Should you train your lower back through a rounded, loaded position, or keep the spine stiff whenever it is loaded?

Ben PatrickNo credential claimed · founder of Athletic Truth Group, self-taught knee and joint coach

Train it. A spine that is never flexed under load is a spine with poor strength and flexibility in a natural human range.

What it rests onHis own weekly minimum spine set, described as a 2:1 ratio: brace against 100 pounds in sandbags first, then drop to 50 and work full flexion. He argues bracing and flexing protect the back in different ways and both are needed, that the back extension machine's angle makes the bottom position gentle, and that this is cultivating a basic human ability "rather than avoiding a natural human ability". His stated timescale is weeks, months and years. His verbatim framing: "Flexion was broadly misunderstood in exercise science. Yes: If you bend a spine hard enough it breaks, but that's no reason to accept poor levels of strength and flexibility!"

Stuart McGillPhD · spine biomechanist, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Waterloo

It depends on pain history. With a pain history, a loaded spine should not move; the worst technique is repeated loaded flexion.

What it rests onHis rule comes with its conditional attached, which is the whole point of the source: "How are these thoughts put into practice? It depends! The answer depends on history, does the person have episodic back pain, or chronic pain or perhaps has never had pain. If they are a grand master of powerlifting and have never had back pain I suggest keeping their style. But if they have a pain history, the answer is different. First, if the spine is under load, it is best to not move it, keep it stiff. This principle is not contestable." He then names the failure mode specifically: "The worst technique would be to move the spine into flexion, over and over, so the combination of load with motion would slowly and cumulatively delaminate the disc collagen."