Hi,
I just was reading the article Spine Flexion Myths on the website. First, I want to say in addition to being an exercise physiologist, my clinical training was done in spinal cord injury recreational therapy. Quickly, I’ve found the approach to core training offered by Dr. McGill to be spot-on for those I work with. I continue to use threads of Dr. McGill’s teaching in all aspects of my strength and conditioning program with the military, which I don’t speak on their behalf. Of interest is that the branch of service I work for does fitness test abdominal crunches (not full sit-ups). None the less, being concerned about spinal health, about four years ago, I began employing the stir the pot exercise and a core training protocol using the TRX suspension trainer during all of our workouts in the human performance center. I’ve found these two mechanisms to be very compatible.
The results during fitness testing we have seen have been phenomenal considering we only train the abdominal crunch exercise about once every two weeks. In nearly 100% of the members who have trained with me, performance on abdominal crunches during testing has increased. Even in populations aged 40+. To me this is remarkable. In addition, this has occurred among members with history of low back pathology. Not to my surprise, members have also improved their push-up and run performance too, which I believe a significant correlation is related to lumbar stiffness.
Again, thanks for all that you do! Stay strong, stay healthy!