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| This is what we did for fun in kindergarten! |
Crawling
The Bear Crawl
When’s the last time you crawled? The bear crawl is a physically challenging exercise whether done poorly or done well. The difference between a good bear crawl and a bad one is control. Can you balance the ball on your back (see video)? Crawling is an important skill for athletes for the following reasons:
It improves communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain
It trains the core to control rotational movements
It trains the core to transfer forces between one arm and the opposite leg and vice versa
Most sports movements require these abilities such as throwing a baseball, running, freestyle swimming, kicking a soccer ball, taking a slapshot, and swing a golf club.
If you struggle with bear crawl, then regress back to the bird dog and crawling as an infant does with the knees touching the floor.
Bird Dog
Skipping
Ask your mom if she knows how to skip. Almost all my adult clients can skip properly even though they may not have done the movement for decades. The same can’t be said for my teen athletes unless they’ve spent some time working with a track coach. Kids typically raise the same side arm and leg instead of the opposite arm and leg.
A-Skip
Skipping is a diagonal movement just like crawling so it can be improved with the same exercises. Regress the skip back to marching on the spot, then progress through forward marching, skipping on the spot, forward skipping, and finally skipping in multiple directions. For strength training perform the single leg Romanian deadlift.
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Hip Hinge
Hip Hinge
The hip hinge allows an athlete to flex and extend the hips without losing proper posture. This will allow the athlete to jump higher and run and skate faster while reducing the risk of developing back pain. The hip hinge is your athletic ready position in most sports.
Develop the hip hinge with the stick hip hinge drill and then progress to the deadlift.
Stick Hip Hinge Drill
Push-Up
Push-Up
The push-up is much more than an exercise to develop pressing strength. It’s also a measure of core stability. If you can’t perform a proper push-up you’ll either be expending more energy to perform a task, moving slower, or be using the spine itself to stabilize the movement. The latter can lead to back pain. Unfortunately, this exercise is rarely regressed, and kids end up looking like inchworms.
How most kids look when doing a push-up
Regress the push-up to a hands-elevated version and work your way back down to the floor.
Hands Elevated Push-Up
Improve your ability in the crawl, skip, hip hinge, and push-up to perform better at your sport with a lower risk of injury.
For more information about Pratt's Pro Fitness please visit my website.
Stay fit,
Jonathan Pratt
