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F1 – an exercise that goes to the core
Illustration: © Kieser Training AG
F1, the rotary torso trains the external and internal oblique muscles of the abdomen. These muscles act like a corset around the abdomen and give your waist its shape: the firmer the muscles the firmer the abdomen. However, if you have accumulated a layer of fat over your muscles, then F1 on its own will not help. In this case, success depends upon three factors: a controlled diet, increase in calorie consumption through sufficient physical activity in everyday life and regular strength training.
Training on F1 requires considerable concentration. To keep your upper body straight, imagine a vertical line running through your body and make sure that your hips stay still. As you turn to the left, you contract the right external abdominal muscle and the left internal abdominal muscle. Similarly as you turn to the right, you work the left external and right internal abdominal muscles. The first time that F1 is included in your training programme, you should limit the amount you turn the torso. It takes about 10 weeks to get used to this exercise and so by the date of your check session you will be in a position to increase the angle of rotation.
See this graph animated on: www.kieser-training.com > Training > Preventive training > Exercises > F1
Expert‘s Tip
The rotary torso a complex movement that is performed in the facet joints of the lumbar and cervical spine. In addition, the muscles running diagonally between the spinous and transverse processes support the oblique abdominal muscles and so F1 is also a back exercise.
F1 is particularly effective for those with a scoliosis or juvenile kyphosis. Isolated training of the muscles that rotate the torso helps eliminate muscle imbalances and prevents the condition deteriorating.
Golfers also swear by the F1
Some 80% of those whose sport involves an asymmetrical movement (javelin, tennis, golf) have muscle imbalances and posture problems. For them, strength training for the muscles that rotate the torso is important for maintaining trunk stability. However, keen athletes should also include F1 in their programme as it not only eliminates imbalances but also improves swing.
Anika Stephan,
R&D Kieser Training
Significant strength gains after just 17 training sessions
Newcomers to Kieser Training say they soon experience its positive effects: they feel stronger and have an improved sense of wellbeing. But is there hard evidence to back up this perception? FAKT, the Research Department of Kieser Training recently carried out some research on this and we now have the results.
The study lasted just 9 weeks and involved 22 men and 22 women between 35 and 70 years of age. All participants completed the same training programme. According to Anika Stephan from FAKT, who was in charge of the study “the aim was to see whether there was objective evidence of the strength gains reported by customers after a few weeks of training”? What was needed was documentary evidence and so Stephan measured the maximum strength of participants’ biceps, triceps and quadriceps at the start and end of the study.
Stephan was delighted with the results: “The results show significant strength gains after just 17 training sessions. This confirms the subjective reports received from customers.”
Female participants recorded average increases of 23.2% in the strength of that showcase muscle, the biceps. The equivalent increase for men was 19.5%. For the quadriceps, the maximum strength gain for women was 20% and 22% for men. However, for both sexes, it was the triceps, i.e. the elbow extensors, that came out on top in terms of strength gains. This is not surprising because the triceps is a muscle that quickly loses strength if it is not trained. According to Stephan, “the female participants were particularly pleased with the increase in their upper-arm strength, as it is often an area that causes problems.
Female participants showed amazing strength gains of 40.6% and for men it was still a very respectable 25.8%”. The results showed that this muscle responds quickly to training”.
However, the study was not just about absolute strength gains. We also wanted to find out how quickly differences in the strength of muscles on the left and right side of our body could be corrected”, explained Stephan. “And so we measured the strength of the extensors and flexors of the left arm and leg and compared them with similar measurements for the right arm and leg”. An imbalance of up to 10% between left and right is quite normal. However, many of us put a greater load on one side than the other because of work, day-to-day activities or sport. At the beginning of the study, 17 of the 44 participants displayed a marked difference between the strength of the muscles in the left and right arms and 13 had an equivalent imbalance in the strength of leg muscles. After training for just 2 months, the results were convincing: 83% of participants showed a clear reduction in muscle imbalances.
The study produced extremely good results – what’s more, the participants were also well pleased. “I can confirm what Werner Kieser says, you simply feel better after doing strength training for just a short period“, said Andreas Baindl. He was one of the participants and has been training twice a week at Kieser Training in Schaffhausen since the study ended.
5 questions... on training intensity
Strength training works like a cooking recipe: you take a little bit of this, a bit more of that and finally that certain something that gives it the edge and produces the final delight. It’s the same with muscles: if they are to acquire that certain something from training, both ingredients and load must be right.
But surely it’s the weight that counts?
Of course, the first thing you feel when you train is the weight you have to lift. However, training success depends upon more than just the weight. We talk about the “training stimulus”: this is a combination of weight, time under load and the quality of the final repetition. In other words, it’s the level of intensity, the time under load and the stop criterion. Each parameter is given a different weighting depending upon your aims, age and any medical problems. However, the decisive factor in ensuring successful training is an “effective” training stimulus, i.e. the stimulus must be enough to trigger the body’s adaptive response and so produce the desired increase in strength.
How do you define effective training?
Training can be a waste of time: If the weight selected is too low, muscles are not subject to an adequate load and so the body fails to respond. To increase strength, the load intensity must be at least 30% of maximum strength. The definition of maximum possible strength is the weight that a person can lift once but only once. So, if you can lift 100 lbs once on B1, that is your maximum and for effective training you need a minimum weight of 30 lbs.
Great, then it’s enough to train with low weights?
Not necessarily: minimum weight is not the same as optimum weight. This requires a little more effort. If the training stimulus is low then the effect on muscles is low. It may be enough to maintain existing levels of strength but strength does not increase. The ideal load, i.e. the one that stimulates an effective response from your body is between 50% and 80% of maximum strength. On the diagram, this is the area marked by hatching and is called the medium to sub-maximal range. If you have a specific medical condition, it may be sensible to reduce the load to “low”. The Kieser Training doctor will determine whether this is necessary.
What role does duration play?
In the field of sports science, this is known as time under load, i.e. the length of time that muscles are under tension during an exercise. After all, lifting a weight 5 times is different from lifting it 15 times: With each additional repetition, the weight becomes heavier – or at least it feels like that. At Kieser Training, each exercise is normally done for 60 – 90 seconds, i.e. at the end of this period the muscle is no longer able to function. However, if you have a muscle imbalance or joint or tendon irritation then select a lower weight and train for 90 – 120 seconds. Adolescents should do each exercise for 120 – 150 seconds.
So how do I “feel” whether the load is right?
If you are an adult with any specific health problem, it’s quite OK to extend your limit. Select a weight that means that you are unable to complete the final repetition after doing an exercise for 60 – 90 seconds, i.e. for all practical purposes the muscles have stopped working. If you have a health problem, do not continue the exercise for longer than 120 seconds, if in so doing, you could not do the next repetition correctly.
Finally:
To check that all training parameters are correct, we recommend a free accompanied session with an instructor after every 20 training sessions.
