Today, I wanted to give some insight and tips on proper stretching. Stretching can assist all athletes. You probably heard that "not all training is equal" and so is "not all stretching isn't equal as well."
In sports, many coaches with little to no experience do not pay much attention to stretching and it can cost your athletes some serious consequences down the road.
Hamstring are by far the most prevalent among football players. With this problem it is usually associated with athletes not drinking enough water and the lack of stretching.
At PTP (above video) it will take me about 20-30 minutes to get my kids acclimated to the rigors of the workout and the climate. Nemesis is a volatile program and it demands absolute attention in stretching. In between all my sessions I encourage athletes to drink as much water as possible and I would ask for the athletes to think mentally of recovering. I also wanted them to focus on their breathing until the next drill, play or round. These are basic and important components to Nemesis program.
Ok, tip number one. I would gradually get the kids into a Ballistic stretching; is a form of passive stretching or dynamic stretching in a bouncing motion. Ballistic stretches force the limb into an extended range of motion when the muscle has not relaxed enough to enter it. It involves fast "bouncing" movements where a double bounce is performed at the end range of movement. Ballistic stretching should only be used by athletes who know their own limitations and with supervision by their trainer.
Examples of ballistic stretching are high knees, butt kicks, spider mans etc...get the limbs lose and active. its like warming up the car every morning before going to work. Like so, are our bodies.
The second tip for quality stretching is static stretching. Static stretching is used to stretch muscles while the body is at rest. It is composed of various techniques that gradually lengthen a muscle to an elongated position (to the point of discomfort) and hold that position for 30 seconds to two minutes. 30 seconds is the minimum duration to get the benefits of stretching, whereas two minutes is the maximum (if a position can be held for more than two minutes, a farther stretch should be performed). During this holding period or directly afterwards, participants may feel a mild discomfort or warm sensation in the muscles. Static stretching exercises involve specialized tension receptors in our muscles. When done properly, static stretching slightly lessens the sensitivity of tension receptors, which allows the muscle to relax and to be stretched to greater length.
Examples of Static stretching is shown at the above video, I like to use sumo squats and controlled limb stretching. Its vital for athletes to do this stretching for improvement of flexibility. Flexibility is the most left out portion of stretching...teams only begun using the hurdles, but that is not as effective...for most of my sessions in Nemesis, I concentrate 30 minute portion of my workouts for flexibility and yes folks that is very important to gains in muscle building and strength. People have no idea how important flexibility is.
Great gains are in the stretching components. I hate it when coaches B.S. the stretching routine, it like putting water in the gasoline of a car.
Finally repeat stretching routines at the end of each workout. This is known as "Post stretch", this is vital for athletes; through competition and strains during workouts, its very important part to stretch after workouts. Your gains will be high and the benefits that your players will achieve is high. I like to incorporate dancing routines as a form of post stretch because through those movements can loosen up a lot of the lactic acid built up.
Here is health tip for parents to help their kids...If at all possible please, please stay away from all these sports drink, soda, juices and muscle milks after workout. its always a great rule to drink high amout of water prior and after the workouts.
Hopefully that educated you and helped you on your journey to success.
Thanks,
Coach Pen.
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