This kind of stretching is a big exception. Try this. Perform a vertical jump and document the height. Then, static stretch your hip flexors -- a couple of sets of 30 seconds both legs. Seriously stretching them! Stretch out as though you’re trying to tear that hip flexor off of the bone, baby! Don’t just go through the motions! Now jump once more. Chances are you’ll leap ½” - 2” higher, simply by static stretching the hip flexors. How can this be, you say? We’ll tell you. The simple truth is, the majority of players have super-tight hip flexors. Whenever you jump, tight hip flexors cause a lot of scrubbing, preventing a person from fully stretching from the hip, as well as reaching as high as you possibly can. By static stretching them directly before you leap, you not only stretch them out, but also “put them to sleep” because of the lengthy, slow stretch. This will cause much less rubbing inside of the hip when you jump. This translates into higher jumps. You'll be surprised by how well this works. (In addition, the hip flexors would be the only muscles you'd probably ever want to static stretch prior to jumping.) It's also a wise idea for athletes to get in the routine of stretching out their hip flexors each day, not merely before jumping. This'll help to extend your stride length when you run, and in addition reduce hamstring muscle pulls and low-back pain.

Dumbell Swings - It may be mentioned that it is one of the “old school” workouts - definitely one people don’t see utilized very often anymore. To start out this exercise, first take just one dumbbell with each hand (don’t use one that could be too large). Arrange your feet as if you were actually carrying out a squat, while letting the dumbbell to dangle in front of you. While facing ahead, squat straight down and permit the dumbbell to drop in between the thighs and legs. Remember to keep the back curved while you go down and keep looking directly forward. Once you've reached the full squat position, immediately explode upward. On top of that, while you are keeping your arms in a straight line, stretch with the shoulders and lift the dumbbell over your head. This specific exercise “kills 2 birds with 1 stone” simply because it actually works both hip extension and also your front deltoid muscle group in a synced, explosive method. And why would you want to do this? Because this is Exactly what goes on when you perform a vertical leap. As a variation, you may also execute this particular exercise using a box underneath each foot. This will help you achieve an lengthened range of motion.

Trap Bar Deadlifts, off of a 4” box - Trap bars are typically diamond-shaped bars which allow you to execute deadlifts along with shrugs by standing inside the bar, instead of having the bar in front of you. This puts less pressure on your low back/spine. Many players feel a lot more comfortable using these bars instead of straight bars while deadlifting. Because of this, we think that they're a good resource for all athletes - young and old. We've gotten a lot of athletes who swore they might never deadlift ever again, to get started deadlifting because of the trap bar. Something we want to due is have our players trap bar lift when standing upright on a 4” box. Once more, by simply expanding the range, your hamstrings will be further activated. This will likely markedly improve your running and jumping capability. An individual can make use of varied box heights, but we’ve discovered 4 inches to be great for growing the range of motion and not triggering a degradation in the athlete’s form.

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