Office work — or any extended sitting — are a common challenge of modern life.
Upside: we can maintain attention for long periods and work in comfort.
Downside: sitting harms posture.
We end up with:
Forward head → compromised respiration & core stability (diaphragm inhibition).
Slumped shoulders → restricted shoulder movement , higher shoulder injury risk .
Tight hips → weak glutes , excessive strain on lumbar spine, back pain.
So on Swings, instead of hips driving the movement, the lower back overworks . A common “fix” for tight hips is stretching hip flexors . When I first learned about this in 2001/2, it worked well—until it didn’t. The looseness never stuck . Research shows hip flexor stretching briefly boosts deep abdominal activity, but it diminishes when training ends. Sitting then reinforces tightness, creating a loop. At the same time, I relied on abdominal bracing for core stability. Which worked —until it didn’t. A hard brace raises hip joint forces. Research shows strong bracing lowers shear at the here lumbar spine but spikes hip compression by 8–12%. It also reduces hip-knee flexion and raises ground reaction forces, shifting stress to hips instead of glutes.
Combine tight hip flexors, weak glutes, and max bracing, and you get aching backs and damaged hips. That’s how I tore both labrums after years of stretching and bracing.
The Fix: Restore Anticipatory Control
In a well-functioning body, the deep core fires milliseconds before moving an arm, leg, or kettlebell. This anticipatory response, or automatic stabilization, is also called reflexive stabilization.
Studies show the Transverse Abdominis and Multifidus activate promptly in pain-free lifters but respond slowly in those with back pain. Conscious bracing can’t substitute—once the bell moves, you’ve only got milliseconds. If the reflex is off, shear forces hit when load peaks, often causing that “lightning shock” in the lower back. So, how do we restore it? With specialized movement drills that re-train feed-forward activation.
One of the top is the Dead Bug, demonstrated to restore pre-emptive stability . We use this and supplementary moves in the Stability phase of the SSP Model (Stability–Strength–Power) from Systematic Core Training for Kettlebells.
The prescription:
Five minutes of stability training before KB sessions.
A brief 10-minute period after.
Then advance towards Strength and Power.
This resets the deep abdominals, re-strengthens them with the pelvic floor and diaphragm, and renews the ability to create intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) to protect the spine in Swings, Cleans, Squats, and Snatches.
Should You Ever Brace?
Yes—on maximal , controlled lifts like Deadlifts, Squats, and Presses. But bracing should complement reflexive stability, not replace it.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.