Looking for a good rotational exercise to add to Starting Strength program
I follow the Starting Strength program.
I like that is built around natural movement patterns.
The deadlift for instance is really just picking something heavy up from the ground. This is both useful and "natural" in the sense that it is something we humans have done since the age of dawn.
In our modern society we rarely have to lift heavy objects, however it is useful to be able to do so. It is therefore important to practice as to not loose this ability. The squat movement as another example is something that comes natural to children, but that we may loose the ability to perform if we do not practice it.
These natural movement patterns is the result of evolution. We have evolved to being great at deadlifting heavy objects. I believe it is important for health to use the body the way evolution has intended it to.
There are however a few movement patterns that are missing from Starting Strength;
the gait, the lunge and the twist.
The twist is used to create rotational force and is very important in many sports.
We use it in tennis, hockey, baseball, boxing, shotputting and javelin throwing to name a few. A good baseball batter for instance can create and transfer a tremendous amount of (rotational) force to the baseball.
As for the evolutionary motivation for us being good at creating rotational force; we may have used it to cut wood with axes, throw javelins for hunting or to punch or wield clubs to defend ourselves.
I am therefore looking for a rotational exercise that I can add to the Starting Strength program and practice in my local gym.
I think the ideal exercise would have been hitting a boxing or double end bag with a heavy baseball bat. Just throwing straight punches at a boxing bag may also work.
However my gym does not have boxing bags or baseball bats.
So far I am doing lateral medicine ball throws. I notice it is good exercise for the hips and think it will help with my thight and weak hips.
However I feel it is missing a bit of rotation on the follow trough and therefore not ideal for the upper body.
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The starting strength program is for beginners to learn the most important basic lifts. At a certain point though you need to start including rotational special exercises. For example just continuing to deadlift will not advance your deadlift past a certain point. Other important accessory exercises for the deadlift include glute-ham raises, good mornings, and hyper extensions. At the point when you are ready to do so I would highly recommend reading through some of what louie simmons has written about the conjugate method. Best of success
You mentioned the lunge not being in Starting Strength, but Rippetoe has certainly spoken about it before. I forget the context and just skimmed through my books to no avail. But I believe his basic thought was "The only reason more men don't do lunges is because they see women doing them and think it's not a 'real' exercise. These men are wrong."
There's also (Chapter 7, Starting Strength) an entire section devoted to ancillary exercises. Following a progressive overloading routine like SS, SL5x5, Mad Cow, etc, it's pretty normal for folks to burn ~15-30 minutes doing some less destructive ancillary moves. In particular I found use in these which may relate your desire for a bit more asymmetrical and twisting motions.
Seated Dumbbell (or kb) twist. Heels up, sit on your butt, move a weight side to side as shown, aiming for touchdown to be controlled and roughly inline or slightly above (towards your head) of your iliac crest.
Assisted single leg squats. I like to do them with a suspension trainer.
Beyond those, you might consider bouldering. Climbing tends to put you into just about every type of directional force situation available. That's across static, strength, and dynamic movements.
Rippetoe's core thought process though is that there is so much work to be done and so many strength gains to be had via barbell training that straying too far off course will cause you to weaken accessory muscles needed for larger composite moves and ultimately will leave you worse off.
Rippetoe was and is a professional athletic trainer, focusing on US football which requires a lot of movement and pulling/pushing across a lot of range. I'd be wary of trying to outsmart him too much, or thinking that your needs are more than a high end collegiate defensive end.
Like the lunge, Rippetoe is all about them, but you can't do all-of-the-above in lifting programs because that leads to lower progress in any particular movement or overuse injuries.
My own conclusion on this is;
the twist is not missing from Starting Strength since the same muscles are exercised by the other movements in the program.
However it is beneficial to practice the twist as well as lunges occasionally.
Indian clubs or sledgehammers may help in developing strength around the shoulder which is good for stability.
Likewise lunges may be good for stability around the knee.
There are a lot of functional "caveman" type ways to use rotation if youre not wanting to use dumbbells or bands.
You can use clubs which are weighted differently and build balance.
You can use maces, thor's hammer, or sledgehammers. These are cheap and you can buy them yourself for after the gym.
You can also replicate a hammer by using a barbell or adjustable dumbbell with only one end with weights. Do not strike anything with these though. you only need to go through the motion to build rotation.. you are not working on your speed or power.
There are a lot of workouts online that involve chopping movements(acting as if you are chopping wood and squatting as you do so)(or reverse where you go from low to high), as well as spinning. rotating etc.. Dumbbells are great for the chopping exercises as you hold a dumbbell straight up as you do it.. but if this doesnt fit your 10,000 year old school method you can use hammers or clubs.
Swinging hammers(thors hammer, sledge hammer, war hammer) or a mace will replicate ancient ways of the body using a weapon to build rotational force. They all simulate hitting with rotation similar to a baseball bat. You do not actually need to strike an object to build rotation, just go through the motion.
Clubs originated in India a very long time ago and are also a great tool. They are balanced as well and easy on the joints.
Also you can do bodyweight exercises.. such as hanging knee raises with rotating your legs to the side. Rock climbing would build your obliques as well.
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