The post by Allistair McCaw

Allistair McCaw

I believe that one of the most overlooked areas in an athletes training program when it comes to staying healthy and having better movement, is the hips.

Great movement in sport relies on the strength, flexibility and range of motion of the joints and muscles in your lower body, starting from the ground and working up.

An athlete’s hips are their powerhouse, and any weakness or energy leak through the kinetic chain results in a significant power outage. The hip is a joint that has a wide range of motion that moves through many different planes and different angles. The hip acts as a rotator, extensor and flexor which helps transfer forces between the lower and upper body extremities. In fact, the hip is loaded with over 230% of weight when only walking! (Hence my importance focused on single leg/uni-lateral work too).

For an athlete to become more powerful and explosive, it is important that he or she also addresses lower body imbalances with stability, strengthening and flexibility exercises, all geared to improving their ability to move more easier and efficiently. Most lower back injuries stem from tightness in the hips and glute area’s.

In my method of training, I believe in a ‘hips before, hip after’ approach. What that means is that I’ll have the athlete perform a hip strengthening exercise before they start their training session and a hip mobility routine after using the MM stretch strap (www.themccawmethod.com/mccaw-method-products). Doing this routine immediately after a session while the body is still warm, helps the athlete fully optimize their mobility, flexibility and range of motion.

I have my athletes work on their hip strength and mobility at almost every session, also as part of their prehab routines. Exercises like the mini band monster walks, half foam roller squats and their post workout stretch routine.

Remember, that the hips don’t lie, so make sure you take a proactive approach to taking good care of them.

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