This is a variation of the Lateral Kneeling Adductor with Reach Under exercise I posted a couple weeks back that emphasizes opening up away from the extended leg.

 
 
 
 
 
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Typically performed for 1-2 sets of 6-8 reps, or 2-3 sets of 5 breaths (i.e. reach to end range, inhale into the upper back, exhale fully and take up the slack).

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For more information on in- and off-season program design, training and reconditioning for injured players, and integrating sports science into a comprehensive training process, check out Optimizing Adaptation & Performance

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This is another example of an “integrated” mobility exercise that I’ll write into pre-practice or training prep work.

 
 
 
 
 
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3 quick notes:

1️⃣ Anchoring the hips back, and then rotating through the t-spine helps create hip/shoulder separation, an important motor control quality for many athletic movements.

2️⃣ Emphasizing a reach under pattern can help encourage air flow into the upper back, which opens up more rotation.

3️⃣ Rotating away from a laterally extending leg is a pattern that specifically presents in forward skating and shooting, but has some application to throwing motions and cutting (especially while protecting a ball, like you may see in football, basketball or lacrosse).

4️⃣ In general, rotating through thorax while sitting into end-range hip positions will help expose athletes using high threshold strategies (e.g. “white knuckling” a position/movement that should be loose), so these patterns can also be used as a screen to assess both motion and strategy.

Quick coaching notes:

✅ Reach one foot out to the side to feel a stretch through that adductor. Hold this position, then push hips straight back.

✅ Keeping your torso centered over your hips (e.g. don’t lean), rotate through the chest to reach one hand under as far as you can without holding your breath. Pause, and then return to the start.

Typically performed for 1-2 sets of 6-8 reps, or 2-3 sets of 5 breaths (i.e. reach to end range, inhale into the upper back, exhale fully and take up the slack).

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For more information on in- and off-season program design, training and reconditioning for injured players, and integrating sports science into a comprehensive training process, check out Optimizing Adaptation & Performance

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If general warm-up and mobility work doesn’t open up sufficient range of motion, it’s possible the athlete needs to “create” motion by adding length to the tissue.

A key stimulus for adding sarcomeres in series (i.e. length to a muscle) is to hold a stretched position for 2+ minutes.

The “Box Quad PNF” allows players to add length to the quadricep group, including the rectus femoris which also acts as a hip flexor.

 
 
 
 
 
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To perform the exercise:

✅ Lean forward to fully extend the hip, and then push back until there’s a big quad stretch in the back leg.

✅ Hold the stretch for 10s, then push the foot into the box, building up to max tension for 10s.

✅ Push back into a deeper stretch for 10s, and repeat this process for multiple sets of 1-2+ minutes.

Opposed to just sitting back into a stretch, alternating periods of actively pushing the foot into the box also helps:

1️⃣ Inhibit protective tension in the quad to open up more range of motion
2️⃣ Creates a sense of neural control and strength at end range

This is an important strategy in the early off-season to help restore full hip extension range of motion, but also a position that can be worked into daily routines throughout the year to help combat the loss of motion associated with repetitive hip flexion common in most team sports, and prolonged periods of sitting.

Give these a shot, and as always, feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it (or tag a friend that needs some hip mobility work) so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For more information on how to assess movement and integrate specific strategies to improve mobility and movement quality in training, check out Optimizing Movement. Don’t have a DVD player? Send me a note through the contact page after you checkout here Optimizing Movement and I’ll get you a digital copy of the videos!

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Great post on taking a broader view on ankle mobility from @timlebbossiere.

Give these a shot, and feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

From TIm:

One of the things I’ve strived to get better at over the years is finding meaningful ways to improve ankle mobility because I think it is the hardest joint to get meaningful changes in

I think too often we just tell athletes to throw their toes on the wall and do a couple of reps of ankle dorsiflexion. That’s better than nothing, but we have to remember that the ankle dorsiflexes, plantarflexes, inverts, everts, and rotates.

Some of my favorite “different” ankle mobility variations:

1. Staggered Stance Squat – dorsiflexion on back leg
2. Lateral Lunge to Cross Behind Lunge – inversion/eversion of stable leg
3. Lateral Leg Swings – rotation of stable leg (if you keep your foot pointing straight ahead)
4. Anterior Ankle Stretch – plantarflexion in both ankles

 
 
 
 
 
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To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For more information on in- and off-season program design, training and reconditioning for injured players, and integrating sports science into a comprehensive training process, check out Optimizing Adaptation & Performance

Enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Sports Performance and Hockey Training Newsletter!

