Weighted single leg extensions: These develop rear chain strength and focuses on the hamstring in a vulnerable straight leg sprint position.

Fit For Golf

Here's a piece I wrote over on the Fit For Golf Page 🏌🇮🇪🇺🇸

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MASSIVE DEADLIFT IMPROVEMENT DISPLAYED HERE BY ONE OF MY CLIENTS. These shots of Ken were taken over a six week period. Ken is majorly strong so lifting a large amount of weight was never a problem for him; however pulling through his hips, retracting his shoulders, activating his lats and loading rear chain was the challenge. Due to Ken's preferred pattern of moving forward and loading thorough his knees and rounding his back when lifting from the ground the load going through his lower back was greatly increased and therefore so was his injury risk. As his work requires him to lift large loads from the ground I prioritised sorting this pattern as quickly as possible. In order to clean up Ken's technique we worked on a few simple elements: - A lot of easy unweighted movements like dowel hip hinges to pattern and learn pulling through the hip instead of moving forward through the knees. - Thoracic mobility to allow him the movement needed to retract his scapulae and activate his lats. - Greater volume of upper body pulling to pushing exercises in order to strengthen his back and improve overall shoulder positioning. We practiced these simple principles consistently for a little over a month and the result, as you can clearly see, was massive. I wanted to share this picture to outline 4 simple things: - While lifting large loads easily or executing technical exercises can seem impressive, if there are movement or structural dysfunctions present continuing to execute loaded (or any) movements in a compensated manner will massively increase injury risk. - Every exercise you preform in training should be done for a reason. - Simple and consistent training and planning with a clear objective can reap large results quickly. - Essentially, learn to run before you can walk. Ken is extremely easy to train. He works hard and trusts the process; in my opinion this is probably the single largest attribute to this success. I am delighted with his progress and can't wait to see him now further develop his strength after establishing this good loading position and improving his overall physical structure and movement. Thanks, Eimear

***FLEXIBILITY AND STABILITY WORK BEFORE TRAINING AND / OR COMPETITIVE PLAY*** Warming up, and specifically certain stages of the process, is often one part of both training and pre competition preparation that is not only neglected but also underestimated in terms of not only injury prevention but also performance enhancement. A full and effective warm up can last approximately 30 - 45 minutes and can be split into seven different stages; pre warm up stage / flexibility stage, activation of muscles, general movement stage, mobility and dynamic stretching, sports specific movement and drills, mini games, and potentiation exercises. In my experience athletes tend to jump straight into general movement, dynamic stretching, sports specific movements and mini games drills and often neglect or completely omit the other stages; this short piece will highlight the most important elements, in my opinion, of the flexibility and activation stages. It is important to note that there are many factors which will influence the warm up plan; these include any history of injuries or dysfunctions the athlete may have, the demands of the sport (multi directional speed/ acceleration and deceleration/ rotational movements / stability and strength / are there overhead actions?) as well as common injuries associated with the sport. Pre Warm Up / Flexibility Stage: This phase of the warm up should aim to promote good muscle length and full range of movement. Due to the fact that many peoples' day to day living means that they are in a seated position (driving/ computer work/ studying) I always include self myofascial releasing (foam rolling) of the hip flexors and hamstrings, the glutes and pectorals (tennis balling), and thoracic area (double tennis ball/ foam roller) as these areas are commonly tight in people who spend a lot of time sitting. Muscles surrounding common injury sites associated with the athlete's sport should also be given attention here; for example foam rolling of the quadriceps for field and court athletes (in conjunction with hamstring and hip flexor releases will aid in sufficient muscle length about the knee) and the previously mentioned double tennis ball releasing through the thoracic spine will aid shoulder ROM for throwers/ golfers/ hockey players/ tennis players. Ensuring good ROM is vital as this lessens risk of injury by very simply ensuring that muscles can work through their full range and not be over reached when working to aid in common sporting / exercise movements. If the range is not available usually one of two things will happen: - The body will compensate and look for the movement elsewhere resulting in a mechanical dysfunction. - The muscle will basically over reach and suffer damage. Muscle Activation Stage: It is common for this next phase to usually be completed after the general movement phase. For example, Ian Jeffreys’ widely tried, tested and followed RAMP approach states the phases of a warm up as: -Raise heart rate, body temperature, blood flow and joint fluid viscosity. -Activate specific muscles. -Mobilise specific joints. -Potentiate performance through the use of specific intense efforts and exercises. However, I find that a lot of the time an athlete will be performing the pre warm up and activation stages in the gym / locker room and the other stages on the pitch / court / course; therefore I always place the activation stage before the general movement stage in order to be more time efficient and eliminate the need to change location numerous times. As previously noted people tend to spend a lot of time in a seated position, this position’s link to commonly inactive glutes and core coupled with typical sporting requirements (such as COD sprints, acceleration and deceleration, single leg strength and stability, power in the lower limbs), all of which require the glutes and trunk muscles to be firing efficiently, highlight the importance of glute and core activation drills in the the warm up. Time spent sitting can also lead to a muscle imbalance in terms of the trapezius being over active and the subscapular muscles being underactive; due to this I also usually include sub scapular activation drills in this stage (resistance band mid back rows, wall slides, straight arm push ups and trunk rotation with shoulder stability for example). It is important here to consider the body’s kinetic chain, which refers to the way in which the body’s joints alternate in their function by being either ‘mobile’ or ‘stable’; as already mentioned if a joint is not efficient in their function it will have a knock on effect on the kinetic chain whereby the lack of mobility/ stability is looked for in the joint usually immediately above or below, usually resulting in injury. This has also been referred to by Grey Cook as the “Joint by Joint Approach”; below is the list of joint functions as listed by him: Ankle – Mobile Knee – Stable Hip – Mobile Lumbar – Stable T – Spine – Mobile Scapular – Stable The activation stage also works towards activating all muscles responsible for stabilising the relevant joints; while the pre warm stage will have already contributed some in enhancing mobility of, and flexibility around the mobile joints, the upcoming (and not usually neglected!) mobility and dynamic stretching phase will focus further on this. To sum up, by simply including self myofascial releases (foam rolling and tennis balling) and simple activation drills before a typical warm up the body should be at lower risk of injury, be moving more freely, firing more efficiently and be better prepared for the workload to come. For more info and insights on the theories and methods I have mentioned see: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280945961_Jeffreys_I_2007_Warm-up_revisited_The_ramp_method_of_optimizing_warm-ups_Professional_Strength_and_Conditioning_6_12-18 http://graycook.com -Eimear

#tbt to working on clean technique with Mike Carroll who leaves soon for a new golf specific S&C position in California... Thanks for the tips!! You will be missed 😝🇺🇸 #gym #training #weightlifting #clean #coaching #california #cork #golf

Fit For Golf

Fit For Golf classes starting next week https://www.facebook.com/fitforgolfcork/posts/1034216466693474:0

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*****VO2 MAX TESTING***** There will be VO2 max testing in the gym on Saturday October 22. This test will assess your cardiovascular fitness, provide you with your max heart rate, aerobic and anaerobic thresholds, 4 training zones, recovery times and calorie expenditure. This test can be performed on treadmill, bike or rower. The price is EUR70; booking and full payment are essential to secure your spot as places are very limited. Booking and payment can be made at the desk or contact me on 085 125 1682 if you require further information. Thanks, Eimear

Eimear Duignan Fitness

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