Matt Hank » Flexibility

Hip Mobility

Matt Hank — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:29:20 +0000

There are powerful muscles in the hip that work to produce many athletic movements. The hips need to be strong and stable to transfer energy during sporting movements such as hitting, pitching, and kicking (soccer). However, the hips can not do their job effectively if they are locked up or restricted in their range of motion.

Hip mobility is extrememly important to help protect the lower back and knees. There is a limited amount of motion that takes place at the lower back, so the hips actually need to be the area where the greatest range of motion comes from in the core.

Shown below are a few simple stretches that will definitely help improve flexibility of the muscles of the hip and enhance mobility of the entire joint.

Train Hard-Train Smart
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Sunday Morning Performance Training Sessions

Matt Hank — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:33:54 +0000

I will be holding sports performance training sessions at College of The Canyons track/football field on Sunday mornings. One training group is specifically for baseball athletes. All athletes are also welcome to join other training sessions, either before or after the baseball group. Training sessions will be one hour in length and always in morning. Exact time slots will be determined before the weekend so athletes can plan their schedules accordingly. Cost is $20 per session and athletes are not required to purchase a package of training sessions ahead of time. If you are interested in training or know other Jr. High, High School, or College athletes that are interested in training send me an email or give me a call.

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Jump – Bound Matrix

Matt Hank — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:53:11 +0000

Athletes are always looking to develop their lower body explosiveness and power. Improve your lower body strength (Lunge Matrix). Convert strength into explosiveness with the Jump-Bound Matrix. Check it out:

This video takes you through jump and then bound progressions in multiple planes of motion. This series would benefit every athlete (it may not help a billards player – but every other athlete).

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More on Myofascial Release

Matt Hank — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:54:21 +0000

After the previous post about Myofascial Release I had a couple general questions. So I have decided to do an additional post to clear a few things up.

Here is some more information about this topic:

You do not have to buy and use a foam roller to perform myofascial release techniques. You can use a tennis ball, baseball, softball, or golf ball as a way to release the tissue. In fact these objects would be better suited for certian areas of the body such as the bottom of the feet or around the shoulder blade.
Muscle adhesions and trigger points alter the length and function of the muscle. These altered movements patterns are what cause over-use injuries over time. It is extrememly important to take care of you muscle and fascia (connect tissue). A cheap and easy way is self myofascial release techniques.
Once you have done the mysofascial release technique, it is then recommended to stretch the effected muscle. Desensitizing the trigger point and reducing/eliminating the adhesion will help restore the proper length and function to the muscle. This would be the appropriate time to stretch – Increase the functional flexibility of the muscle and surrounding tissue.

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Myofascial Release with a Foam Roller

Matt Hank — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:24:11 +0000

The objective when using foam roller is to increase the quality of your myofascial tissue (muscle and connective tissue). The foam roller helps to aid in breaking up trigger points and muscle adhesions. Foam rolling also promotes blood flow to the area being worked on. In simple terms, it is a way to do self message. This is great for athletes to help prevent injuries who do repeated motions throughout the week. For example, baseball pitchers can throw a lot during a typical practice week. The muscles in a pitchers shoulders and upper back have to work to decelerate their arm. Over time these muscles will begin to shorten and even trigger points or muscle adhesions may arise. It would be beneficial for pitchers to foam roll their posterior shoulder and upper back muscles to help promote adequate muscle length and function. I recommend all pitchers lay their arm pit on the foam roller and follow the directions listed below at least a couple times a week.

How to perform self myofascial release with the foam roller:
You would start by identifying an area of muscle tension, tightness, or sensitivity. Then you would lay on the foam roller so that particular muscle group is pressed against the foam. The key is to find the area of sensitivity and hold that spot for 10-30 seconds. After holding it, then you can roll back and forth in that area. Once you release the tissue, then it would be recommended to perform range of motion exercises (stretches). Repeat this on a daily basis until the muscle tightness or sensitivity begins to subside.

Be sure to email with any specific questions regarding myofascial release techniques.

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Functional Movement

Matt Hank — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:13:52 +0000

Here is an example of a great warm up/strength/mobility exercise. This series is performed in multiple planes of motion and uses the arms as a driver during each lunge. Any athlete should be able to perform this series without limited range of motion or pain. This is also a great body weight strength training exercise series for younger athletes.

