Why are the Block Plank, Set-Point, & L-Sit Prep so Important for Learning How To Engage the TVA?

Note: These 3 exercises are found in the core video workouts.

BLOCK PLANK

This exercise will teach you how to use your pelvic floor to turn on your TVA. This will teach you how to engage your core.

Grab a yoga block and stick it between your legs. Squeeze it! Squeezing it will turn on the pelvic floor, which engages your TVA.

This will give you CONTEXT. Every single time you move, pretend you are replicating that feeling you got in your pelvic floor and TVA when you did the BLOCK PLANK exercise.

SET POINT EXERCISE

This will help you learn how to feel the TVA engage. It will make it really obvious to you when your TVA disengages (because you will dump into your low back).

Start with the knees over the hips. Then slowly extend the legs out. You will start to feel a sensation in your stomach (your TVA is engaging …. Which has nothing to do with pulling the belly button in or “sucking in” … rather, you will feel the TVA tighten). You will get to a point when you extend the legs too far and you no longer feel it in the TVA, but rather, you feel it dump into the low back. So you have exceeded your set point. So find the point before you dump into the low back and hold it. Over time, your set point will increase!

Again, this will teach you how to use your TVA to guide the movement of your hips. Remember, the TVA drives movement.

L-SIT PREP

The L-sit prep is one of the best ways to discover the feeling of the TVA engaging. It it one of the best ways to build TVA strength.

When first starting out, use yoga blocks: it’s easier because you have height. The longer the “arm”, the more power you have pushing into the ground. I prefer the cork 4" yoga blocks because they are more firm. These are the ones I have.

Push your hands into the yoga blocks (to create leverage) and lift your hips back. Hold. Try pulling the hips back as much as you can (the stronger you get, the more you will be able to lift them back). Your feet stay on the floor (but they slide back). Focus on pushing down into the yoga blocks and finding your TVA. It will feel like pure hell if you do it right. That’s a win! It’s not about how perfectly it looks… it’s about finding “the feeling”.

Don't hold your breath! Do calm nasal breathing.

Don't tuck your chin to your chest.

Regarding hand placement on the blocks: put your hands in the middle of the blocks. Don't let the hands and fingers dangle over the front edge of the block.

I love this exercise because pulling the hips back helps you find the TVA and it strengthens the TVA.

Anatomically, this is what is happening: your TVA and lats are working to stabilize your shoulder girdle (so it doesn’t collapse) and your QL (quadratus lumborum … low back muscles) should be actively lengthening to pull your hips up and back. The stronger your TVA becomes, the easier it is for the QL to lengthen. This is good medicine for an angry QL.

Tip: when you push into the ground: think of your lats as an extension of your arms. Also think about Newton’s 3rd law of motion. For every action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force. So if you press down hard into the ground, the reaction force will help lift you up into the air.

Once you can hold an L-sit prep for 30s on the yoga blocks, it’s time to ditch the yoga blocks and do it on the floor. The best way to succeed is to consistently show up!

Get into an L-Sit Prep, and then lift your legs off the floor. If you have a hard time lifting your legs off the floor, it’s because you lack hip flexor strength. If your quads cramp when you try, it’s a sign your hip flexors are weak and need some work. That’s why hip flexor triangles and hip flexor raises are part of the plan!

Don't just flop out of the L-sit. Rather, drop into the L-sit prep and try to hold it for as long as you can before dropping to the floor.

Once you can hold an L-sit for 30s on the yoga blocks, it’s time to ditch the yoga blocks and do it on the floor. Another challenge is to try it on the yoga blocks with ankle weights!