I am sure that you are. If you follow my stuff, you know that I am absolutely obsessed with keeping your hips healthy!
By healthy.. what do I mean?
Having mobility. Having released tissue that is free of trigger points within the quad muscles, hip flexors, glutes and IT Bands.
Remember, if you have tight tissue, you CAN NOT Stretch your way out of it!
You CAN NOT increase mobility or hip joint range of motion if you do not have the tissue surrounding the hip joint released!
Through the years- I have worked with a lot of strikers. Baseball players, tennis players, and golfers are all strikers.
For a striker to increase their force and power (speed) upon ball contact or ball release, they MUST have optimal range of motion. If they do not, that is when compensation and injury take place.
Think about it like this. If you line up to a golf ball, you body and mind both know what YOU want to do: Hit the Ball.
That is when the discussion between your mind, muscle, and nervous system begins to coordinate the movement.
If your bodies sensory system is alerted that their is not enough range of motion to accommodate the force required, your body will go to the next available joint for motion.
If your hips do not have the motion, that extra torque and motion that is needed will come from the lower back or knees.
This is why you see so many "strikers" injure their back and knees. The body says "GIVE ME MOTION".. and the joint responds back by saying, "YES I CAN or NO I CAN'T!"
When NO is the answer, the question is then asked to the next joint!
How many of you go to the gym and train your muscles in an attempt to improve your striking game? or relieve your pain?
Most.
Many blame these issues on strength weakness. The reality is, in my experience, most of these issues stem from poor tissue, trigger points, and joints that become stuck.
Sometimes, they (the joints) are stuck because there is actually too much muscle that is unable to be used due to the higher tension of overtrained and overdeveloped muscle. (have you ever seen a bodybuilder try to throw or hit golf ball?-- comical!)
It is important to recognize when you have a "muscle" issue or a joint issue. Most people meet in the middle over-focusing on flexibility.
Focus on your tissue, then the joint, then the flexibility, then the strength and power.#trainlikeapro
Click the video above for some easy mobility exercises!
Dana Cavalea
Dana Cavalea is the World Champion Director of Strength and Conditioning & Performance of the New York Yankees.
Currently, he is a High Performance Speaker & Consultant to Pro Athletes, Entrepreneurs, Business Executives, and Workforces on lifestyle strategies to reduce stress, improve work/life integration, and most importantly improve daily performance /outcomes.
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