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Information About Youth Baseball Pitchers

Matt Hank — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:24:51 +0000

As an trainer who works with a large number of youth baseball players I know the story. Your son takes pitching lessons and now has amazing delivery on the mound. He is also apart of sports performance program to increase his relative strength and flexibility. Here’s the thing…it doesn’t matter your son still has to be on a strict pitch count. Because if he is not, he is increasing the risk of injury to his elbow or shoulder (scientifically proven!). Here are a few amazing stats from this article I’m recommending all parents and coaches should read. Here’s the article. Here’s the facts according to this article:
In a study by Andrews and Fleisig (1999) 476 youth pitchers between the ages of 9 and 14 were closely examined. “Over the course of the season, more than half of the pitchers experienced shoulder or elbow pain. For each increment of 25 pitches thrown after 50 pitches, the percentage of pitchers experiencing pain increased as fatigue set in. Those who threw curveballs were 52% more likely to feel shoulder pain. Those who threw sliders were 86% more likely to endure elbow pain.”

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Protect That Low Back

Matt Hank — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:11:27 +0000

Lower back pain occurs with most individuals at some point in their life. I see clients and gym-goers with this issue on a regular basis. There are number of variables that I try to integrate into my training programs including correcting muscle imbalances/deficiencies, improve core strength and develop proper flexibility in all 3 planes of motion to combat this problem. Many times individuals experiencing lower back pain have a weak core (specifically anterior core) and dysfunction of their glutes. However, I want to focus on another variable that affects lower back pain – lack of range of motion at specific areas of the body. The lower back (lumbar spine) is not designed to have excessive range of motion during activities. If an individual lacks range of motion in their hips and thoracic spine, then excessive stress could be placed on the lumbar spine. We need range of motion (in all 3 planes) to come from the hips and thoracic spine to help prevent lower back pain and dysfunction.

Strategies to protect the lower back

Make sure you are incorporating movements that require the hip to function in the sagital plane (hip extension – squats/deadlifts), frontal plane (adduction/abduction – lateral lunges/kettlebell windmill), and transverse plane (internal/external rotation – chops/transverse rotational lunges).

Develop thoracic spine extension (sagital plane) – try using a foam roller on the upper back to work on proper range of motion. Check out this clip for an example. To target the frontal and transverse plane I use dumbbell shoulder presses at different angles (lateral and rotational).

Integration is always better than isolation, so practice these exercises to develop all 3 planes of motion in the hip and thoracic spine at the same time. Click here.

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Tri-Plane Motion at the Hamstring

Matt Hank — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:58:42 +0000

When you take a look at the hamstring muscles it easy see that muscles work on all 3 planes motion. The three planes of motion are sagital (forward/backward), frontal (side to side), and transverse (rotational). You can clearly see how the hamstring raps around the leg inserting into the tibia and fibula. The hamstrings are not just muscles that work to flex the knee in the sagital plane, as most individuals believe (including trainers, PTs, and strength coaches). Instead, they work to control the lower half of the body during movements in all three planes of motion. They play a huge role in decelerating the body when moving and changing direction – which takes place in all planes of motion. Also, the hamstrings work to help assist the glutes during hip extension.

Training strategies for the hamstring:
Let’s start with this, the hamstring curl machine does very little to improve functional movements – such as in sports. It’s great if you’re trying to make the muscle larger or isolate the hamstring to make it stronger. The hamstring curl is designed so that an individual lays on a machine while flexing their leg. In function (sport), the hamstring does not concentrically flex the knee. Also, I have never seen a sport where you lay on your stomach and flex your knee. Basically the leg curl machine is a bad choice for improving functional hamstring strength.

Now let’s talk about what the hamstring does do in function. The knee will bend if you let it because gravity is pulling you down to the ground. The hamstring muscles are not responsible for concentrically bending your knee to lower yourself into a squat. Therefore, it makes sense that the hamstring helps decelerate the body during squatting and lunging movements. So I just named two great exercises to target the hamstrings – squats and lunges both of which are extremely functional. Also, the hamstrings help assist with hip extension – hip extension takes place during squatting and lunging movements. To make the exercises more functional it would also make sense to do squatting and lunging motions in the frontal and transverse plane.

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Canyon Country Little League Coaches Clinic

Matt Hank — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:33:57 +0000

I uploaded all the pictures from today’s clinic. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me. Hope this is helpful.

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