Originally posted by AMom
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After observing Tamzin perform the HB CTR and doing it myself, I know that one can stop the pelvis and hips moving AND dominating during the exercise. In fact, there's a theoretical possibility that being able to restrain oneself initiates even more intense work by the deep, inner core muscles, including the lumbar paraspinals, than is achieved when restrained by, for example, a MedX hip restraint. Furthermore, after 'locking' oneself into a MedX, those hip and gluteus muscles can still work to push against the restraint, not unlike the current research focusing on developing exercises for kids to use the rigidity of hard braces to work 'within' the brace.
The effectiveness of HB CTR would clearly depend on the individual's ability to minimise hip and pelvic movement, and to not use arm or shoulder strength. (AMom, you've seen Tamzin performing this exercise; did you notice any undue hip movement or shoulder and arm contribution? 3sisters has also tried this HB CTR. Kevin, I can give you a link to Tamzin doing the HB CTR.)
Kevin has also discussed the difficulty of ascertaining what contribution each muscle group makes to CTR. Muscle groups other than the paraspinals contribute; doing the exercise while minimising other muscle group contribution is clearly important to achieving maximum work by the paraspinals. Whether a Medx/Cybex session more effectively isolates and works the paraspinals than a focused HB CTR session is, for me, an undecided. E.g., given the difficulties, perhaps impossibility and definitely the lack of a complete EMG test on all the muscle groups used during MedX CTR, I do not know enough to favour one protocol over the other.
(To coin an oft quoted McI-ism, "Just thinking aloud" for all us impoverished masses who don't have machines in the house!) I would imagine that if HB CTR could work the paraspinals as well as doing CTR on a MedX, there would many more of the 100s or 1000s of readers of this thread eager to participate in the discussion.
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