In order to be explosive and have a great vertical, an athlete must be able to produce a lot of force in a short amount of time. The third piece to being a great leaper is hip mobility.<\/p>\n
Many athletes, especially basketball players have tight hips. Tight hip flexors can be bad for an athlete who wants to have an impressive vertical jump. If an athlete has tight hips that can hinder an athlete\u2019s use of his\/her glutes. The glutes are one of the most important muscles for an athlete to run fast and jump high. Additionally, if an athlete has tight hip flexors it can prevent an athlete from being able to explode into triple extension. As noted in the High Pull exercise, triple extension is what occurs when an athlete throws down a energetic dunk.<\/p>\n
We’ve become a society that sits around all day (in school, at work, in front of the computer, watching TV, etc). Because of this, the hip flexors have a tendency to become contracted and tight, almost pulling us into an anterior pelvic tilt.<\/p>\n
Add these two simple hip stretches into your workout routine this offseason and gain the benefits of moving better and jumping higher!<\/p>\n
Make sure the squat, the high pull and hip mobility exercises are in your workout program this offseason, \u00a0Work hard and I hope to see you above the rim this basketball season!<\/p>\n