Saturday Weekly Blog Tip- Mobilize To Dominate

Sorry about not getting my blog out on Thursday. It was one of those days where I had to let something give and the blog took the dive for me.

Mobilize To Dominate:

Are you the type of coach or athlete that uses the first part of a game to get loose and work your way into the game??? BIG MISTAKE! Not only are you risking injury you could get blown out in the first part period and never catch up. Let me share with you a great way to get in the groove immediately...

Mobility Exercises to get the hips, knees, ankles, back, shoulders, and BRAIN, ready for action.

Part of the problem with the slow start to games is lack of mobility of the muscles and joints but also the nervous system. You want to perform exercises (I will share some below) that force the joints and muscles to move through a full range in a fluid manner. As you get the body more "lubricated" due to all the movement the nervous system starts to get moving and become more active. Not only that, the blood gets flowing and the entire set of systems become ready to participate and give their all. So don't take the warm up and mobility session lightly.

Exercises for Mobility (you still have to do the foam rolling, corrective stretching, and dynamic runs but I am only focusing on mobility for now):

1. Start with Ankle mobility- Keep you heel down and rock your knee forward and back over the big toe. Go the full range of motion for at least 10 reps. Make sure the arch does not collapse and the knee does not travel inside the middle of the foot (stay to the outside)- 10 reps on each
2. Elbow Lunge with Hamstring Stretch- Perform a lunge with the right leg. Drop the left hand to the floor and the right elbow toward the instep of the right foot. The left leg should be straight and the back should be as flat as possible- hold for 2 seconds. Now rock back so the right leg can straighten somewhat. Keep the hands down and the back flat while stretching the hamstring. Now drop back into the lunge come into a good lunge posture and step forward to the opposite leg.- 5 on each side.
3. Bench slides- Spread the feet wide with toes facing forward (like a long snapper in football). Bend the knees slightly with hands on the ground. Keep the hips level and shift your weight side to side stretching the hips, hamstrings, adductors, shins, and back. As you get more limber begin to drop down when you get to one side so you get a greater mobility in the hips.- 5-8 each side
4. Mud walks- Begin walking backward by bringing the right leg up to 90 degrees at the hip and knee. Swing it open to the outside and step backwards. perform the same action with the left leg. Keep the upper body in good posture. Great exercise to mobilize the hips for performance. 8 on each side.
5. Elbow circles- Start with both forearms touching in front of the chest. Bring both arms up trying to keep elbows close together, circle your elbows out tot he sides trying to swing the shoulder behind the body and then return to the starting position. Basically you are making a big looping action with the arms and shoulder but keeping the elbow bent. Reverse the pattern and perform 5 going in each direction.

There you. These mobility drills will warm up the joints, muscles, get the blood flowing, fire up the nervous system and get you off to a great start.

Yours in Speed,

Lee

PS: I recently released my new Source 4 Speed Newsletter for all Speed Insiders Members. If you want to test it out for a couple months FREE- go to www.SpeedInsiders.com. Plus I would like to get your feedback.