Soccer Injury Prevention: Hamstring Assessment Part 1

I’ve heard my fair share of hamstring stories from athletes and people in general who believe they have “tight” hamstrings.  In order to gain an appreciation and understanding of the muscle group let’s look at where these group of muscles attach.

 

There are 3 hamstring muscles: the semitendinosis, semimembranosis, and biceps femoris. The group of muscles attach to your pelvis (ischial tuberosity), run down the back of your leg and attach to your lower leg past the knee. More simply, the “semis” run down the medial aspect while the biceps femoris runs down the lateral portion (both attaching on the lower leg).  Because the hamstrings have different attachment points on the lower leg, they serve multiple functions such as knee flexion and hip extension.  Another vital but often overlooked function of the hamstrings is their stabilizing role on the pelvis.  Since they attach on the ischial tuberosities, they try to prevent (stabilize) the pelvis from forwardly “tipping” (anterior pelvic tilt).  When we see athletes coming in with forwardly tipped pelvis’ the one thing we want avoid is constant hamstring stretches.  The picture below shows how the hamstring have lost their stabilizing function on the pelvis.

The hamstrings become lengthened as a result of pelvic position so while someone may “feel” tight in their hamstrings, they aren’t.  What the hamstrings are doing is holding on for dear life to prevent the pelvis from tilting forward any more.   Why  would you stretch a muscle that is already in a lengthened position? It can be extremely frustrating to see people performing endless stretches or pushing through a hamstring stretch when it may be the last thing they need.  In the next few days, I will go over strategies in which to improve the faulty pelvic position that we see with many of our athletes.

Cheers,

Matt

Soccer Dynamic Warm-Up Video

Soccer Training: Basic Warm-up

Here is a basic soccer dynamic warm-up that I filmed while also having my beloved beard (I miss it terribly).  The idea behind the order of the movements is quite simple.

1. Slow and controlled movements moving towards more dynamic quicker movements. 

Juventus : “The Old Lady”

The warm-up is often an overlooked aspect of sport that I have presented to a few soccer coaches in community to give them a sense of how athletes can incorporate more single leg strength/stability, motor control, hip and thoracic spine mobility, the dissociation of hips and spine, ankle mobility (which is not in the video), and a host of movements for coordination that is typically lacking in many players  (besides overall strength).

The video is only one variation and there are many ways to get a desired effect.  Especially if certain athletes having glaring mobility or stability deficits, we can individually address these with specific mobility/stability  drills or correctives.

Best,
Matt

Programming for Fat Loss (Free Training Workout Included)

Some people ask me what I do for those that have the goal of fat loss.  Here is something I put together for a new client who is a bit older.  She presented with a limited toe touch (6 inches from toes), poor active straight leg raise (both 1′s), and shoulder mobility.  Typically, I’ll address the weaknesses in the beginning of the training session (correctives) as well as in the warm-up itself.  For phase 1, the goal is to learn the basic movements and then decrease the time between sets as the weeks go along.  The conditioning will be kept light in this phase as she will have some conditioning to do on off-days (more along the lines of 30-40 minutes of general aerobic work) as well.  The pdf is the training session itself (she will also have foam rolling and a specific warm-up as well)

Start here

Here is the idea…

Phase 1 3 day 2-18-13

Best,
Matt

How to Teach Athletes to Engage Their Lats

In order for athletes to become stronger and more stable in pulling variatons such as deadlifts, chin ups, or rows we need to teach them how to engage their lats.  One issue I find when teaching the kettlebell deadlift to beginners or even for athletes who start to pull heavier weights off the floor is the lack of lat engagement.  When an athlete is able to engage the lats, it sets a solid platform to put the body in a strong and stable position.  The lats are also extremely important because of their fascial connections to the opposite side glute.
I am a huge fan of Gray Cook’s work not because he is so brilliant but because he can explain exercises and movement so easily.  Watch this video and start to use it with the deadlift pattern with someone who doesn’t have the awareness to stay connected from the shoulders and into the hips.

Lateral Hip Stability (Miniband) Corrections

The  lateral hip musculature (glute med/min, glute max, hip external rotators) is significantly important in providing strength and stability/control of the hips during dynamic movements such as  jumping, sprinting, cutting, landing, and lifting weights. Besides improving performance they can also help prevent patello-femoral, ankle, hip, and lumbar spine issues.  Put simple, the hips need a good amount of motor control and stability in order to improve performance and prevent injury.  Lower body lifts are one of the ways to provide strength and stability for our athletes but there are also lower-level motor control movements that we implement to teach control and dissociation of the pelvis from the extremities.  These are exercises such as glute bridges, lateral/backward/forward miniband walks, wall marches, as well as the warm-up which teaches multi-planar hip stability.  

