In his treatise on the "Four Pillars of Human Movement," fitness coach Juan Carlos Santana lists rotational movement as the "most important pillar in life and sport." Adequate rotation requires flexibility in the muscles that support your waist, along with strength in your obliques, which support your upper torso's essential movements.
Injury Prevention
The majority of the exercises performed in a gym involve linear, push-and-pull movements. In contrast, sports such as tennis, golf, baseball and basketball, and to some degree, bowling. cross-country and alpine skiing, require waist rotation, which in turn demands upper torso flexibility and strength. If the muscles that support your waist lack flexibility, the sudden rotational movements required for your sport might trigger muscle tears. Because these muscles also support your back, a waist muscle tear might also lead to back problems.
The Serape Effect
Your upper torso has a crisscross design that resembles the serape, an upper body blanket-type covering worn in South American countries. The "human serape" involves your oblique and upper back muscles, explains Juan Carlos Santana. Many sports use a pre-stretching movement that moves your hips and shoulders in opposite directions. This functional diagonal pattern assigns movement initiation to your hips. Your waist continues the movement, and your shoulders and upper back complete the action. An inflexible waist creates a "dead zone" in the middle of the movement pattern, that causes your shoulders and upper back to overwork. This dysfunctional pattern makes you susceptible to shoulder injuries.
Power
The baseball pitch, the golf club swing and the martial arts strike follow similar rotational sequences, says certified trainer and coach Joe Bonyai. Your lower body generates force, which transits it through your waist and into your arms and hands. The ability of your waist and upper torso to move swiftly determines the amount of power you can generate to your upper body. Lack of flexibility limits the speed and fluidity of movement in your torso and, therefore, limits the amount of power available to generate into your arms.
Static vs. Dynamic Flexibility
Sports require dynamic flexibility, which implies flexibility in motion. In contrast, static stretches require you to hold a posture for about one minute at a time. Sports requires, action, not posturing. The most effective waist flexibility exercises, therefore, demand active flexibility, in conjunction with strength. Mind-body exercise techniques such as the Feldenkrais Method, Pilates and tai chi use rotational movement patterns that strengthen your oblique muscles while enhancing the dynamic flexibility of your waist. These movement patterns have the most direct transfer of training to your rotational sport.
References
- Institute of Human Performance; 4 Pillars of Human Movement; Curtis Ludlow
- Julio Brito Performance; The Serape Effect: A Kinesiologiocal Model for Core Training; Juan Carlos Santana
- SB Coaches College; Swing Speed: From the Floor, Through the Core, Part ;I Joe Bonyai, CSCS
- Balanced Body Podcasts; Reformer Work For Rotational Sports; Elizabeth Larkham
Member Comments