I’m sure we have all stretched our hamstrings before or after a workout by bending at the waist, reaching our hands to the floor, and keeping our legs perfectly straight. While this does provide a stretch for the hamstrings, let’s take a look at some added benefits we could get by tweaking the stretch slightly.
For starters, it only stretches in one plane. Since everyone moves in 3 planes of motion (4 if you count diagonal), it makes more sense to stretch in this manner. Think about running. Only in the 100 meter dash do you run straight. Any other sport involves turning or cutting.
Also, because the hamstring connects to the tibia (lower leg bone) and the gastrocnemius connects to the femur (thigh bone), the myofascia of the upper and lower leg link when the knee is straightened. This is the reason you cannot stretch as far when your knees are locked out compared to when they are slightly bent. The slight bend separates the fascia of the lower and upper leg, allowing for more movement.
To isolate the hamstring when stretching, it is more effective to have a slight bend in the knee and rotate the leg to simulate a movement in different planes. Below is the stretch Chuck Wolf uses to create a more functional stretch. While the biceps femoris is defined as part of the Lateral Line (semitendinosus and semimembranosus are shown in picture above), it too will be stretched using this procedure.
Try it out and let me know how it works for you. Also, please share any other functional stretches you may use for the hamstrings.
I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Christmas with their family and friends. Since you are probably stuck in your house with some less desirable in-laws or extended family, here are some body weight workout ideas that you can knock out.
If you are as fortunate as I am to have a 60 lb weighted vest willing to jump on you at any time, I suggest using it.
Here is Charles’ contribution to the post. He also recommends a few games of basketball on a hang-on-the-back-of-a-door goal for good cardio.
No, this article and/or exercise is not a joke. Babymakers may be my favorite ab exercise and is also great for increasing sagittal plane movement in the hips.
I have previously addressed my distain for traditional ab exercises like crunches. Most ab work consists of shortening the muscles and placing strain on the back. Babymakers, on the other hand, work to lengthen the muscles of the rectus abdominis and hip flexors as the hips move into anterior tilt. Because the anterior tilt occurs first, this movement pattern fits with the idea of having an eccentric contraction (lengthening) before an concentric contraction (shortening). Needless to say, hip mobility is also improved while no tension is placed on the lumbar spine as it is during a normal crunch. Shoulder stability is also added if you add movement like I did in the video.
The burn generated by crunches is still there so if that’s something you can’t live without, so no worries. Try it out and let me know what you think.
Over the weekend, Rick Majerus, college basketball coach, passed away. Coach Majerus had ongoing heart problems and died of heart failure at the age of 64. He had been overweight for many years, and unfortunately it finally caught up to him.
This served as a reminder to me what terrible shape our nation is in as a whole. For some reason we are worried about a lot less important things than our health. Since the hot topic seems to be the economic state of our nation, let’s look at our health from a purely financial point of view.
USA Today found that obesity costs an extra $4,879 for women and $2,646 for men. When you factor in earlier loss of life, it goes up to $8,365 for women and $6,518 for men. I actually think this is low because it did not mention anything about increased health insurance, which factors in BMI*, and extra medical bills that could possibly occur from general decreased health due to the extra weight.
An article by CNN in 2010 stated that a research study “found that indirect and direct costs of obesity is as high as $147 billion annually” based on 2006. I guaranSHEED that number has increased considerably.
Now imagine investing more in your health now to prevent future expenses that would occur with weight related problems. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out investing $1000 a year now to prevent $2000-4000 in expenses later is a smart thing to do. You also can’t put a price tag on the increased quality of life and added years to spend with your family.
I know what you are thinking, you are suggesting people to spend more on exercising because that results in people like me having more work. While this is true, it is hardly my motive. I find it sad to see the direction our country is going. I think it is terrible that 33% of children are overweight or obese and are set up for a life battling a weight problem because of the lifestyle that has become the norm in America.
If you don’t know the steps to take or just need accountability, spend the money to get the proper guidance. It will be the smartest investment you have ever made.
*BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is used to classify a person based on their height and weight. Average is defined as 18.5-24.9. Overweight is 25-29.9. Obese is 30 and above. It does not take into account muscle mass so it can be misleading.
One of the questions I get a lot from athletes of all levels (usually males) is what do I need to do to gain weight?
The solution I have found is groundbreaking.
EAT MORE!
It’s quite simple: you gain weight by consuming more calories than you burn. That is why our nation is overweight. No exercise + terrible eating habits = fat gain. I gained 3 lbs on Thanksgiving because I literally sat around and ate all day until I was uncomfortable. If you are an athlete and have trouble gaining weight or keeping weight on, you are more than likely consuming less calories than you burn every day. For me personally, I need around 3200-3500 calories on my lifting days. Michael Phelps was said to eat 10,000 calories a day while he trained. This is slightly higher than the recommended 2000 calories for the general public.
It is important to follow the guidelines I laid out for you in the Nutrition section, along with eating foods with high nutritional value as opposed to just piling on the fast food. Not all calories are created equal, and the calories from healthier foods will provide more nutrients to your body than something like Romen Noodle.
