PRACTICAL STRENGTH AND MOBILITY ARE VITAL FOR SPORTS AND ATHLETICS

by Ashley Centers

Hello again, readers! Our annual Golf and Sports edition is always one of my personal favorites, as it means spring is upon us and the best time of year for our outdoor activities has returned!

The lead-up to spring athletics for many of us can mean beginning anew or returning to specific workout routines to prepare for the demands of our preferred sport or athletic endeavor.

Today, I would like to impress upon you how important it is to build a practical strength program. A strength program can help us maintain our ability to perform at peak levels sooner and for the long term rather than just falling in and out of exercise based on the season we happen to find ourselves in.

At this point in my life, I am realizing that there are some things my body takes longer to adapt to and that I have allowed certain aspects of my own strength to slip by not training specifically for function.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the mentality of staying fit overall. We forget that there are strength and mobility movements that we can be doing regularly that will keep us performing our very best and functioning optimally in our daily lives. So today, I’m going to outline a few movements to help keep you ready for the next thing on your list.

Exercises and movements that you can keep in your routine year-round for optimal performance:

First on the list are a couple of shoulder exercises, and the reason here is simple. Shoulder mobility and strength are key components of daily function, and training them properly can have noticeable effects on your daily life.

HOW TO DO THE ARNOLD PRESS:

• To begin, hold a moderately heavy dumbbell in each hand with your arms bent and your palms facing toward your body (essentially, in the top position of a bicep curl).

• From this position, press the dumbbells upwards while simultaneously rotating your palms to face forward. Your elbows should move laterally, and the dumbbells should continue moving upward in a fluid movement.

• The top of the movement should look like the dumbbell overhead press with the dumbbells up overhead, your elbow not quite locked out, and your biceps close to your head.

• Return to the starting position, and repeat for three sets of 8-12 repetitions.

HOW TO DO WALL SLIDES:

• To begin, stand up tall with your back, glutes, and head against a wall.

• Raise your elbows to 90 degrees, and then raise them out to your sides so that your hands are at shoulder height and your palms are facing away from the wall.

• Keeping your back tight against the wall, slowly straighten your elbows and slide your arms up the wall behind you.

• Keep your elbows and hands as close to the wall as possible while raising them overhead. Pause, then slowly return to the starting point. Repeat this 15 times.

• Repeat 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

Include these exercises into your pre or post-workout stretching routine for more mobile shoulders!

Second on my list of areas to focus on are the hips, and the reason here is also simple. Hip health and range of motion are essential tools for most movements we perform every day. Movements as simple as bending over to pet your favorite fur baby, grabbing something from the floor of the pantry, or even getting up and down from your chair all rely on healthy hip movement. When the hips don’t move properly, it places undue strain on the rest of your body to compensate.

Freedom of movement in the hips is even more essential in sports like golf. Training for a healthy hip complex will help you to play through your 18 holes with less discomfort and will help ease movement in performing daily tasks.

A really great exercise for the hips is THE HIP HINGE . Here’s how to perform it properly:

• Grab a broom handle or light body bar, and stand with your feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing slightly outward.

• Place the bar on your back vertically, grasping one end with your right hand, which is placed in the curve of your neck, and the other end with your left hand near the small of your back.

• Make sure the bar is placed so it’s touching the back of your head, upper back, and lower back simultaneously.

• Keeping your knees slightly bent, shift your weight to your heels and push your hips back while hinging forward at the hips.

• Keep the bar in place with all three points of contact the entire time.

• Lower your torso until it’s about halfway between vertical and parallel to the floor. Pause.

• Contract your glutes, and push your hips forward and upwards to return to the starting point.

• Once you have learned to do this movement properly, you can add resistance with bands and/or kettlebells and increase intensity for strength as well as power in the hips.

• Work towards three sets of 12 repetitions.

Last are rotational and anti-rotational movements of the core. The need for these two types of movements has become even more apparent to me over the years. The reason we need to train them is that our core is not stationary, nor is it static when doing most daily activities. This is especially true when we are doing any type of sporting endeavor whatsoever. Our core is constantly moving, twisting, bending, etc.

Unfortunately, the mindset many have is that ab training, like sit-ups and crunches, is adequate for core work, so a lot of times, they don’t focus on any other portion of the core. In reality, there are many other muscle groups to train in order to make up a strong and healthy core, and rotational and anti-rotational movements help to engage these muscles in a much more meaningful way.

Here are a few of what I would consider vital core exercises:

RUSSIAN TWISTS (ROTATIONAL):

• Sit on the floor and raise and straighten your legs (while not ideal, if you are unable to perform these with your legs raised at first, you can place your heels on the ground until you have gained sufficient core strength to perform them with raised legs).

• Engaging your core, lean back slightly so your torso and legs form a “V” shape.

• While keeping your legs stationary, twist your torso from side to side. Aim for three sets of 12 repetitions of this exercise. As you get stronger, you can progress by using a single dumbbell held in both hands or a medicine ball for additional resistance.

BIRD DOGS (ANTI-ROTATIONAL):

• Kneel down on all fours in a tabletop position with your eyes focused on the floor.

• Make sure your knees are directly under your hips and your hands are under your shoulders.

• While engaging your core muscles, draw your shoulder blades together.

• Simultaneously, raise your right arm and extend your left leg while keeping your shoulders and hips parallel to the floor.

• Pause briefly, then return your leg and arm to their original positions. Next, raise your left arm while extending your right leg, pausing again briefly at full extension, then returning them to their original positions.

• Aim for three sets of 12 repetitions. (I usually do bird dogs in the stretching portion of my workout, but you can incorporate them wherever you feel they fit best in your routine.)

These exercises fit strength and mobility goals very well. So no matter where you find your athletic joy, whether it be on the links, the pickleball court, or simply in staying active, giving these exercises a try could be helpful to you on your journey.

Until next time, readers, I wish you a wonderful spring full of fun new activities, time spent doing what you love, and the strength and mobility to continue to do it for many years to come!V

by Nikki Hildebrand