Exercise of the Week

April 2008 - Posts

• Leg Lock

  4/28: Focus: Developing strength and flexibility in the glute and hamstring muscles. Purpose: Develop strength in the glutes, flexibility in the hamstrings and glutes, and rotational stability which are required for any athletic-type movement.     Lying supine (on your back), pull one leg towards the chest as much as possible and hold it there. The opposite foot should remain planted on the floor with the toes pulled up towards the shin.   Push the planted foot into the floor causing the hips to raise towards the ceiling all the while keeping the opposite thigh pulled close to the chest. The motion stops when the thigh can no longer be kept close to the chest and/or the planted foot and thigh stray from the initial position.   Alternate legs, performing the movement for desired number of repetitions.                             Exercise Sponsored By: Jason Coyle To see exercises from previous weeks, click here. Learn more about the Performance Center here. Posted Apr 28 2008, 02:48 PM by PRO Sports Club Blogs

• Single Leg Lowering

  4/22: Focus: This leg lowering exercise aims to improve overall flexibility of the hamstring muscle while retaining core stability. Purpose: Improving hamstring flexibility and hip range of motion (ROM) is crucial in injury prevention and efficiency of movement.     Begin lying supine (face up), flex both hips to 90 degrees with legs straight. Toes should be dorsi-flexed (toes towards shins) and arms extended at your side.   Lower one leg to the floor while maintaining a neutral spine position (naval drawn in towards spine). Return to starting position.   Alternate legs, performing the movement for desired number of repetitions.                             Exercise Sponsored By: Cameron Hervol To see exercises from previous weeks, click here. Learn more about the Performance Center here. Posted Apr 21 2008, 03:17 PM by PRO Sports Club Blogs

• Bi-lateral Hip Flexed Rotation

  4/15: Focus: This exercise will improve hip mobility and stability. Purpose: Bilateral Hip Flexion is a great exercise to assess and improve hip mobility and stability. Your entire pillar of strength (think of this as a box spanning from your shoulders to your hips) will be recruited to help keep your torso and hips stable.     Begin lying in a supine (face up) position with both legs fully extended towards the ceiling, hands by your side with palms up. Make sure your quadriceps remain contracted and you maintain a neutral spine. Ankles dorsiflexed (toes towards your nose).   Keeping your quadriceps contracted, slowly lower one leg to the side while maintaining an erect position with the opposite leg. Focus on keeping your hips stable and not allowing them to rotate towards the moving leg. Go only as far as you can control, keep toes pointed towards your nose.   Return to starting position and  repeat with other leg. TIP: If you are unable to fully extend your legs, bend your knees 90 degrees so that your shins are parallel to the ground, and your thighs are perpendicular to the ground.     TIP: If you are unable to control your hips or if you are unaware if your hips are moving or not, place two fingers on the anterior part of your hip bone, and as you move through the range of motion feel for compensatory movement at your hips.       Exercise Sponsored By: Marshall Morioka To see exercises from previous weeks, click here. Learn more about the Performance Center here. Posted Apr 15 2008, 01:50 PM by PRO Sports Club Blogs

• Supine Leg Lowering

  4/9: Focus: This exercise will strengthen transverse abdomen muscles to create a stable pelvic floor. Purpose: To maintain stability in torso throughout lower extremity range of motion. Adequate hip mobility and lower abdominal stability are important in the body's ability to generate powerful movements in life and sport.     Begin lying supine (face up) on the floor, hips bent at 90o, legs straight with feet in plantar flexion (toes pointed towards the ceiling).  Arms should be out at your side, palms up.   Pull your belly button in towards your spine and slightly under your ribs. Keeping your core tight and without moving your spine, slowly lower one leg towards the floor.   Return to starting position and  repeat with other leg.* *This is the most difficult progression of the dead bug. To decrease the difficulty, bend knees and hips at 90o and proceed as above. Exercise Sponsored By: Marisa Loper To see exercises from previous weeks, click here. Learn more about the Performance Center here. Posted Apr 09 2008, 02:31 PM by PRO Sports Club Blogs

• Handwalk

  4/3: Focus: This is a great stretching and strengthening movement. The muscles that stabilize the shoulders and core are strengthened as well as the muscles of the hamstring, calf, and achilees will be stretched.     Begin in a prone position on the hands and feet with the quads tight and knees straight. Spine should be "neutral" and not arched. Pull both scapula down and back.   Walk the feet up taking two inch steps until you cannot go any further without bending at the knees. Keep the quads tight and push the heels to the floor resulting in a stretch through the back of the legs. Once the feet cannot walk up any further walk the hands out until the start position is reached.   Keeping the legs straight will stretch the muscles of the hamstring, calf and achilles. As the hands walk out, the muscles that stabilize the shoulders and core are strengthened. Tip: Don't let your hips sway from side to side. Learn more about the Performance Center here. For more weekly exercises, click here. Posted Apr 03 2008, 01:28 PM by PRO Sports Club Blogs