Nate Green did an insane 34 day weight manipulation on himself. While I would never recommend an athlete, or anyone else, doing this to themselves, take a look at his diet over the first 28 days he was trying to gain weight.
BREAKFAST
2 frozen bananas, blended until creamy
Small amount of almond milk
3 scoops of casein protein
2 squares of dark chocolate
4 pieces of whole grain bread
2 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp jam
SUPER SHAKE
8 oz unsweetened almond milk
4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
2 scoops protein powder
handful of frozen raspberries
handful of frozen blueberries
LUNCH
1.5 pounds of lean meat
3 cups of vegetables
1/2 cup sauerkraut
2 large sweet potatoes
1 tbsp Udo’s oil
DINNER
1 pound lean meat
3 cups of vegetables
1/2 cup sauerkraut
2 pieces of fruit
1 tbsp fish oil
That is a TON of food. I’m not suggesting you follow this exact diet or any others, I just think it is helpful to see what I mean when I say eat more. This is definitely more.
If you want to look like our friend at the top, eat like him. If you want to put on some weight, get out your stretchy pants and go to work.
This summer, my sister pulled some strings and had Charles throw out the first pitch at the Augusta Greenjackets game, a local Single A baseball team. Needless to say, Charles was very excited when he heard the news. We didn’t realize for about a day or so that he didn’t really understand what was meant by throwing out the first pitch. For those of you who don’t follow baseball, throwing out the first pitch is kind of ceremonial thing done in baseball where someone, usually a hometown sports figure or celebrity, throws the ball to the catcher before the game starts. He was talking about it non stop and mentioned something about striking someone out. My dad and I were confused before we realized he thought that throwing out the first pitch meant he was actually going to face a hitter.
We had to explain to him that there would be no hitter and he would just simply be throwing the pitch to the catcher, in which he responded, “Ahhhh man”.
Apologies for having to risk pulling something to view the video. It’s my sister’s fault.
You could pawn this off as just a case of a child being naive, but I believe it’s a kid having extreme confidence in his abilities. I lean towards the latter because of the way Charles acts and the fact he is used to playing against grown men (My dad and I. Yes, I know neither of us are professional hitters, but to him we are and I certainly don’t discourage this idea.)
The reason of why Charles believes he can compete and succeed against professional baseball players at age 5 really is NOT important. What is important is that he truly believes he has the ability to play at that level, and he isn’t scared of the idea at all.
I am shocked with how kids doubt themselves these days. You would think that the overprotective parents that baby their children would produce a kid that is confident from mommy and daddy telling him he’s the world’s greatest when he’s terrible. Instead, it has produced kids that do not believe they can get the job done. How is a coach supposed to expect an athlete to produce when they don’t expect it themselves?
Also, many times the athlete won’t succeed simple because they don’t have the confidence that they will out perform their opponent. I can speak from experience on this. When I struggled pitching in college, I started feeling like every pitch I threw had to be perfect to perform the way I thought I should. This caused me to pitch “tight” and my performance only got worse. In the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college, I felt great physically and was very confident and pitched the best I ever have in my life.
Whatever sport you play, take a lesson from Charles and truly believe you are the best person on the field or court. You will never be able to reach a level that you do not see as obtainable for yourself.
As winter is approaching and temperatures finally start to dip here in the south, it is important to remember (or learn) that it is not bad to take some time totally off from baseball. No matter your age or skill level, this should be included in your yearly training schedule. When I say off, I don’t mean zero physical activity, but I would suggest not picking up a bat or ball for a little while.
With throwing, the general agreement is 6-8 weeks (in succession) is an appropriate and necessary time to take off. That doesn’t mean no bullpens or long toss for 6-8 weeks, that means no throwing at all. Like don’t touch a baseball. I would also suggest staying away from specific shoulder work (bands, light dumbbells, rotator cuff exercises). This will give the shoulder and elbow time to recover from the repetitive stress placed on it during the previous 10 months of use. Start back with very basic, light exercises and increase volume and intensity like you would with any training program. You can also put more emphasis on your strength program and include exercises like explosive med ball throws a that are more taxing and shouldn’t be implemented while you are throwing on a regular basis.
I do not believe as much time off is needed for hitting. Somewhere between 2-4 weeks would be more appropriate. I would also suggest taking swings from your non dominant side whether you switch hit or not (unless you have back or hip problems in which case you probably shouldn’t be swinging at all). This will help even out muscle imbalances built up from the thousands of swings you take during the season from one side. Most kids also enjoy the challenge and it’s something different.
Besides the physiological benefits from the time off, I always felt like it recharged me mentally. After any break, the “daily grind” feeling was gone and I was ready to get after it. My focused improved and I was much more driven.
This concept holds true with any sport. Year round teams can lead to burn out for a younger kid and the risk of injury increases greatly. College and professional athletes will tell you they have to have some kind of break and get away from it all. Take some time off. It will be much more beneficial to you in the long run.
