I will disagree with one point of view Dr. McGill expressed - I think he oversimplifies things a bit to talk about not working on strength and mobility at the same time. One absolutely can work on both at the same time, but the key - which Dr. McGill does mention elsewhere - is focusing on the right areas for each.
Specifically, one can and should work on hip mobility while working on lower back strength and stability. The kettlebell swing is an excellent example of these two things combined in a single movement but one can also work on one's barbell deadlift and one's side split at the same time, and I do.
-S-
I haven't watch yet, but from what you say here, would it be wrong to deadlift heavy while trying to progress in the QL Straddle stretch from S&S?
good interview- thanks for posting. Always great to hear someone intelligent and articulate speak based on actual research. I'm sure in a casual interview like this he doesn't do a whole matrix of combining heavy strength and mobility, but I believe he's referring to extremes in some of these statements, while saying everyone has to find their own mix taking the tradeoffs into account.
In another interview somewhere, he did predict Tiger and Rory McIlroy's back problems from competing demands of heavy weightlifting (tightness) and the rotational "whip" of golf (mobility). I think he did that while Tiger was announcing one of his comebacks and Rory was No. 1 in the world or something and posting pics of him doing 265lb squats. It'd probably be in bad taste for him to mention them now to illustrate his point.
ps- the interviewer seemed to have very tight grip on the mic and posture, but after McGill did that exercise with him, he had a totally different body language.
He's talking about professional athletes, those who have elite performance in special areas. Although I get the mechanisms that he's talking about, I don't know that the advice completely applies to those of us who want to be well-rounded, i.e. move well and be strong.
I do deadlifts and yoga, however, I don't try to get really flex-y with my spine when I do yoga these days. One can do a lot of yoga with basically a flat back.
@Wesker11 This article's pretty typical of speculation I've read about Rory's injury...A fractured rib for Rory McIlroy means he 'should shut everything down' for at least a month - Golf Digest
From the article:
"What typically causes the fracture is a tugging action on the rib by the serratus anterior muscle, which is attached to the rib cage. As a golfer swings back, the muscle stretches and pulls on the ribs while moving the scapula forward (like throwing a punch with your left arm)."
" "It's often initially thought to be a back issue, because the fracture occurs on the posterior side of the body," Simpson says. "It feels like back pain." "
If this is correct about what's going on, something made the serratus strong and tight enough to cause a stress fracture. I don't think weightlifting alone would get the muscle strength that far ahead of the bone strength. In any event, as McGill implies, it doesn't seem to be the type of injury that occurs to someone training to be quick, loose, and supple.
Tiger totally lost me when the stories came out saying he made his SEAL "buddies" all dig into their own pockets for an expensive meal at a restaurant. Anyone that well off who can't at least offer to pick up a meal for people who give that type of service that selflessly has much worse problems than his back, imho.