If you’re one of my top practitioners, you know I’ve been sending out a lot of content on flexibility and mobility (which I’ll just use the term flexibility for going forward) lately.
This is because I spent many years talking more about building Strength, Power and Conditioning and since integrating and taking flexibility training more seriously for myself and my athletes, I’ve been getting better results in while actually doing less in these other areas.
The reason why is because flexibility is a Biomotor Ability that most people neglect until it’s too late…
You know, like when it’s tough to put your socks on, or when your posture makes you look more like the Homo neanderthalensis species instead of Homo sapiens…
And then, when you add proper flexibility training in, you make
MASSIVE progress in a short amount of time because
it’s like discovering an untapped gold mine.
This is what it was like for me when I first got serious about flexibility.
Before, when I threw a kick it was like my hips were tearing apart and I could barely make it to stomach level.
Now, when I throw a kick, I can turn and put my hips into it whether it’s to the legs, torso or head.
Plus, how this training has literally affected every other Biomotor Ability like Strength, Power and Endurance, since now, my body is no longer fighting itself and my joints move loose and free while my muscles are allowed to work unhindered.
[thrive_2step id=’20388′]
.
The feeling can be summed up nicely with just one word:
FREEDOM
But like everything, there are different ways you can go about your flexibility business and the most effective depends on where you’re at.
Like everything, as you get deeper into your training, the techniques you use must evolve, otherwise, you’ll get stuck.
It’s fine to get stuck if that’s what you want, but if you’re here and you’re down with the powerDOJO Way, then evolution is your thing and you want to keep learning and applying and improving day in, day out.
And I LOVE that about you, which is why I love putting out content like today’s video, which might be an exercise you’ve done before, but when you do it the way I describe in the video, it’ll feel a heck of a lot different and give you much different results.
First, watch the video, then I’ll talk a bit more about why this type of exercise is an EVOLUTION in your flexibility game:
https://vimeo.com/151092710
Have you done the Groiner exercise before?
It’s kinda like a Mountain Climber, except your knees go outside your hands instead of inside.
And it’s typically done in a jumping-like fashion, where you bring your leg up and rapidly jump your legs up and back.
Sometimes it’s done where you jump the leg up and then sit deeper into the stretch before switching.
Either way, it’s different than what I show in the video.
The key difference is by bringing your leg up in a controlled fashion and holding it in the top position actively, versus jumping the leg up, which brings the leg up to a point that can only be reached through momentum, then sitting statically into the stretch.
The results you’ll get from this different approach that you won’t get through the traditional approach include:
- Building hip flexor strength through the full range of hip flexion
- Training your core to stabilize while working through hip flexion (very important for those with low back pain)
- Not only that, but training your core in a diagonal pattern, which is more applicable to sport and daily life (think walking, running, swinging a club or bat, pushing things)
- Strengthening of the glute of the extended leg, which also lengthens the hip flexor of that leg
So I’m not saying the typical Groiner is bad, just that we can upgrade it if our goal is to improve upon our flexibility.
The thing is, this exercise takes more strength, more concentration, more discipline to execute properly.
While it looks simple, there are many subtle pointers that contribute to its effectiveness.
If you’ve tried it already and followed along with me, you know what I mean.
But I know you’re down with the idea that if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right, and it’ll take time to master this one simple move and it’s time you’re willing to invest.
That’s why I’m glad you’re here with me in this “Evolution of Flexibility”.
Lots more to come. 🙂
PEACE~
Coach E
P.S. One favour, I’d really appreciate you sharing this on Facebook (or wherever) with your friends. I’m sure they’ll appreciate being enlightened with this new info and even with a simple act of sharing that’ll take a few secs, you’ll be influencing those you care about for the better and if nothing else, it’ll grow your Karma bank.
