My last few posts have been discussing the concept of whether or not Ab crunches and other trunk flexion exercises are dangerous.
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I’m afraid my actual approach to using crunches in my daily training may be misunderstood due to no one’s fault but my own. I’ve always prided myself on delivering non-biased, battlet-tested training information that empowers you to think for yourself and not just follow. I try to encourage personal creativity and always try to provide information from both sides of controversial topics such as the lumbar flexion debate. That said, based on a few comments floating around the internet on my recent posts, I don’t think folks really understand my true view on this matter.
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In today’s post, I’m going to clarify my take on crunches, flexion exercises and low back pain research by such brilliant folks like Stuart McGill.
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Clarifying Crunches
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I have to give credit to my good friend, Coach Mike Boyle for helping me realize that the messages in my posts may be getting misconstrued. Below is a conversation exchange Coach Boyle and I had a few days ago on his Strength Coach Blog from his post entitled “No More Crunches“.
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mboyle1959 Says:
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.
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Nick Tumminello Says:
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 of volume crunches are often performed. 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 no way am I attempting to discredit him. 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
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I hope this clarifies things a bit. If you’d like to read the rest of the comments from this thread go here.
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