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

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:

1. 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.
2. Each posture or asana below should be performed for 3-5 full breaths.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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

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

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

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

Pictured is 2006 Parisi Combine member and 34th pick overall of the 2006 NFL draft D'Qwell Jackson.  When you look at the position he plays in, it is easy to see where many football players have flexibility issues.

Aaron,

Thanks for writing in and thanks for the question.  What you are experiencing is a common flexibility issue that we see with many of our young athletes here at the school. Generally, you are having tightness in the calf muscles behind your lower leg.  More specifically, it is probably the soleus muscle which becomes tighter as the knee bends.  This is a common case.  If there is some pain in the front of your ankle, perhaps the ankle joint could be an issue as well, but I would first suspect tightness and see if it can be remedied with some stretching.

I would suggest that before you squat, you stretch out both the gastrocnemius and soleus (which are 2 of the 3 muscles of the calf).  This can be done by stretching your calf with both the knee straight and bent.  You can do this leaning against a wall, or you can stand on an elevated object and hang the heel down.  You can hold for 15-20 seconds and repeat for 3-5 reps on each leg and both with the knee straight and bent.  See if this doesnt help.

Also, putting a block under the heels may feel better, but it is just allowing the flexibility to go unchecked and will keep the muscles tight.

Above, in the picture, you can see the position many athletes play in.  By being bent over and up on the balls of the feet, the hip flexors, calves, hamstrings and hip rotators are all shortened and can tighten over time.  Make sure to be working flexibility in all these areas.  Even when we get our highest level guys in, they are all still tight here and then when it comes time to run, they run the risk of getting hurt.

A little on top of a little eventually becomes a lot.  Work it and it will pay off.

Martin Rooney

Pictured is Wille Reid of Florida State (foreground) and the some others of the 2006 Combine Class working on the Parisi Dynamic Warmup and their dynamic flexability.  Even these high level athletes have seen great changes in their flexability with this method.

Rueben,

Thanks for writing in and I am glad to hear that you are enjoying (and using) the DVD.  One of the secrets of training that most people want to ingore is consistency. Stay consistent, and you will see results as you are experiencing.  All too often, people are so used to instant gratification that they make it only a workout or too and soon as they stop seeing immediate progress, they give up.  Training is about the long run and you are doing a great job.

As for your question, there are a number of ways to add variety to the warmup.  Now that you have experienced the warmup and have been consistent, you can start manipulating reps, sets, exercises, tempo and rest periods to create new stimuli.  What I mean here is that you can choose multiple sets of certain exercises, raise or lower the reps, speed the whole workout up by taking less rest in between or slow it down.  Either way, you start to develop your own style and keep your body fresh.

Keep us posted and we will help you further. Best of luck.

Martin Rooney

Pictured is figure skater Veronica Panzera working on some dynamic straight leg kicks.  Due to the demands of her sport, Veronica must be very strong but also very flexible at the same time.

Perry,

Great to hear from you and I have to say I got a kick out of your question.  I can only imagine you trying to get out two chairs and pull off the Van Damme move he shows in every movie.  The great news is that hopefully after this post, you wnot have to attempt that again.

I agree that the first requirement of your flexibility level is that it must at least or slightly exceed the demands of your sport.  When I say this though, I am talking about functional flexibility, not static. I am talking about the range of motion that you can actually move your body through, not just sit and hold.  That being said, you must also attempt to be strong in all the ranges as well.  Oftentimes I see that there are athletes that have a lot of available motion, but not much strength to go along with it.  This combo is always a recipe for a potential injury.

So the short version is, move your body through full ranges of motion like during our dynamic warmup and stay strong.  As for the splits, I would give up on the dream.

Martin Rooney

Pictured are Jessica Gomez and Vitoria Petruzella improving their hip and adductor flexibility with centered dumbbell side lunges.  The further out you take this motion the more it will stress your flexibility.

Thanks for writing in, and this is a great question even though you didnt leave your name.  I like to look at flexibility and movement like this: the human body is an amazing adaptive organism. When you do something over and over to it, it will respond to the stimulus. 

Understanding this, if you are lifting weights and taking your body through a range of motion, you will be developing strength as well as flexibility in that range.  If you do lifts with less and less range, you can lose that flexbility. 

Knowing this, we use our dynamic movements in our movement skill training and take the athletes through full ranges of motion with our lifts as well.

The lift above is a great example.  Try this one out for a few weeks and see if you see any differences. 

I hope this helps.

Martin Rooney

I have been reading the Q&A for awhile now and it is great.  Thanks for the new site too!  IT really shows what you are doing there.  My question is on flexibility.  What is an example of the dynamic stretch.  I read that you dont do as much static stretches so what do you do? Thanks  Maggie Dawson

Pictured are Andrew Ardnt and Robert Cozzarelli blasting out just one of the many dynamic flexibility drills that we perform here every day under the watchful eye of trainer John Cirilo.

Maggie,

Thanks for writing in and thanks for using us as a resource.  Funny, but most people dont write in about flexibility.  It is usually about speed or strength that people like to hear about, but flexibility is not only important as well, it is often more misunderstood.  Dynamic stretching involves movement to take a part of the body through a full range of movement.  This style, as opposed to static holds involves strength, speed and coordination of the nervous system.  All of these are important things that must also happen during sport performance.  So, what we have found is that by performing most of the movements during our dynamic warmup through a full range of motion, you actually increase flexbility. 

If you would like to see the warmup in action, check out our Warmup Method DVD in the store on this site.  Not only is it one of our most popular, it is also the foundation of our program.

Martin Rooney