Adachi
Level 7 Valued Member
I just found something I didn't want to find.
I hate planks , planches, and holds of all kinds
Because I hate planks. I hate enduring through the timer. i hate holding for 60 seconds. I hate it. I don't like it. I am a wuss and a puss when it comes to these held positions.
... but ... apparently, I'll need to plank for a while.
the side plank is providing therapeutic benefit to my lower back.
I've often recounted that I credit the Turkish-Getup with resolving my lower back issues; it did.
Recent History
I hadn't done getups regularly for many months while I did other strength training.
I started swings and Getups this week since I'm shifting gears back to the goal of Solid after some good detours, and I noticed that my lower back was not tolerating 1 handed swing. I can swing the 40kg bell to the chest for sets of 10 2-handed just fine. almost like riding a bike. but the 1 handed swing felt a hard stop of some neurological break and I couldn't get it past belly button height, at all. My legs and my grip are very happy to handle the bigger bell, but my back put the breaks on all that.
This had me backtracking down to the lightest kettlebells and bodyweight moves to try and diagnose a bit about what was going on.
so I did 16kg getups and 1-handed swings. I noticed some relief in the getups and tolerability in the swings.
after trying out the paradox crunches (found in the book Deadlift Dynamite) I noticed some shifts in the lower back issues.
went back to Bodyweight getups with a Yoga block.
focused on anti-shrugging the shoulders through the bridge.
BINGO!
noticed relief sensations in the back while the lats were pulling my shoulders down.
Back to the present day
so - today I'm practicing side planks and I'm noticing additional amounts of relief as I go. I keep my feet separated and change sides frequently till I sense the ramp-up of recruitment slow down, and before big sensations of fatigue come on. about 5-10 seconds per side. focusing on keeping my shoulders away from my ears.
I'm not 100% certain of the exact mechanics at play, but after deadlifting almost daily for a month or so - I suspect that this direction of tension is providing some contrasting compensation for all the loading I've been putting on it.
Looking forward
just in case you get some low back discomfort - maybe this would help you too. side bridge to the knee, and alternating side plank a la Stuart Mcgill on hands and feet, happen to be helping out my lower back a lot more than I thought. in small doses it's rapidly helping resolve recent discomfort which I associate with the combination of frequent deadlifting and maybe some back-bending I should be more careful with in my press.
this will have to do until I can get my hands on a new pull-up bar to hang from; which is my go-to for remediating back pain issues.
I hate planks , planches, and holds of all kinds
Because I hate planks. I hate enduring through the timer. i hate holding for 60 seconds. I hate it. I don't like it. I am a wuss and a puss when it comes to these held positions.
... but ... apparently, I'll need to plank for a while.
the side plank is providing therapeutic benefit to my lower back.
I've often recounted that I credit the Turkish-Getup with resolving my lower back issues; it did.
Recent History
I hadn't done getups regularly for many months while I did other strength training.
I started swings and Getups this week since I'm shifting gears back to the goal of Solid after some good detours, and I noticed that my lower back was not tolerating 1 handed swing. I can swing the 40kg bell to the chest for sets of 10 2-handed just fine. almost like riding a bike. but the 1 handed swing felt a hard stop of some neurological break and I couldn't get it past belly button height, at all. My legs and my grip are very happy to handle the bigger bell, but my back put the breaks on all that.
This had me backtracking down to the lightest kettlebells and bodyweight moves to try and diagnose a bit about what was going on.
so I did 16kg getups and 1-handed swings. I noticed some relief in the getups and tolerability in the swings.
after trying out the paradox crunches (found in the book Deadlift Dynamite) I noticed some shifts in the lower back issues.
went back to Bodyweight getups with a Yoga block.
focused on anti-shrugging the shoulders through the bridge.
BINGO!
noticed relief sensations in the back while the lats were pulling my shoulders down.
Back to the present day
so - today I'm practicing side planks and I'm noticing additional amounts of relief as I go. I keep my feet separated and change sides frequently till I sense the ramp-up of recruitment slow down, and before big sensations of fatigue come on. about 5-10 seconds per side. focusing on keeping my shoulders away from my ears.
I'm not 100% certain of the exact mechanics at play, but after deadlifting almost daily for a month or so - I suspect that this direction of tension is providing some contrasting compensation for all the loading I've been putting on it.
Looking forward
just in case you get some low back discomfort - maybe this would help you too. side bridge to the knee, and alternating side plank a la Stuart Mcgill on hands and feet, happen to be helping out my lower back a lot more than I thought. in small doses it's rapidly helping resolve recent discomfort which I associate with the combination of frequent deadlifting and maybe some back-bending I should be more careful with in my press.
this will have to do until I can get my hands on a new pull-up bar to hang from; which is my go-to for remediating back pain issues.
Last edited:
