ever seen in one fitness book in my life!
Now, I commend the spirit of her book. We VFers all know by now that strengthening our cores is essential to good fitness. I would never say to NOT get this book. But it made me nuts!
Ms. Brill spends about the first third of her book saying what a miracle her program has proven to be. (She is going to need physical therapy on her shoulders for patting herself on the back so much). And, there are way too many testimonials. Hey, I already bought the book, I don’t need fifty pages telling me how great it is!
Here are some of the off-the-wall comments that I found annoying:
On page 9, she has a list of other exercise techniques and writes why they aren’t especially good for the core. She states: “Yoga - which increases muscle flexibility but doesn’t build core muscle strength.” Say what? I’m no yogini, but if you don’t have good core strength in some of those poses, you will fall over. I’m personally convinced that yoga DOES build core strength.
On page 55 she instructs in the proper way to choose athletic shoes. Something about hopping up and down on one foot. Well, I worked at Lady Footlocker years ago. I know how to properly fit an athletic shoe. And the ability to hop up and down on one foot is low on the criteria scale. Her advice only works if you have good balance. Otherwise, you are out of luck.
On page 65, she cautions that sit-ups and crunches weaken the transverse abdominals, causing the lower abdomen to pouch. And that these exercises, “can lead to urinary stress incontinence due to excessive pressure on the pelvic floor”. Hmmmmm, I’ve never heard that before. I guess it could be true depending on your particular anatomy. Or, if you are doing them with poor form. (I suppose that Cathe, The Queen of Sit-Ups, better start stocking up on Depends!)
On page 67, I found the worst offender. She states in a sidebar that women shouldn’t use the restroom unless they really HAVE to. That women’s bladder muscles weaken if they don’t permit the bladder to become completely full. What the??? Gee, I’ll remember that the next time I drive from LA to Phoenix. I’ll just drive by that last restroom in Palm Springs if I don’t really HAVE to go. Just drive on by the last pit stop for 80 miles of unrelenting desert with NO trees to squat behind! (OK, I admit I’m over-dramatizing, but I found this theory particularly obnoxious). This may be OK if you work at home or in an office. But, what if you have a job where you can’t leave for the restroom when it is convenient? You have to go when you get to go. Or else, you don’t drink enough fluids so you won’t HAVE to urinate and will become dehydrated.
Finally, I found The Core Program lacking in not mentioning Glucosamine for joint pain. This substance has been a miracle for me
Other than these comments I’d say the book is somewhat useful. She has some tests and exercises. (Mostly yoga and Pilates - which she disses earlier on in the book.) I’d buy the DVD for the exercises if it comes out.
If you are looking for excellent, non-annoying books about core strength and injury prevention, I can very highly recommend two books. Both of these books helped me a lot. You can get more info about them by doing a search here at VF, or checking them out at amazon:
Peak Performance Fitness by Jennifer Rhodes, M.S., P.T.
Wear & Tear by Dr. Bob Arnot
Alta
1/19/04
