There are a bunch of different things that fall under the “mobility” umbrella.  It can get quite confusing and overwhelming.  It’s also something that doesn’t get your pecs a popping or your guns swole up as they say. It adds time to a workout and it’s the one thing most people skip.

Last week we talked about making a space in your home to work out and train for disc golf.  One of the many benefits of having a training space in your home is that you’ve eliminated one of the reasons for not doing mobility work, time.  The following routine will take less time than most people would spend just driving to a gym.  There’s really no excuse not to do it.  Especially since it is critically beneficial in so many ways.

For that reason, I wanted to start this series by giving you a mobility routine that was quick, easy, and effective.  I want you to get into the habit of doing the mobility work before you ever add resistance or weight training.  There are several benefits to starting the use of your new disc golf home gym with daily mobility work.

1. Daily mobility work will get you in the habit of using your new space regularly.
2. It’s a 10-15 minute commitment.  Anyone can stick to a 10-15 minute commitment long enough to make it a habit.
3. If you go no further than this with the use of your new space, this one practice alone will serve your disc golf game and overall health extremely well.
4. It will get you ready to safely start resistance training and working with weight and other implements.
5. It will make you feel better through your entire day.
6. It will help you become resilient and resistant to injury.  Especially the overuse injuries so common in our sport.

While I do a variety of static, dynamic, myofascial, and other mobility routines.  The one that follows is an easy to follow and simple routine that will serve you well pre and post workout as well as pre and post round.

I recommend that you start by doing this once a day.  Many of you will start to feel the benefits in just a few days and will want to do it more.  I can think of many worse things than to start and finish your day with a simple mobility routine.  If you only do it a few times a week, and you don’t currently do anything now, that’s a victory too.  Like I’ve said before, any small step forward is a win.  Take enough of them and you’ve gone a long way!

[tweetthis]A mile of progress is made up of many small steps.[/tweetthis]

As a note, this is a routine that I do and works for me.  I’m not a certified personal trainer, doctor, yoga instructor, or any other person of authority.  I’m just a guy who has found something that works for him.  You should always consult a medical professional before starting any type of physical training or movement you aren’t used to.

Remember to breath with your belly, deeply and slowly, as you do this routine.  Instead of holding each stretch for a set count, I usually hold each stretch for a certain number of deep breaths.  A good deep breath typically consists of an inhale for a count of 5, hold for 2, exhale for 7, hold for 2.  Doing this will make sure you are taking your time, and it will help to make sure you are breathing correctly throughout the routine.

1. Wrist Flexor stretch, hold for two breaths
2. Wrist Extension stretch, hold for two breaths
3. Shake your hands out, keeping them loose
4. Side flexion (latissimus dorsi, trees major), two breaths on a side
5. Windmills, 20 in each direction with each arm
6. Arm swings (dynamically swinging your arms from a “hugging yourself” position to arms stretched wide and back) 10 times
7. Dynamic core rotation (sideways arm swing)
8. Standing calf stretch, three breaths per side
9. Quad stretch, three breathes per side
10. Hip flexor stretch, three breaths per side
11. Hip rotator stretch, three breaths per side
12. PNF or table hamstring stretch, three breaths per side
13. Supine spinal twist, 5 breaths per side
14. Repeated extension in lying, inhale on the way down, exhale on the way up, 5 reps
15. Bird Dog, 5 per side, inhale with limbs down, exhale with them extended
16. Fire Hydrant, 5 per side, inhale when on hands and knees, exhale with leg raised
17. Child’s pose, 10 breaths, really relax into this one

Once you get the flow of this routine, this should take almost exactly 10 minutes.  Here’s the bonus for 5 minutes extra that really gets things loose and feeling great.

Get yourself a LaCrosse ball ($2.49 at Dick’s or pretty much any other sporting goods store) or better yet, a Rad Roller.

1. Hit the bottom of both feet, lingering where there is tension or knots.
2. Move up to your calves, again, stopping and letting the ball sink into areas where there are knots.  You especially want to get the outside of the calves right where they meet your shin.
3. Get your neck and upper back, especially if you don’t use a backpack type bag.
4. And my favorite, do the triceps all the way from your shoulder to your elbow.  You’d be amazed at how tight and knotted the tricep on your throwing arm can get.

You can do any of the above with the roller or just the Lacrosse ball.  Heck, for now, use a tennis ball as a temporary solution.  Don’t let the lack of a piece of equipment stop you.  Start now, get the equipment later.

