No More Crunches?
Anyone who knows me knows that we eliminated most flexion exercises from our workouts years ago based on the work of Dr Stuart McGill. This is one of the most difficult things for coaches and trainers to hear and, to get them to implement. In the last few years we have popularized the terms anti-rotation and and anti-extension and taken these concepts from physical therapy to the gym floor. Here is a great mainstream article about Dr McGill that will help you reinforce this with your clients.
This will really help you sell a program of planks, anti-rotation exercises and rollouts to your clients.
March 3, 2010 at 6:11 am
Nick- maybe I should have said “he likes to play Devil’s Advocate”. I know how you train people but, I think your posts sometimes give people the wrong impression of your views. This post was a case in point. The writer used your point to take a stance opposite one your primariliy ageree with. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
March 3, 2010 at 5:38 am
Just to clarify a few things:
1. I don’t disagree just for the sake of argument. Put simply, I never have and never will like blanket statements. For instances: “crunches are bad”. No, too many crunches can be bad for some. I would say any exercise is bad, if it’s done to the extent and large amount volume crunches are often performed at. Squat are great, but 100 squats done everyday may be tough on your knees?
REMEMBER – Flexion is not the problem – High repetition flexion is the problem!
2. I do NOT use trunk flexion all that often in my training. But, not because I’m afraid crunches will put my clients on the surgery table.
I don’t use crunches often because much of my training times is dedicated to reversing the sitting position (aka slouchy posture). Crunches replicate this posture and therefore I feel my clients valuable training time is better used not do anything like they already do 8+ hrs a day. This is why I do agree with Coach Boyle when he tells young trainers to cut out crunches and has done it himself.
But, that doesn’t mean we should look down upon a smart and experienced coach if he or she decides to use crunches for a specific athlete.
3. I have a great deal of respect for Dr. McGill and in now way am I attempting to discredit him with the blog post linked above. I do however feel there are a few things in his book that have no bearing on human movement for the reasons I wrote in that blog post. That said, MOST of what DR. McGill talks about, I believe in 100% and use everyday.
In short, do I think anyone NEEDs to do crunches? – Absolutely NOT! But, then again, I don’t think there is any one exercise that has magical powers that everyone MUST do. A squat, deadlift, Push Up, etc: are all just exercises.
Best regards!
Coach N
March 2, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Don – take a moment and listen to Episode 41 of the StrengthCoach Podcast http://strengthcoachpodcast.typepad.com/the_strength_coach_podcas/2009/08/episode-41-strength-coach-podcast.html . Although I like Nick I think he sometimes deliberately takes the counterpoint side of issues. I think you should listen to Nick, Charlie Weingroff and i and make your own decision.
March 2, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Coach Boyle,
While I am certainly not advocating favoring crunch-type movements, side bends, and rotational movements over anti-rotation/side bending/extension movements, I’d be curious if you have any thoughts on the following post from Nick Tumminello
http://nicktumminello.com/2010/03/low-back-pain-the-negative-side-of-current-spine-research/
Coach Tumminello is certainly not the type of coach who blindly does things and doesn’t consider risk-reward. And he consults with many educated people, so he does his due diligence. While I recognize that someone is unlikely to sway you once you’ve already established a highly effective way of getting top results with the least risk, Coach Tumminello’s post seems to indicate that a herniated disc might not be a question of when versus if just because a bit of spinal flexion work is used (although even that controlled amount would be dependent upon a trainee’s assessment, needs, and sporting demands) .