As promised in my previous post, here is an expansion of the second of five factors I'm trying to optimise in 2015.
I have tight hips. More specifically, my lack of hip flexor mobility is perhaps a reflection of my chosen sporting activities, namely long distance running and cycling. Two sports which I love, although not exactly kind on the body.
Over the past few years, I’ve gradually shifted away from the notion of flexibility for improved performance via traditional static stretching methods. I have certainly done my fair share pushing-down-walls, hanging-on-steps and touching-my-toes imitations in the quest for supple muscles, all in the name of injury prevention. Whilst the notion of prevention is indeed critical and practical in maintaining optimal health and vitality, my confidence – and more specifically, reliance – on these conventional methods waned as I reached my early to mid-thirties.
This shift in preventative maintenance methodology has evolved into embracing terms like mobility and balance. Instead of aspiring to be a contortionist, maintaining a varying routine of simple exercises has definitely paid dividends over the past while.
Here is a list of some regulars and favourites, acquired tastes all:
The Grok Squat: Otherwise known as the Indigenous People’s Stretch, I first became aware of this pose through Mark Sisson’s excellent YouTube channel. Demonstration of this movement is approximately 1:00 into this video.
Initial attempts at this exercise were feeble and I often wondered about the practicality and safety of mimicking the ageless Sisson. Towards the end of 2012, I was maintaining the Grok Squat with the aid of a large pebble so as to not fall backwards. These days, I can squat in this position totally unaided for several minutes. Perhaps the best all-round “stretch” there is, working the legs, lower back and even the upper body if you extend your arms out in front of you.
Sportoga: The brainchild of Mick Gilliam, trainer and friend of multiple world champion triathlete Chris McCormack, Sportoga is a sport-specific routine derived from more traditional yoga poses, focusing on posture and movement through a series of simple (and challenging) exercises.
Two of these exercises are available on YouTube, and are pretty much as hard as you make them, one being cycling-specific:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvoTsZfO7-I
The other exercise relates more to swimming:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbGouHspzIE
Both are excellent, easy to perform and functional exercises which can be done anytime and anywhere.
Mojo-climbers: Dr. Lawrence van Lingen is a South African chiropractor who specializes in athlete wellness. Recently, Lawrence has launched Innerunner, a series of workshops focusing on technique and injury prevention in the quest for peak running performance.
He also has an excellent and informative YouTube channel, which provides simple and effective advice and exercises specific to runners of all levels:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0jzRxCAyA7tTH-85PmFMqw
Lawrence’s adaptation of the well-known “mountain-climber” exercise is most interesting and, like those movements listed previously, takes a while to master - nothing like a little “work-in-progress” to inspire and motivate.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that these, along with other strength and conditioning modalities, are intended as complementary to one’s chosen sport. As I’ve alluded to previously, a twice weekly yoga class won’t necessarily make a faster runner. Lifting weights won’t necessarily improve hill running. Likewise, improved hip flexion won’t necessarily ensure a faster 10km time. That said, my own intentions of peak running performance are such that in order to attain such performance, the activity of running is central and emphasized, everything else (mobility, strength work etc) are activities that help maintain optimal running frequency.
Otherwise it just becomes unnecessary “fluff.”
