I strongly disagree that doing explosive volitional contract and relax bird dog exercises will prepare speed and power athletes and make them more athletic. Kettle bell swings with a “boom goes the dynamite” will make you able to be on the cover of Men’s Health with a ripped set of abs but will not increase punching power. For me to convert to this type of training I need to see research showing…
I strongly agree with Carl. The PT world is one where magic is more lucrative than logic. Fortunately there is a bit more skepticism these days. However in Stu’s defence he has provided a lot of good research in regards to back pain. According to those I trust his views on back pain rehabilitative/preventative exercise in terms of athletic performance are not as highly valued as work from Stu should be regarded. I suspect that very few designers of athletic exercise programs actually become their own live subjects. If they were to do so they would realise how little transfer they would get from often far from specific exercise.
However in Stu’s defence (again) please correct me if I’m wrong but there seems to be little commercial incentive for him to be dabbling in the area of athletic performance so he may just be genuinely trying to contribute knowledge which is very different from many financial reward based magic exercise programs out there in the marketplace.