Hi, it's Zach from UNRIVALED Sports Performance at CLM. Summer is a great time for athletes to explore what can be done during the off-season to be better next year! One key component of training (off-season AND during season) is functional training. This applies to all athletes at any age!
By definition, functional training attempts to adapt or develop exercises to enhance an individual’s ability to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injury. When it comes to sports, common moves are performed repeatedly and usually with force. Essentially, your body is just a stack of joints that are working together (except when they’re not). You perform multi-joint movements everyday whether you realize it or not, especially in sports. The better that the joints work, and work together, the better the performance will be. When looking at functional training as part of an athlete’s regimen, it is important to understand the different joints and how they work. Athletes need to have healthy joints particularly with respect to mobility and stability. A simple way to look at the difference between the two, mobility relates to movement as stability relates to control within that joint. Here’s a look at three common repetitive actions in some popular sports and which of the two aspects come into play for the joints involved:- Rotational Moves (Swings) in Baseball, Lacrosse, Hockey, and Golf
- Hip - Mobility
- Lumbar Spine Stability
- Thoracic Spine Mobility
- Scapula Stability
- Overhead Moves (Throw/Pull) in Baseball, Golf, Football, Tennis, Swimming and Water Polo
- Shoulder Mobility
- Scapula Stability
- Thoracic Spine Mobility
- Lumbar Spine Stability
- Bouncing Moves (Running and Jumping) in most dryland sport
- Ankle Mobility
- Knee Stability
- Hip Mobility