The Scarecrow exercise is a great addition to any upper body workout program. The overhead athlete participating in such sports as baseball, volleyball, and tennis will greatly benefit from adding this exercise to their shoulder routine. This exercise not only works your rotator cuff muscles, which helps shoulder stability, but your posterior and lateral deltoid…
The one arm dumbbell/ kettlebell crunch is a great variation for the typical abdominal crunch. This particular crunch not only targets your rectus abdominus and oblique muscles but also causes your transverse abdominus muscle to activate. The transverse abdominus muscle is one of your deeper abdominal muscles and is very important in core/trunk stability. This…
The side plank star is an advanced core exercise which strengthens your abdominals, hips, and upper body. This exercise targets the oblique muscles and helps build strength, stability, and balance. This should be performed only after you are able to successfully master a side plank, which was discussed in our newsletter two issues ago. Please…
Many athletic events require explosive movements. These explosive movements are created by the power generated from your foot all the way on up through the lower extremity chain. Many lower body exercise routines include calf raises which can be enhanced by various foot positions. The typical calf raise is performed while in a standing position…
By now our readers are very familiar with the importance of strengthening the core musculature of the body, which includes the abdominals, obliques, low back, glutes and hamstrings. Additionally, you know that it takes a strong core to prevent injuries to the low back as well as to maintain proper posture which will help to…
A healthy pair of shoulders is crucial for every baseball player that steps out on the field. Strong shoulders are crucial not only for hitting and throwing but for injury prevention as well. Pitchers need to be especially cautious with their shoulders as too much pitching as well as year-round play can have detrimental effects…
One of the controversies in the sports world is the proper age children should begin using resistance training devices such as barbells, dumbells and machines. Extensive research and experimentation has been done by several countries to show that children as young as eight years of age can benefit from resistance training. The primary problem which…
With all the focus lately on strength work and speed exercises, I have been neglecting one of the most important aspects of any physical training program; core work. Those who have followed this column for some time know that a strong core is important for maintaining correct posture, preventing injuries and improving power transfer from…
Last week we highlighted a unilateral (single limb) exercise for strengthening the muscles responsible for running, especially at high speeds; the hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps. This week we are focusing on a bilateral (two limb) exercise for power training. For building short-term muscular power (aka explosiveness) nothing beats plyometric drills. One of the better ones…
If your sport involves a fair amount of running, especially sprinting, you need to increase the muscular strength of the muscles responsible for acceleration and deceleration; namely the glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps. For athletes who are short on time, one exercise will not only develop the strength of the running/sprinting muscles but will also develop…