Today is part 1 of a 3 part series on our hip mobility sequence. Hip mobility is one of the areas that many of our athletes struggle with hip mobility and it is a major cause of both injury and poor performance. This mobility sequence is a great way to improve mobility throughout the entire hip musculature in an active, dynamic manner.
We find that the Thoracic Spine is problematic at best with the majority of our athletes. Poor T-Spine mobility is related to shoulder pain and instability, low back pain, neck pain, hip pain, and various other issues throughout the chain. We have found that the TRX Suspension Trainer is a great tool for increasing Thoracic Spine rotation. We have put together a video that lays out the progression we use with a lot of our athletes. It starts at very simple with a low load (1/2 kneeling) and gets progressively more agressive as the athlete can tolerate it. The TRX becomes a great tool here because you can use the athlete’s bodyweight to provide overpressure at the end of an active mobilization. Also, don’t ignore the breathing here, it is very important!
We are always looking to develop new and unique exercise combinations to help our athletes, whether its in a performance workout or in rehab. This is an example of how we can combine a couple of exercises into a combination movement to challenge strength, mobility, and stability.
Last summer I wrote an article for Training and Conditioning about using the TRX to train shoulder stability. In this clip, you’ll see the 4 exercises that were introduced in the article an expanded explanation of them. Overall, the TRX Suspension Trainer is one of the most valuable tools in my toolbox for training the shoulder.
Consider joining Mitch Hauschildt, of Maximum Training Solutions, LLC, for a great presentation at the NSCA Midwest Regional Conference. He will be speaking on great ways to identify and train the 3 mobility restrictions that plague the majority of your athletes. He will be presenting with nationally renown speakings such as Diane Vives and Jay Dawes. Don’t miss out on this great lineup of speakers coming to the Midwest.
Click here for the downloadable flyer.
This workout is a good one for the general fitness client. Perform it as a pyramid of 5-4-3-2-1. Perform the exercises in a circuit with the first set consisting of 5 reps each, then the second set is 4 reps, and so on. Keep moving through the sets quickly with little rest. I will warn you, choose your sandbag carefully.
A Skip x 15 yds
High Knee Run x 15 yds
Butt Kicks x 15 yds
Pushup (double the reps on this so its 10-8-6-4-2)
Sandbag Clean + Zercher Squat + Zercher Good Morning
TRX Inverted Row + Bridge w/ sandbag on hips
Sandbag Shouldering + Shoulder Reverse Lunge
TRX Crunch + Hip Rotations
Below is a clip showing how we use the Ultimate Sandbag for preventing lower extremity injuries such as ACL tears. As time goes along, I really do believe that one area that strength coaches have missed (self included) is training eccentrically with rotation. This has been a big key to our success since Josh Henkin first introduced it to us a while back.
A progression from the last workout to more of a strength phase with less volume. In this case, the sport specific training has increased, thus necessitating a decrease in volume to allow them to tolerate the workout while gaining strength with high loads.
Miniband Hip Rotations 2 x 10
TRX Plank w/ Weight Shift 2 x 15
SLS off Box 3 x 10
18″ Box Step Offs x 10
Push Press 3 x 4
Superset 1:
Bench Press 3 x 8
RDL 3 x 8
Cable Physioball Crunch 3 x 15
Superset 2:
Back Squat 3 x 8
Squat Jump 3 x 6
Kneeling High Cable Row 3 x 8
Stability Hold w/ March 3 x 20
USB Lateral Stabilizer Sequence 2 x 4
Tall Kneeling USB Overhead Press – Emphasize Breathing 2 x 3
This has become one of my favorite corrective exercises for a variety of issues. It is great for training shoulder stability, hip stability, glute function, foot stability, and so on… When done correctly it is a really powerful movement pattern.
Today’s workout takes another step to transition athletes into a strength phase, while continuing a lot of the corrective strategies and functional activities we have been working on. It follows the same general structure as last week’s workout.
Miniband Hip Rotations 3×10
TRX Plank w/ Weight Shift 3×15
Single Leg Squat off Box 3×10
18″ Box Step Offs x15
Push Press 3×4
Superset 1:
Bench Press 4x8x72% 1RM
Romanian Deadlift 4x8x72% 1RM
Cable Physioball Crunch 4×15
Superset 2:
Back Squat 4x8x72% 1RM
Squat Jump 4×10
Kneeling High Cable Row 4×8
Stability Hold w/ March 4×20
Sandbag Lateral Stabilizer Sequence (SL RDL, SL RDL Runner, SL RDL Runner Hop, SL RDL Runner Lateral Hop, SL RDL Sandbag Row + Clean) 2×4 each
Tall Kneeling USB Overhead Press – Emphasize Diaphragmatic Breathing 2×3
