Sublime

In advising how to train an elite athlete, Stuart McGill, a medical researcher of lower back disorders, notes, “Each person has different proportions of body segment lengths, muscle insertion lengths, muscle to tendon length ratios, nerve conductance velocities, intrinsic tissue tolerances, etc. . . . Imposing a stereotyped ‘ideal’ technique will o

Richardson et al. (1999) identified the lumbar multifidus and the TVA as the key stabilizers of the lumbar spine. Both muscles link in with the thoracolumbar fascia to provide what Richardson et al. refer to as “a natural, deep muscle corset to protect the back from injury.”

• Ayotte et al. (2007): the best exercise for the Gmax is the forward step-up. • Ayotte et al. (2007): the best exercise for the Gmed is the unilateral wall squat. • Bolgla and Uhl (2005): the top exercise for the Gmed is the pelvic drop.

Gracovetsky emphasises that the human form is entirely designed for mobility, not for stability. His spinal engine theory (see also notes and further reading) is like water in the overheated arguments of a dry biomechanical desert.

Stabilizing the nonmoving parts reduces the variables the brain has to deal with in predicting the consequences of muscle contractions.

• Distefano et al. (2009): the best Gmed exercises, in order of effectiveness, are side-lying hip abduction, single-leg squat, and single-leg dead lift. • Distefano et al. (2009): the top exercises, in order of effectiveness, for the Gmax are single-leg squat, single-leg dead lift, and side-lying hip abduction.

When you are standing, the weak muscles show themselves; when you are lying, the short muscles show themselves.