That’s it.  I do the above every morning and every night.  I do the first 10 minute portion pre workout as well.  After just a few days, you’ll be feeling the benefits.  After a week, you’ll be moving better than you ever did before.  After a few weeks, you will feel weird if you don’t do it on a given day.  At some point, you’ll be walking on the course and realize just how much more freely you are moving.

[tweetthis]Being loose and not stiff is a major benefit to your #discgolf game.[/tweetthis]

Next week, I’ll be reviewing a whole slew of mobility implements.  Once you feel the benefits, especially of the myofascial release portion (the last 5 minutes with the LaCross ball/Rad Roller), you will be tempted to get all kinds of new toys that look like they would help.

I’ll have a guide to those for you in next week’s post.  Until then, keep using your new disc golf home gym space.  Get stretched out and loosened up.  Get those muscles, tendons, and joints ready for action.  We’ll be putting them to work soon!

The post Disc Golf Training, A Quick Mobility Routine appeared first on Mind Body Disc - Disc Golf Blog.

I made it to the car without incident and without running into anyone who wanted to chit chat on the way out.  I headed straight to the nearest decent course for a round of 18.  Looks like I was going to get started just in time!  I jumped out of the car, grabbed my bag, and jogged to the first tee.  On the tee, I lined up my shot, visualized my line, took a breath, and…

Not only did I early release the heck out of that disc, but the sharp and debilitating pain shooting up my back was telling me there would be no disc golf that night.  The snap I heard as I pulled several muscles in my lower back was not the snap I was hoping for.

It took 3 weeks to get over that particular injury, and that was minor.  This kind of thing used to happen all the time.  You name it and I’ve pulled or strained it.  I’ve also been dumb enough to try to play through minor injuries only to make them major ones.  3 years ago, that all changed when regular stretching became a part of my life.

This was not by choice.  I was not trying to get in touch with my inner Chi.  I was recovering from some crippling disc issues in both my upper and lower back.  If I didn’t stretch daily at that time, I couldn’t walk.  Kind of made it worth the time.  Over the years, regular stretching became something I just did.  Always at the gym, often in the morning, always before and after any kind of disc golf.

Everyone knows that they should stretch before playing, but few people do.  We know we risk injury, but for the vast majority of players it’s not until they suffer an injury or three that they take stretching and mobility seriously.  For all of you out there that know you should be stretching, but maybe need that last little push to actually do it, there’s another great reason to stretch besides injury prevention.

Last spring I was playing in a tournament in early April.  It was a cold morning and I made a point to arrive early to allow for some extra warm up.  I have a pretty set tournament prep routine, so I got to it.  When I got to the stretching portion of my warm up, I noticed another golfer doing the same thing behind the car next to me.

“Stretching out?” He asked.

“Yeah, got back issues, it’s the only way I can play.  How about you?”, I asked back.

“I don’t have any back issues, I just want to win.  I have no accuracy when I’m tight.”, He said casually.

“Helps accuracy?  How so?”, I replied.

We had a good conversation that day.  I got a lot of food for thought that I’ve been able to test out over the years.  For me, the results are pretty conclusive.

Stretching improves your accuracy.  There is not a professional athlete in the world that doesn’t warm up and stretch out before activity.  For those that want to perform at the top level in their sport, warmup is critical.  It helps in a million different ways, but for me it helps accuracy the most.

You see, your muscles, when cold, are like a new rubber band.  Each time you stretch a new rubber band, it lengthens just a little bit more.  Each time you stretch it, it gets longer.  With every pull, it moves a bit easier and freer.  The same is true with your muscles.  Injury and other issues aside, let’s review what happens with your muscles when you hit the first tee cold and tight.

Your throw power and accuracy are determined in large part by your reach back and your follow through.  The distance from your reach back to your follow through is determined by how far your muscles allow you to stretch, pull, and twist through the full motion of the throw.

If you start on the first tee cold and tight, you are making each of your first 20-30 throws with different potential distances between your reach back and your follow through.  You also see wild variances in how “smoothly” a muscle group can fire.  In other words, even if everything else was perfect, you have introduced a variable that will alter not only your power potential, but also your release point and therefore accuracy.

By warming up and stretching before you play, you are eliminating variables.  Maximize your range of motion prior to playing by committing to a good stretching routine.  Your body and your scores will thank you.

In a future post we’ll go over some recommended stretching routines that I think most people can live with.  For now, remember to warm up a bit before your rounds and field work.  It’ll not only keep you healthy, but it may shave some throws from your score too!

Do any of you have any other reasons for stretching out?  I’d love to hear what you all are doing out there.

The post The Worst Kind of Snap in Disc Golf appeared first on Mind Body Disc - Disc Golf Blog.