martin
Martin, I am a martial artist and I have tight and weak hamstrings. I do try to stretch after sessions but to be honest I dont do that too much. When I am working on takedowns I keep hurting my hamstrings. What can I do to improve this? Greg B.
Pictured is BJJ black belt Flavio Almeida working on the very difficult single leg deadlift with excellent form. Flavio understands the importance of unliateral work as well as hamstring health.
Greg,
Thanks for writing in and I am here to tell you that your problem is common to many athletes, not just martial artists. All too often, this is not only a neglected area of the body in training (perhaps because it is not easy to see in the mirror), but also as we sit more as a population, the area is also chronically tight.
When an area is tight, it is also classically weak as well so this can explain the problems you are experiencing. So, then when you are working standup and then ask the hammy for great flexibility and strength at the same time, you are asking for trouble.
I suggest that you pay attention to this area in terms of both flexibility and strength. All too often, people will just choose one of the two and never really achieve the results that they are looking for. The above pictured exercise is a nice choice and in the strength training section I deliver the 5 stretches that I feel are important to perform before leg training. Also, getting involved in some yoga with a great teacher might not be a bad idea too.
Remember, if you do what you always do, you will get what you always got. Now is the time to make a change and then you will reap the results.
Best of luck.
Martin Rooney
Comments Closed
martin, I want to know what you think of yoga for training. I have a friend that now goes 4 times a week and is swearing by it. Do you think that this will hurt my strength? John R
Pictured is multiple time world champion, Vinicius "Draculino" Magalhaes working on his yoga after a training session in the facility. We like to use our brand of yoga following training to "reset" the body and "review" what we have just done in training. Draculino is showing off what is called the "prayer twist" asana.
John.
Great to hear from you and thanks for writing in. You are showing the courage that some people lack when it comes to thinking about adding new material to their training. Especially when it comes to yoga, people get mixed up ideas about what this style of training is all about.
When I first got involved in it, I thought to myself, “Yoga? I don’t do yoga”! Instantly I had thoughts of women stretching themselves into horrific positions, men performing crazy breathing activities and a room full of weirdoes chanting “Om”! At first, I rejected the thought that I was doing yoga. After challenging myself to find out more about it before I jumped to any other conclusions, I found not only would this research change how I thought, it would help me to grow my training.
Yoga is a practice that is said to have existed anywhere from 2500 to 5000 years. Today, with the popularization of yoga, there are many different styles, but on deeper study, I found that they are founded in the same poses and concepts. Yoga, to the practitioner is not just stretching out for a workout or after exercise, it is the connection of the mind and body through exercise, meditation and breathing techniques. I thought that yoga was only for the flexible or the weak, but I have found neither to be true. So I would answer you that if done correctly, not only will it not hurt your strength, it can even help it!
The key to how we use yoga at our facility is to perform the drills with the following 5 rules:
- Monitor your breathing to reoxygenate your system. Inhale with deep breathing to a full pause, and then exhale smoothly to a full pause. Learning to control your breathing is a key concept in yoga called Pranayama.
- Each posture or asana below should be performed for 3-5 full breaths.
- Follow the poses in order below and perform each to the best of your ability, but never into a range of pain. Perform equally on each side. The key is to relax and slowly build up your flexibility.
- Focus your mind on the position and how it is helping your body to realign the tightened tissues that have been affected by the previous training session.
- Use this time to mentally review the previous training session and what new movements you have learned and what progress or lack thereof you have made.
There are tons of different forms from hot yoga to power yoga and more. The key is now to do your research and find which style and teacher you like best and make your own conclusions.
Best of luck,
Martin Rooney
Parisi Speed School, I have been doing the hip circuit from the warmup method dvd. It always burns my hips up and I am getting faster every week. My question is that I cant keep my elbows straight when I am doing the circles and hydrants. What can I do to get my triceps stronger for this? Mike Damato
Pictured is San Diego trainer Vince Gabriel showing off great form on the fire hydrant exercise at the facility this week. Vince, who is originally from NJ, was in this past week and had a couple of killer workouts. He shows here that to truly coach something, it is always best to be proficient and know what it feels like yourself.