I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy one of the few days you can eat anything and everything and sit around and watch football. Make sure you finish your meal by 4 so you can watch RGIII show up Romo and the Cowboys.
So I decided to put my money where my mouth is and start a lower body workout comprised of only single leg exercises. Here’s what I came up with:
Monday
Front Squat Reverse Lunge 3×8
Step Downs 3×10
SL RDL w/ barbell 3×8
Lateral Lunge Shuffle w/ Sandbell 3×8
3-Way RDL 3x3x3
Thursday
SL Deadlift 4×5
FWD Lunge to deficit w/ DB 3×8
SL 1 arm DB RDL 3×8
Goblet Lateral Lunge 3×6
RDL to Row 3×6
I mulled over exercise selection for awhile and came up with this set because they were either exercises I had never done before (SL Deadlift), exercises I hate because they are hard but awesome ( Front Squat Reverse Lunge, Goblet Lateral Lunge), or were a good integration movement to end a workout (RDL to Row, Lateral Lunge Shuffle, 3 Way RDL). As always, there are many different exercises and rep/set schemes you could use. This just so happened to be what I was feeling at the time and wanted more volume since I hadn’t done that for lower body in awhile.
A few things I’ve noticed while doing this workout:
I was sore for 3 days after the first time I did Monday’s workout (which I didn’t even finish) so Thursday’s workout was low intensity.
This is the hardest workout I have done since I finished playing baseball. I have desperately wanted to quit mid workout each day. Take it slow and build up instead of jumping right into what your ego is telling you to do.
SL Deadlifts are awesome and really hard. I started off with less than 1/3 of my deadlift max and was very challenged by it. I also felt it was much more challenging to keep proper form since I am doing twice as many reps as I usually do with deadlift. It is also much easier to let your scapulas protract, deactivating your lats and causing the back to round.
It is important to keep your weight on the ball of your foot. This will activate your glute and put you in a more stable position. The tendency will be to let the foot roll out or supinate.
The 3 way RDLs and RDL to Row are for integration and movement so resistance is a secondary concern. Concentrate on form on any exercise like this. Using more weight defeats the purpose.
Because of the spike of arm injuries over the past 2 decades, arm care has been a focus of many overhead athletes. There are many different programs that aim to properly train the rotator cuff and other smaller muscles involved in an overhead movement. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on pitching as the overhead movement.
While rotator cuff and other isolated arm care work is important, it should be viewed as auxiliary work when we think about preventing arm injuries. In Anatomy Trains 2nd Edition, Thomas Myers illustrates how the fascial system connects our whole body. One of the main points he tries to convey is how one area of a fascial line can affect the entire line, not just the immediate area around the effected area. One statement Meyers made really stuck out to me when discussing the functional lines:
“While remedial work on these muscles or their antagonists may be helpful, long-term relief depends on reinforcing the strength and precise timing of the Back Functional Line (BFL) in throwing, rather than asking the small muscles of the shoulder joint to bear the entire burden.”
Note: The Back Functional Line is the fascial system that runs from the distal attachment of the latissimus dorsi through the sacrolumbar junction to connect with the lower fibers of the gluteus maximus on the opposite side.
Hopefully by now you know I am a huge proponent of training the entire body together as much as possible. There is certainly merit to isolation work, but the body needs to be taught how to work together. This idea is emphasized throughout Anatomy Trains, especially in the above quote. While there are many other applications to this idea, let’s concentrate on back during a pitch.
This goes beyond pull ups, DB rows, reverse flys, and keeping the golden 2:1 pull:push ratio. While those exercises are important, they are isolated strengthening exercises. They don’t do much for the timing of the BFL. We want to try and get the entire back to work on decelerating the arm and body.
So how is this accomplished?
The simplest way to do this is hold on to the ball, preferably a weighted ball. The thought behind this is if your body can slow down say a 2 lb ball, it can certainly slow down itself after it releases a 5 oz object. Also, your body will not let your arm accelerate any faster than your deceleration muscles can slow it down. If you want to increase velocity, start by improving your deceleration muscles (infraspinatus, teres minor, biceps), along with the integrating the rest of the musculature of the back.
Drill: Start in the “early cocking” position where the arm is going to start accelerating forwards, and the lead shoulder is still pointing at the target, front in the position it would be in if you just landed.
Take your arm through your normal throwing motion at a slow speed. Finish like you would normally finish a pitch, except keep your back foot down. Keeping the back foot down places more of the deceleration on the back. Once you finish your follow through, rewind the motion taking your arm back through the exact path it traveled when going forward. Return to starting position and repeat. I usually start with just a baseball and 2 sets of 6 and work up to using a 21 oz ball and 3 sets of 10 depending on the athlete.
It all goes back to the idea of training the body as 1 unit. There are several other drills that teach us how to utilize a larger section of the body or the entire body during a specific sports movement. I will cover some of the other exercises I use at another time. It is also important to note that mechanics play a major role in the precise timing involved in a skill like pitching. Your back can be really strong and it won’t help at all if your mechanics suck. Try out this exercise and let me know what you think.
Barrett Stover 