OPEN UP THOSE HIPS BOYS AND GIRLS!
Hip mobility drills:
Seriously, besides the pun of the opening line, you need to make sure your hips are moving optimally. Take a look at these pics:
What do you notice? Other than pulling some moves that you and I wish we could, notice the angles at the hip joints.
Pretty extreme angles, and at same time these joints are absorbing forces from muscle contractions, and also compressive forces created by the water…. your hip joints need to be healthy, strong, and mobile to allow for that to occur.
Even for the average surfer, a lack of hip mobility can easily promote pain in the low back from simply sitting on the surfboard.
Take a look at the picture of the hip/bones. There are ALOT of muscles surrounding that hip joint. Also take notice of whats above the hip joint, and below it… more joints! The lower back (SI joint, and vertebral segments), and below are your knee joints.
If your hip isn’t moving optimally, the body is going to force motion into the lower back/SI joint, or your knees, or both! These are joints that need “stability”, so when extreme motion is forced into them due to crappy hip range of motion, the joints get pissed off and swell up, to put it clearly.
So again, even for the average weekend warrior surfer, you need to incorporate some hip mobility into your warm-ups or workout routines. Think of it as injury prevention, or some movements that WILL increase your performance abilities.
Remember, the body is interconnected, so if one thing isn’t quite moving properly, other things are going to start to ache and breakdown, which doesn’t equal better surfing.
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