https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gCEGQyZDq8?rel=0

This is the time of year when athletes such as myself and my teammates at Northwest Strength and Performance steel ourselves for the Crossfit Regionals. The events aren’t too bad this year. We just ran through a 3 day trial run and we’re all a little tired but in good shape otherwise. We’ve been through years where it feels like the attitude is “Any athlete who made it here without cheating is invincible so why not do 100 overhead squats after 100 pull ups?” This is when we see what I consider “competition” movements. Those are movements that are not good for me but are measurable and part of my sport. Movements such as the sumo deadlift high pull and the GHD sit up are “competition” movements. It is well documented by McGill in research compiled in his text Low Back Disorders that the discs of the lower back are vulnerable to injury when loaded in compression and then moved from end range extension to end range flexion. This is exactly what happens in every repetition of a ghd sit-up. In training we take these reps to neutral only, but this is competition and competition is not always gentle.

There has to be a better way to build midline strength and stability. Enter the Single Kettlebell Sit Up. This version of the kettlebell sit up is a spine sparing alternative to the ghd or long sets of unweighted sit ups. The reason is that this weighted version is extremely difficult from a positioning standpoint and a maximal work load can look like 5 sets of 5 in each arm rather than hundreds of repetitions unweighted, or end-range of motion movements such as the ghd sit up.

This motor pattern also helps to reset the glenohumeral alignment to correct shoulder impingement issues. The arm remains fixed perpendicular to the floor and the torso extends beneath it. Thus creating that same flexion as a waited raise without reinforcing any of the faulty firing patterns that are causing impingement. It really just cuts to the chase on the effect of the turkish get up.