Mike,
Great to hear from you and thanks for both writing in and getting the DVDs. I am happy to see that you are utilizing the information and attempting to stick to the strict form that is described. Doing a drill incorrectly just to get it done is only letting yourself down.
I have seen the issue you are talking about many times and as I always say, limitations on a drill are usually either a strength, flexibility, or technique problem. By ruling out the other two, you will be able to find which one it is.
Since you can probably straighten your elbows, I would assume it is not a technical issue. Since there is not much need for tricep strength here, I would also rule that one out as well. That leaves us with flexibility as the probably culprit. Oftentimes, an athlete has tight hips and groin or a tight core in terms of rotation. These issues cause the athlete to compensate to raise their leg on the hip circuit drill. The easiest way to compensate is to bend the elbows and lower one side of the chest.
I would suggest really working on keeping the arms straight and using the range available at the hip and slowly try to improve it.
I hope this helps.
Martin Rooney
Martin, this is question about the flexibility section. I can barely cross my legs when I am sitting and my hips are really tight. I have gotten into BJJ and it is a limiting factor in many of the classic positions guys get in. What can I do to work on this. I am working on improving to doing the splits, but progres is slow. Matt
Pictured is Molly Creamer, pro basketball player and past first round pick of the WNBA. Molly is shown working on her hip mobility focusing on the rotators of the hip.
Matt,
Great to hear from you and thanks for the question. Sorry to hear that flexibility is becoming an Achilles heel for you. Having practiced BJJ for a long time, I know how important flexibility is, and how frustrating it is when you realize that your lack thereof is holding back your game. Hopefully, this answer will help you out and get you on the right path.
First off, although improving adduction Range of motion is important (like doing a split), you must also remember to work in rotation mobility at the hip as well. When you look at the guard position, when someone is flexible, they also have rotational (particularly external rotation) range of motion taking place as well. When it comes to passing the guard or half guard, often a shift of the hips and internal rotation at one hip may be the key to the pass too, so flexibility is needed here too. This internal flexibility will also help to take some pressure off the MCL of the knee during movements like this.
Overall, I would suggest the stretch you see in the picture, but also stretches that work on the entire hip. I would do these at the beginning (after a warmup) and at the end of training to work on ROM. I especially like partner stretching where you can really relax and traction at the hip as well to add mobility to the tough joint capsule that surrounds the head of the femur. If you have someone that can help you stretch out, I would recommend it.
Finally, remember that some people are just naturally tighter than others. You may never do a split and trying to may lead to other problems. Be gradual, be consistent and monitor your progress. These will be the keys to moving forward.
I hope this helps.
Martin Rooney
Martin, I liked the post about the common areas of weakness in athletes. I have problems in those areas for sure and am addressing the issues with the stretches you recommended. This site has helped me to elevate my game and physical level so thanks. I play football and focus on the throws in the field portion of track. Any other things I should be looking at? Barry
Pictured is NY Giants LT Luke Pettigout working on some shoulder and hip disassociation exercises during a warmup yesterday. Having had some back issues in the past and having to play at the highest level in the sport, Luke knows the importance of mobility around the low back and training all year.
Barry,
Thanks for writing in and I am glad that the information on the site has come in handy. We are here to help out and help give athletes all over the country the chance to receive and utilize training information that can help them to the next level.
One area that was left out in that post is the flexibility needed to develop good disassociation of the shoulders and hips. This is an important movement to train not just for flexibility, but also for strength and movement patterns as well. Now although this is very important for throwers because this disassociation leads to the stored energy in the core that is then released at the throw, it is also important in just about every other sport that involves running, throwing, hitting or kicking.
To illustrate what I am talking about here, picture a golf swing. As the club is drawn back, the athlete's hips stay square, but the shoulders rotate (and disassociate) from the hips. Then, the energy that is stored up by the twisting motion through the core is released when the rotation of the shoulders is reversed then adds to the speed of the resultant motion. The same can be seen with a baseball swing, hockey slapsot, javelin throw, etc.
So, understanding the importance of this motion, this is an area that you need to work in your program. This can be done using bodyweight exercises, medicine ball exercises, free weights, cable and physioball drills, and bands.
I hope this info helps, and gets you working on the rotational relationship of the shoulders and hips.
Martin Rooney