Over the last week here at Northeastern, we have been testing our athletes on a variety of tests before spring break. These tests include one repetition maximum on the hang clean, back squat, bench press, and pull-ups. These are some of the main lifts that we incorporate into our programs and it will be very useful to have updated numbers on our athletes when they come back from spring break next week. However, there are some athletes that the strength coaches here have decided not to test for a variety of reasons. One primary reason is they need more training and coaching with their technique prior to attempting a maximum effort lift.
What does this have to do with a neutral spine and training age? Absolutely everything! If an athlete cannot get into the starting position of any major lift that we test, why should we test it? It would only cause compensations to occur and even worse, injury. It is therefore imperative that each athlete grasps the concept of a neutral spine anytime they are in the weight room training. Think of your two major lifts; the clean (from the floor or the hang position) and the squat. If an athlete has weak core stability, they cannot effectively maintain a neutral spine. We should not even be asking these athletes to complete these lifts without proper starting position, especially those who have a limited amount of experience in the weight room. We must shift our attention to where their weakest link is. It may be core stability, shoulder mobility and stability, and thoracic mobility. Corrective exercises should be implemented to fix the underlying problems of the individual athlete prior to attempting these types of lifts