When I notice athletes having some difficulty with range of motion, most of the time it is an ankle or hip range of motion issue. The ankle issue drastically changes the loading during acceleration, but more so in deceleration. The issue with the hips will mostly cause athletes to not load well enough to accelerate out of their stance. But immobile hips will certainly cause deceleration issues as well because of the same inability to load.

Most of the time I can work on athletes’ range of motions issues right on the spot. When athletes exhibit ankle range of motion deficits, I have them bring their upper body posture higher and maybe even have them raise their arms up while they perform lateral shuffles. This shifts the knees forward more as the hips gets pushed more under the body rather than their more efficient position behind the body. Then, I have the athletes perform slow to moderate shuffles back and forth.

Many people will say that this should have been done at the beginning of the workout. Yes, they’re right. But what if it was missed and you notice the poor movement? Why not take a few minutes and have the athletes work on this more dynamic corrective strategy. I have used it, and it gives some needed range of motion so the athlete can feel more comfortable.

For the hips, if they tend to be tight or maybe just not activated as well as they could be, I will do virtually the opposite of the ankle strategy. I now have the athlete push the hips back farther. But to do this in a more unconscious state, like I did with the ankle joint reaction to the taller posture, I simply have the athlete either hold a medicine ball out in front of their body, maybe kind of low, or simply reach out and down in front with the hands. I then have the athletes perform controlled shuffles. The counter-balance to the added weight in front of the body loads the hips better.

Sometimes it is best to simply have the athletes perform these exercises, but don’t tell them why. When you tell the athletes what they are doing wrong, they hesitate or try to overcome the issue and don’t move fluidly. They need to move smoothly and allow the biomechanical adjustment to work out the problem.

Love to hear your thoughts on this and what you do to help you athletes on the go.