 

It’s been one of those weeks over at Hockey Strength and Conditioning where the forums have really been hopping. There are a couple great discussions worth checking out on a few of the articles and programs posted recently, as well as a thread I started on Vitamin D (I’m curious to see how many programs are monitoring this closely with their players).

San Jose Sharks Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Potenza posted an article titled The Best Nutrition Book on my Shelf which really struck a chord with me. As I continue to learn about nutrition, it becomes increasingly apparent how overly complicated some “sources” make it (e.g. media, government, etc.). Potenza’s article does a great job of outlining a few extremely important things that everyone should be aware of. Great read.

Click Here >> The Best Nutrition Book on my Shelf

Anaheim Ducks Strength and Conditioning Coach Sean Skahan posted a video of a full body mobility exercise called Toe Touch Squat with Alternating Arm Reach. Mobility exercises like this also serve as great opportunities to assess your athletes’ limitations. This exercise should help shed some light on whether an athlete has restrictions in ankle dorsiflexion, hip flexion, thoracic extension, and thoracic rotation. It also provides an opportunity to observe how the athlete moves their weight as they perform the initial movement toward the floor, which will likely be indicative of their ability to load their posterior chain. Just a few things to keep in mind when watching this video from Coach Skahan.

Check out the video here >> Toe Touch Squat with Alternating Arm Reach

There was a problem with the program that Darryl Nelson posted last week. if you weren’t able to access it, you can check it out now here:

Click Here >> Off-Season Strength Training Program

Details on the best hockey training seminar ever are now available. I’ve been to the Boston Hockey Summit the last two years and it’s been fantastic. It’s a great opportunity to network with other like-minded people and to learn from some of the smartest minds in performance enhancement. I’ll definitely be going again this year; the line up is pretty incredible. Check out the link below for more information:

You can’t miss this! >> Boston Hockey Summit

Lastly, I posted my video of the DB 1-Leg Reverse Deadlift last week. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth taking a look. After posting the video I got an email from someone, which (I’ll paraphrase) basically said “I understand the marketing appeal of bringing new things to the forefront, but is new necessarily better?” I thought it was an outstanding question and I always love getting emails from people that shows me they’re actually thinking. My response below:

“Trust me when I say that I don’t write anything just for the sake of “standing out.” I know that may be considered bad marketing my some, but I’d guess that I share your sentiments that there is a difference between quality information and just “controversial” or “different” information.

With regards to the video, the 1-leg DB deadlift isn’t the next coming of exercises; it’s simply another tool for coaches to incorporate into their programs. As you likely know, deadlifting patterns reinforce a proper hip hinge pattern and effectively load and strengthen the posterior chain (hamstrings and glutes). Hockey players tend to move with more “quad dominant” patterns, so putting in a slightly greater amount of posterior chain work into their programs can help restore and maintain balance across the hip and knee. As with all single leg exercises, the 1-leg DB deadlift will also necessitate quite a bit of strength in the form of stabilization/control from the lateral hip musculature, as is required during skating and any single-leg positions/maneuvers on the ice.

Unfortunately, with a website like mine there is an underlying assumption that people are familiar with the material I’ve written in the past, which more times than not will likely be a false assumption. With that said, I can’t rewrite a “why I think single-leg training is safer and more effective for hockey players” preface to every post I write that references lower body training. While that may be good for some newcomers, it will likely bore and annoy people that have been with me for a while. I hope this makes sense.

You’re absolutely correct that new doesn’t always mean better. This is an exercise that I’ll incorporate in the same vein as a 1-leg RDL or 1-leg stiff-legged deadlift (I use these two names interchangeably, so within my definition the SLDL still includes a slight knee bend). My goal in presenting it on the site is to expose other coaches to it that may not be familiar with it. Ultimately, this is the fastest way to get feedback to determine if other think it’s a mainstay or not.”

Hopefully that clears up any questions that you may have had!

If you aren’t a member, go check out what you’ve been missing by clicking the link below. If you are a member, go check out all the content I mentioned above and hop on the forums to comment on the threads!

Click Here for the best in Hockey Strength and Conditioning

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Remember, it’s only $1 to try HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com for the first week. You will never find more hockey training content anywhere for $1, and it’s only getting better. I’ll throw in a bonus offer-Register for $1 so you can check out all the content, and I’ll buy you a coffee (or protein shake?) the next time I see you. Can’t beat that!

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