5 Steps to a stronger, healthier back...

(picture courtesy of Women's Health Magazine)

1.  Groove motion patterns, motor patterns, & corrective exercises.

-Identify perturbed patterns and develop appropriate corrective exercises
-Build basic movement patterns to complex activity-specific patterns
-TRAIN THE MOVEMENT, NOT THE MUSCLE

2. Build whole body & joint stability

-Build stability while sparing the joints
-Ensure sufficient stability commensurate with the demands of the task

3. Increase endurance

-Develop basic endurance training to build the foundation for eventual strength
-Incorporate activity-specific endurance (duration, intensity)

4. Build strength

-Spare the joints while maximizing neuromuscular compartment challenge

5. Develop speed, power, and agility

-Develop ultimate performance with the foundations laid in steps 1-4
-Focus on optimizing elastic energy storage/recovery