I am currently working on some research with one of my biomechanics professors, and he ran across this little piece of research below. It appears that there is a psychological component to load (who would have thought?!) that can increase the amount of stress on the low back. In light of last month’s Research Review, do you guys think there would be any merit to suggest that there would be a decrease in performance or breakdown in technique for someone trying too hard to micro-manage each rep (and potentially a coach cuing too much during a rep)? It almost seems like too much cuing could not only hold the lifter back from progressing past the “point of form decay,” but also add inter-set fatigue which would cause a breakdown in form during that set.
“The effect of mental processing using arithmetic tasks on low back load during lifting tasks was examined using kinematic and kinetic data obtained by a 3D motion analysis system. Study results indicate that mental processing results in increased low back compression force and extension moment during lifting.”
https://cdn.journals.lww.com/spinejo…_While.21.aspx