Part of today's WOD for our Intermediate athletes is Overhead Squats, and after seeing and talking with a few athletes I have seen the neglect they place on mobility to hit these high skill movements, So naturally it requires a Blogger post.
Calf and ankle mobility, to achieve a pass of generally acceptable range of motion is 10 cm for the average height athlete (this will vary for taller athletes, due to longer limb length). The test I am referring to can be seen in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8g_IKe7inY
10 cm is a minimum for athletes to be able to reach, From my personal experience I have found anything less creates movement pattern problems, in the knee path tracking inside the path of the knee to create increased range (which then can cause problems with the knee joint, but that's for a different blog post). Secondly if ankle range of motion isn't met this means that the knee cant track over the toes enough to allow the torso an upright position whilst keeping the spine in a neutral position, which means that the Lumbar has to compensate, causing hyper extension. Lastly in extreme cases of poor ankle mobility, the heels will come off the ground causing extreme pressure on the knees and lower back. These problems are all fine when teaching movements so long as the athlete is only keeping the loads light to build mobility in the ankle through movement, and ensuring they are following the correct movement pattern without over doing the load they are taking on, as this is where real injuries will occur. *10 cm range doesnt mean you have good ankle mobiltiy, with this range you have only just passed, and should remember that more is better.
To Work on mobilizing the ankle before training Kelly Starret from Mobility WOD has an awesome video which is worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBt5F2mMUtU
and to increase range in the long term the Foam rolling the Achillies and stretching out with a standing wall calf stretch with both a straight leg for the Gastroc and a bent leg for the Solius (Gastroc = large meaty ball like part of the calf muscle , Solius = Deeper smaller part of the calf muscle (which is often this tightest of the two). As can be seen in this video, however this video is probably for those who have been working on their mobility for a while as he intensifies the stretch which should be incorporated when the athlete is ready and basic mobility has been increased. Secondly he roles the soft tissue fiber in his Achilles, which is great but for the beginner at this sort of thing is probably too much to start with, so I recommend the foam roller, as it is a bit gentler. This is the video I am referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLj_VkfQzJI
Hope this information is useful to you.
Holla - G Lewis
Calf and ankle mobility, to achieve a pass of generally acceptable range of motion is 10 cm for the average height athlete (this will vary for taller athletes, due to longer limb length). The test I am referring to can be seen in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8g_IKe7inY
10 cm is a minimum for athletes to be able to reach, From my personal experience I have found anything less creates movement pattern problems, in the knee path tracking inside the path of the knee to create increased range (which then can cause problems with the knee joint, but that's for a different blog post). Secondly if ankle range of motion isn't met this means that the knee cant track over the toes enough to allow the torso an upright position whilst keeping the spine in a neutral position, which means that the Lumbar has to compensate, causing hyper extension. Lastly in extreme cases of poor ankle mobility, the heels will come off the ground causing extreme pressure on the knees and lower back. These problems are all fine when teaching movements so long as the athlete is only keeping the loads light to build mobility in the ankle through movement, and ensuring they are following the correct movement pattern without over doing the load they are taking on, as this is where real injuries will occur. *10 cm range doesnt mean you have good ankle mobiltiy, with this range you have only just passed, and should remember that more is better.
To Work on mobilizing the ankle before training Kelly Starret from Mobility WOD has an awesome video which is worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBt5F2mMUtU
and to increase range in the long term the Foam rolling the Achillies and stretching out with a standing wall calf stretch with both a straight leg for the Gastroc and a bent leg for the Solius (Gastroc = large meaty ball like part of the calf muscle , Solius = Deeper smaller part of the calf muscle (which is often this tightest of the two). As can be seen in this video, however this video is probably for those who have been working on their mobility for a while as he intensifies the stretch which should be incorporated when the athlete is ready and basic mobility has been increased. Secondly he roles the soft tissue fiber in his Achilles, which is great but for the beginner at this sort of thing is probably too much to start with, so I recommend the foam roller, as it is a bit gentler. This is the video I am referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLj_VkfQzJI
Hope this information is useful to you.
Holla - G Lewis