Lateral mini-band walks are one of the first movements that come to mind because we use it often for young athletes especially females since they tend to be at more risk because of their pelvic structure.  Common mistakes I see with this exercise are that athletes lack the motor control or strength (or core control) to differentiate hip or pelvic motion from the rest of body.  The lack of control creates for an inefficient pattern and negates the benefits of the movement.  Check out the difference between the two and forgive me for the first gumby like video (I was trying to really exaggerate the faults)

Incorrect

 

The faults

• Notice how my feet almost touch each other after each step, my upper body is unstable, and my hips seems to hike up and down

The video is not far off from the “natural” way athletes perform the exercise.  We want to keep the hips centered and use active muscular control in order to keep proper alignment.

 

Corrections

• The nose, sternum, and “zipper” line all stay in a straight line while the back leg is providing a push off
• My feet start shoulder width and finish shoulder width which keeps tension on the band
• Drive with the knees out
• Focus on the quality of the movement first and progress to bigger or quicker steps

 

An addition to the lateral mini-band walk is a staggered stance (PRI thinking) that we have been  incorporating with many athletes.  We cue for them to (1) posteriorly tilt their pelvis (for those that are heavily extended), (2) shift the left foot back 6 inches (in line with either the R arch or heel) and push with the right arch.  We only push to the left for this.

 

Best,

Matt

 

 

Will All Reps Be Perfect At First?

Working with small groups of athletes is an extremely rewarding job (if you can call it a job) but it can also be a daunting one.  At Endeavor, we always stress quality over quantity simply because good movement helps decrease the chance of injury and because we are “teaching” people how to lift correctly.   Once athletes can establish quality we focus slightly more on the intensity or volume aspect.  Would it make sense to put athletes on the floor and perform endless minutes of planks done incorrectly? It is safe to say no.  This begs the question whether every rep should and will be perfect from the start with the more inexperienced athlete.

Every individual has potential to become faster, stronger, quicker, among others but the rate at which they grasp movement can vary greatly.  From my experience, these rates can and will help one as a coach know where to start each athlete in a program.  Also, consider the amount of time one has with the athlete.  Are they coming two, three, or four x’s/week?  Most of ours are two times a week.  Consequently, we have a short window of opportunity to create positive change in the lifts, corrective exercises, warm-up, core stability drills, and conditioning.  In short, here are a few quick tips when working with inexperienced athletes for a limited amount of time.

Warm-Up

• After assessment, we may only really need to pick a few foam rolling areas to hit instead of spending more time on most areas (if time is a factor).
• Be sure to include all movement patterns in warm-up: Hinging, single leg movements (static/dynamic multi-planar), ankle mobility, t-spine mobility, and learning to differentiate the hips from the spine.  These are a great place to start and if you work with primarily one gender you can vary the focus from more mobility or stability oriented warm-ups.  Typically, females will need more stability while males will need more mobility.
• Include various movement drills in different planes–>these are back pedals, high knee skips, lateral skips, crossover skips, cariocas, different paced sprints and back pedals, etc..

Strength and Core Stability

• Focus on simple variations that will progress from the ground up.  Over the past 6 months or so, I have been amazed at how many young athletes live in gross extension patterns (large anterior pelvic tilt, large lumbar lordosis, forward head posture).  We need to get them to know what their “neutral” position is so that when they attempt to perform supine, 1/2 kneeling, tall-kneeling, or plank variations they know how to stabilize without relying excessively on their lumbar spine. There are a lot of great cues out there, but having them know what the “ribs down” position will reinforce proper stabilization through the hips, pelvis, and spine (or every where for that matter).
• Going back to the title of this post, should all the reps at first be perfect?  For beginners, if they are alternating between good and bad reps in a set of 10, is this necessarily terrible? The aim is for perfect but struggling (slightly) is necessary to know where they are at.  The lifts should be challenging but not so much that they cannot perform one solid rep.  Most reps should look good at first and this can help the coach know if it is necessary to regress or progress.  By week 3 or 4, the movements should look awesome and then it may be time to progress from there (slightly).  Take it steps at a time and do not get to frustrated at first, find a few solid cues and see.  I still continue to love what Coach Boyle says, “if it looks like shit, then it is shit.”  If an athlete has an absolutely horrible time grasping something regress it so that there is a high success rate with reps.

