Warm up for ACL health and great performance!

In the last post, we talked about the 3 primary types of movement stabilization required for joints to remain healthy.

High levels of stabilization strength can mean the difference between spending the season on the field playing well and spending it on the bench wondering what went wrong!

So, can you prevent ACL tears and knee injuries, or if you've already had one, prevent another and regain strength and stability in the knee? Absolutely! However, it requires a blended recipe of science, wisdom and work! Let's start with the warm-up!

Try this warm-up progression:
1. Start with light jogging, forward and backwards.
This helps to warm muscles and increase blood flow to hips, knees and ankles. A minute or two will get you started.

2. Shuffling. Use an athletic stance, and be sure to push off the whole foot on the "back" side (right when moving left, and vice versa.) Keep knees lined up over front-pointing toes. 1-2 minutes total.

3. Lunge w/rotation. Lunge only to a depth where the knees are square, no more than 90°. Holding the hands out in front, palms together, rotate the shoulders and torso over the extended knee (to the right when right foot is forward, etc.) Be sure to step softly and press through the heel on the front foot. Push back off the front foo, return to start and repeat, alternating
starting leg as you do. 2 sets of 12-16 reps.

4. Reverse Lunge. Stand on one leg. Tuck the bellybutton inward and squeeze the glute on the leg you're on. Slowly lower your butt back over the heel of the planted leg, and reach back with the free leg. Keep lots of pressure on the heel and mid-foot of the standing leg. Keep the abs in and your back straight. Stay as erect as possible. Press through the heel and stand back up to one foot.

There are other warm-up exercises that are effective for increasing knee stability and strength, but these 4 are simple and effective, and can be done nearly anywhere, without equipment.

If you have questions about this or any other sports fitness or performance issue, feel free to contact us at allstarsportsacademy @ gmail.com.

And don't forget, there's still time to enroll your baseball/softball players in our 2008 Toms River Little League Camp (July 23, 24 & 25) and the 2008 Manchester Little League Camp (August 11, 12 & 13!) Our Camps are the best...just click here and see what "Vanilla" said about our Black Sox Spring Break Camp!

We'll see you at All-Star Sports Academy!