Twisted

I'm not a big proponent of ab work that combines flexion and rotation, especially in untrained and/or older populations. This type of motion is found in popular ( and effective) ab exercises such as the "bicycle", during which a crunch move is accompanied by a rotation of the elbow toward the opposite knee.

Why? There is far too much potential for excessive stress being placed on the lumbar discs, increasing the chances for disc herniation. The lumbar/sacral area does not need to be "flexible"- it needs to be stable. It's range of motion(ROM) is only 2-5 degrees.

So,ditch the bicycle exercise for now. We'll cover why ab work might be better performed to prevent rotaion in upcoming posts.

Try the body saw, landmine, and overhead step-ups for now.