In conclusion, all reps should look good but it is not the end of the world if at first it challenges the inexperienced athletes which compromises a few reps.  We are talking about the inexperienced athlete with light load, not the experience athlete who is lifting big load.

Cheers,

Matt

The Ultimate Basic Progression/Regression List of Lifts

Progressions play a big role when it comes to challenging the athlete from one phase to the next.  Not to be overlooked, regressions play just as important a role because any progression may need to be, in fact, regressed…that is made simpler.  Some sample progressions for training can be…

 

Static–>Dynamic (front plank–>front plank march)

Increasing the Range of Motion (DB Reverse Lunge–> DB Reverse Lunge from a deficit)

Wide to Narrow (decreasing base of support)

Stable–>Unstable (Push Up on ground–>Push Up off Bosu) **only applicable in upper body lifting

Acceleration–>More Deceleration Oriented (Reverse Lunge–>Forward Lunge)

Check out this holy grail of the basic movements that most will have success with in my opinion.

Cheers,

Matt

Addressing The Mistakes in Training

Two nights ago while closing up Endeavor, one of our coaches was talking to our two interns about strategies to help improve cueing to our athletes out of incorrect form.  There is no “one” cue that is universal for each individual but there are many that help the majority.  One simple way to look at cueing is to cue the biggest mistake in a particular movement.  A few years ago when I started teaching athletes movements I would over cue.  Even till this day I am trying to find more effective ways to help an athlete achieve proper movement in the least amount of time.  Take a look at the picture below, this is a common mistake…

 

We see this pattern on a regular basis with new clients who come into our facility.  However, during squatting, hinging, or single leg training (if I see this) would it make for a more effective movement if I cued all of the following at once: “chest up, butt back, knees out, sit on your heels, stay tall?” Maybe, but it can save valuable time and be extremely efficient to cue the major flaw.  There is even a science behind cueing that helps athletes grasp movements that I honestly didn’t know about.  Check out the article below as it goes into detail on internal and external cueing…

The Science and Application of Coaching Cues

In summary, coaching/teaching movement becomes much easier by…

1. Using the least amount of words to teach a lift
2. Coach the flaw when you see a  movement issue
3. Think — KISS (keep it simple stupid)

Cheers,

Matt

Paused 1-Leg DB/KB Stiff Legged Deadlift

The 1-leg hinge or 1-leg dumbbell/kettlebell stiff legged deadlift has become a staple in many of the programs I write.  Athletes learn how to produce strength, power, and stability of the hips in a unilateral pattern while also receiving contralateral shoulder stability (packed shoulder positioning). When an athlete lacks eccentric control or stability in the bottom position of the lifts (typically the hardest position to overcome), I have learned through time that learning movements with eccentrics or isometrics is a great way to improve any pattern. With a true beginner learning this movement, I would have them put the bell down, pause, reset (staying tight) in their bottom position (notice the 2-10lb plates on the ground) before pulling the next rep.  Everyone may have a different starting position because of mobility or stability deficits so don’t be afraid to pile up more than 2 plates. The “paused” or deadstop position can help teach the athlete/client to get stronger at their most vulnerable (weakest) part of the movement.  Here is a pretty good video of technique from one of our high school soccer athletes…

IMPORTANT: make sure you screen out their active straight leg raise from the FMS.  Here is a protocol to follow if their active straight leg is not between 70-90 degrees…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvv-Zs0bJYA

 

Try it out!

Cheers,
Matt

Easier Way To Program For Athletes in Groups

My colleague David Lasnier designed all the phases for our baseball athletes this year and he came up with a great way to design the programs for a group of athletes that may require different qualities. Certain athletes require more stability work while others may present with more stiffness thus prioritizing more mobility work.  Writing the program this way (and highlighting which athlete needs what) makes it a bit more effective and more individualized.  Also, if you work in large groups this may be a great way to regress or progress athletes based upon their individual differences.  Check out the picture below

highlighted options for this particular athlete needed more mobility

Check out B2: Athlete “A” would perform a set of the side standing med ball scoop w/ partner toss (B1) then perform a set of a prayer position thoracic spine rotation mobility (instead of the rolling pattern –a stability based exercise).  In C2, I chose to incorporate both as the athlete needs dynamic stability of the cuff and ankle mobility.
Another example is seen in D3, instead of belly press (which is important) we are going to work on full body hip and t-spine mobility.
Note:  Not that they wouldn’t work on stability but they will incorporate drills which they need to prioritize certain qualities than others.

Cheers,
Matt