Question about Trunk Twists

by killerdognasty on Apr 26, 2009 7:51 AM EDT Comment 3 comments

I'm sorry for the brevity of this post, but I have some questions about "trunk twists." What part of the torso are they supposed to help? Is it an overall thing or is it the lats? Also, when one is doing the trunk twist, is your neck supposed to turn to the side or do you face forward while turning? Finally, do you use weights, a stick or nothing at all when performing the exercise?

Many Thanks

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In short...

…a trunk twist is a dinosaur movement, unless you’re talking about a movement intended to improve thoracic (upper back) mobility (see this link, that has plenty of them demonstrated—you’ll note that the exercises are designed to stabilize the lower back while mobilizing the upper: http://stronglifts.com/how-to-improve-your-thoracic-mobility/).

There’s still some debate about this, but overwhelmingly, the smart people out there (i.e., Stuart McGill and people who listen to him) are advising people to stay away from forceful rotation of the lumbar spine, ESPECIALLY with added weight. So all those ‘broomstick’ moves where you rotate quickly, or similar moves with, God forbid, a loaded barbell on your back, are falling out of favor. Stay away.

by Andrew Heffernan on Apr 26, 2009 9:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

by dinsaur, do you mean, this is something that people did 50 years ago….or is this an actual exercise term?

Thanks for your answer, advice and link.

by killerdognasty on Apr 28, 2009 3:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sorry...

…trying to be a bit too cute in my verbiage. I just mean that the kind of twists you’re talking about are (I hope) on their way to extinction. Good luck—Andrew

by Andrew Heffernan on Apr 28, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs