-Coach Brent
HIP FLEXOR STRETCHES-
“WOW! THAT GUY HAS A STRONG LEG!”
by: Dr. Larry Van Such
Why is the smallest guy on the team getting credit for having the strongest leg on the team?
We've all seen and heard it before. You are watching a good football game, and a punter, backed up into his own end zone, drills a 70 yarder dashing any hope of the opposing team working with a short field. Or, just before halftime or the end of a game, a place kicker nails a 55+ yarder. And what do we hear from the commentators? “Wow, that guy has a strong leg!”
Standing 6'1" and weighing 175 pounds soaking wet, I can tell you as a former kicker myself that I did not have the strongest leg on my team. In fact, I would be willing to bet that I had the weakest leg on my team with respect to physical strength in the weight room. Yet, everyone thought I had a strong leg. Early on in my career this was flattering to hear. But, behind the scenes, and especially in the weight room, everyone knows the offensive and defensive linemen are the real strong men -- the ones with legendary feats of strength. But the funny thing is, you never hear anyone praising them for having a strong leg.
Two questions you have to ask yourself are:
1) If the linemen have the strongest legs on the team, why aren't they doing the kicking?
2) Does the kicker really have a strong leg, or is it a more appropriate to ask if the kicker really has a quick or fast leg?
The answer is: Punters and kickers have quicker muscular contraction rates in the muscles responsible for performing a punt, kickoff or field goal than a linemen trying to perform the same skill.
Or in other words, the leg muscles of kickers accelerate the speed of the leg much faster.
Therefore when the foot meets the ball, the leg of the kicker is moving much faster than the leg of the lineman.
That's why those with the strongest leg muscles don't necessarily kick the ball farther.
This boils down to a simple physics equation. If you took a physics class , then you might remember that
F=MA or Force (F) = Mass (M) x Acceleration (A).
If we put aside for the moment that punting and kicking are specialized skills involving timing and ball placement on the kicker’s foot, the distance that a ball travels is directly related to the amount of mass (M) striking the ball times the amount of acceleration (A) or, speed.
Now I don't think there is much argument in the fact that an offensive or defensive lineman's leg and foot have more mass than the average kicker’s, so we will credit them for that. So then, the difference in the amount of force (F) generated has to be in the amount of speed/acceleration (A) that a kicker’s leg and foot have at impact into the ball.
And, I am willing to bet that the average kicker can swing his leg between 2 and 5 times faster than the average lineman, and this is more than enough of a difference to compensate for any difference of physical strength in the weight room, thus resulting in a greater ability to kick a ball.
So where does this leg speed come from?
First, consider the muscle groups involved in performing a punt or kick. The muscles involved in punting are the Thigh/hip flexors and Quadriceps.
And, for performing a soccer style field goal or kickoff, the Adductors.
Thigh flexors or hip flexors. (See Arrow)
Main function is to raise your leg and swing it forward.
The speed of these muscles does not come in the weight room.
It never has and never will, and kicking a ball very far is proof of that.
There are two keys to getting more speed in your kicking leg.
First, is knowing how to condition your muscles for speed.
Muscles are composed of basically two fiber types. One type (slow twitch fibers) for speed and endurance, the ability to move against heavy resistance and to perform repetitions without tiring. And another type of fiber (fast twitch fibers) for speed and fast muscle contractions.
The speed comes by conditioning the fast twitch muscle fibers in your leg muscles to perform what is called a 'fast twitch response' – which basically means to contract with speed and acceleration.
The bottom line is you cannot condition your muscles for speed using the same techniques you use to train for strength. You may think you are making your muscles faster with strength training but your muscles will know the difference.
This is what most coaches, athletes and trainers have not grasped; and this is why athletes are often disappointed with their speed training results.
What we have discovered is that muscles are best conditioned for speed using a strategy of isometric exercises with resistance bands.
This is a training technique that by it's very nature transfers speed qualities back into the muscles that are opposing them.
Isometrics using the resistance band, the way we teach it and the way we will show you in the video, will unlock the blazing speed and quickness of your fast twitch fibers.
Once you start to exercise your muscles using this type of training, you will likely discover that up until now those muscles have been underdeveloped, and you will notice dramatic increases in your speed and kicking distance in a matter of days.
The second key to leg speed is knowing precisely which muscles to condition.
The thigh flexor muscle is a primary muscle group responsible for leg speed in punting and kicking. Proper conditioning of the thigh flexor muscle will add additional yardage to your punts and kicks. This same principle applies to the other kicking muscles I have already mentioned.
Collectively as a group, the thigh flexors are among the strongest muscle groups in the body.
Ironically, in spite of their incredible inherent strength, they are still found to be developed far below their full potential for speed in most athletes.
With weak and slow thigh flexors, your kicking ability will be significantly affected more than you could ever imagine.
The only way I have ever been able to effectively isolate the thigh flexors is with resistance bands. No other method is more effective. The only way I have ever been able to increase their contraction velocity is with isometric training. Again, No other method is more effective.
The thigh flexor muscles form the foundation for dramatically improving your kicking distance.
And unless you have applied isometric training to your thigh and leg muscles using the resistance band, you have a huge reservoir of untapped muscular energy just waiting to be released!
In addition the thigh flexor muscles are also the primary muscle group responsible for sprinting speed - so by conditioning your thigh flexor for speed you will likely see improvements in your sprinting speed as well as your kicking abilities.
By doing the exercises the way we show you, you can’t help but improve your athletic performance.
Dr. Larry Van Such
Muscle Speed Expert
To see more or to order their program please visit: http://www.athleticquickness.com/kickingworld.html
CREATE A GAMEPLAN!
Do you think about where you want to be in your career as a kicker in a few months? Year? Years? I’m sure you all do. How do you intend on getting there? If you haven’t already, you need to develop a “game plan” for yourself. In it you should include your short and long term goals. Your short term goals would include anything in the coming year. For example, you may list that you want to be able to kick the ball into the end zone by the start of the season, or be able to kick a 40 yard field goal this year, or make every kick you take in next week’s game. Long-term goals could consist of seeing yourself as the starting varsity kicker next year, making the all-county team, or going on to college to be a kicker after you finish high school. All these goals are wonderful, the key question is, how do you plan on achieving them? To create your game plan, first make a list of your short and long term goals. Next, order them in priority from most to least important. Then, describe in detail what you plan on doing to reach each of your goals. Finally, hold yourself accountable to your game plan and make sure you stay on track to reach your goals!
-Brent Grablachoff
FOOTBALL-IMPROVE KICKING PERFORMANCE
http://www.personaltrainers.org/forum/post55.html
Have you ever wondered why you seem to have two left feet, or why you’re prone to hamstring strains when it comes to kicking a ball? And where you should look when you are about to put the ball in the net from the penalty spot? Although it’s something we take for granted, the ability to kick is like any other sports skill in that it can be developed and improved. And like other sports skills, improvement requires the correct mental, as well as physical, approach.
Using the mind to improve kicking
Mental training can play a vital role when it comes to improving kicking technique and one of the most important training methods is visualisation, which involves running through the performance of a sports skill in the mind. For this to be most effective, the skill should be practised at real speed; visualising a skill at slower speeds can be detrimental, as it can ‘pattern’ this skill in the brain at a ‘less than optimal’ velocity – ie the motor system becomes better at executing the action, but only at lower speeds.
When visualising a kicking skill, you should find a quiet spot, relax and run through it in your mind in varying conditions and states of fatigues. For example, an elite rugby goal kicker could visualise slotting the ball between the posts from a position that is least preferred (eg on the ‘wrong’ side of the posts), in the wind and rain, in front of a TV audience of millions and against particular opposition.
Regular visualisation will bolster confidence, physical practice and maximise the potential for successful kicking. To aid visualisation a ‘script’ can also be established. Basically, this is a set of instructions that the athlete runs through repeatedly in their mind as they visualise the kicking action.
Here is an example that could be used to support the visualisation used by a football penalty taker:
I will place the ball calmly and securely on the spot;
I will look at the goalkeeper to assess his position, inhale, and turn around and walk back nine steps;
As I do this, I will breathe out and remind myself of where I am going to place the ball;
I will pause, turn towards the goal, and look at where I am going to place the ball;
I will see the ball going into the net where I want it;
I will breathe in and slowly out before I start my run;
I will start my run;
I will strike the ball cleanly with the in-step of my foot, placing the ball to the left of the keeper, low and hard into the corner;
I will not lift my head or eyes until the ball is on its way into the back of the net.
VISUAL ACUITY
How does David Beckham bend it? The former England captain is one of the world’s greatest ball specialists. He has a unique kicking action, which has been attributed to his specific lower leg physiology, enabling him to give the ball more spin, curl and dip. His ability to wrap his kicking foot around the ball is enabled by his non-striking leg seemingly being able to bow almost stick-like, as he strikes the ball. This drives his kicking foot into the ball in a very unique manner.
Japanese researchers considered the latter in regard to short and long in-step kicks(2). Players were asked to aim at a target; the top three scorers were defined as the ‘high-score group’ (HSG) and the three low scorers were defined as the ‘low-score group’ (LSG). Analysis indicated that:
The HSG was characterised by longer ‘quiet eye’ durations (constant focus gaze) on the target prior to kicking;
The LSG spent less (quiet eye) time focussing of the target prior to kicking;
The HSG score group kept their eyes down for longer when they struck the ball, specifically keeping focused on a point between the ball and target.
This research corroborates the accepted wisdom of looking at the ball when kicking, and not where it is going to be kicked when striking it. This is to avoid lifting the head (and in the case of the research above raising the eyes), which alters the biomechanics and accuracy of the subsequent kick.
PREFERRED VS. NON-PREFERRED KICKING FOOT
Most of us have a preferred kicking foot and a team of researchers from Denmark have looked at the possible biomechanical reasons for this(3). Seven skilled soccer players performed maximal speed place kicks with their preferred and non-preferred leg. The kicks were analysed with high-speed video recording equipment. Among numerous variables, the rate of force development in the hip flexors and the knee extensors (quadriceps) was measured using a dynamometer.
Not surprisingly, higher ball speeds were achieved with the preferred leg. The researchers attributed this to higher foot speed at the point of ball impact and a consequential ‘better inter-segmental motion pattern’ (ie smoother kicking action). Specifically, in terms of muscle recruitment/action at foot-strike, this was related to the angular velocity of the thigh.
Research carried out on kicking in Aussie rules football also vindicates the importance of skill when it comes to kicking optimally with either foot(4). The researchers concluded that, ‘Kicking a football accurately with a certain velocity over a certain distance is dependent on the speed of the kicking foot and the quality of the contact between the foot and the ball – qualities that are primarily skills led.’
Any football player wanting to achieve parity between their kicking legs should therefore emphasise skill and, to coin a well used phrase in coaching, follow the mantra that ‘perfect practise makes for perfect performance’. They should also begin early, during the ‘skill hungry years’, between the ages of 8 and 12, when the body and mind can most rapidly learn the correct motor skills.
KICKING CONDITIONING
In most sports, improving strength and power improves performance. So does the same apply to kicking?
Greek researchers examined the effects of a football strength and technique conditioning programme on the kinematics (movement of the body/limbs) and electromyographic (EMG) muscle activity during in-step kicking(5). Ten amateur football players made up the experimental group (EG) while 10 other players served as controls.
The EG followed a 10-week football-specific training programme. This combined strength and technique exercises. All participants performed an in-step kick using a two-step approach. The researchers recorded:
Kinematics in the form of three-dimensional data;
EMG readings from six muscles in the swinging (kicking) and support legs prior to and after the training programmes;
Maximum isometric leg press strength;
10m-sprint performance;
Maximum speed on a bicycle ergometer.
The researchers discovered that compared to the controls, the EG improved significantly in relation to maximum ball speed and the linear velocity of the foot and ankle, and the angular velocity of all the joints during the final phase of the kick (it has been previously noted that faster foot speed/limb speed results in longer and more powerful kicking).
However, training had insignificant effects on EMG values, apart from an increase in the average EMG of the vastus medialis (thigh muscle that contributes to leg extension, ie kicking). Additionally, maximum isometric strength and sprint times were significantly improved after training. This lead the researchers to conclude that ‘…the application of training programmes using soccer-specific strength exercises would be particularly effective in improving soccer kick performance.’ However, not all the research backs this up.
Further research from Denmark considered three different 12-week strength training protocols on 22 elite football players. Four groups were established:
A high resistance (HR) group who performed 4 sets, 8 reps at 8RM loading;
A low resistance (LR) group who performed 4 sets, 24 reps at 24RM loading;
A loaded kicking movement group (LK) who performed 4 sets, 16 reps at 16RM loading (loaded kicking drills include those using elastic bungee or power chords, which wrap around the foot and allow the kicking action to be performed against resistance.);
A control group (CO).
When peak isokinetic, concentric and eccentric force was measured, the researchers discovered that isokinetic knee joint strength was unchanged in the LR, LK, CO groups. However, the HR strength training players experienced greater eccentric and concentric force generation capability when kicking. However, despite this apparent kicking strength gain, actual kicking performance estimated by maximal ball flight velocity was unaffected – contrasting with the findings of the Greek team.
This researchers concluded that only the heavy-resistance strength training induced increases in isokinetic muscle strength, and that the actual value of this training was likely to be more about injury prevention – specifically in terms of providing stability to the knee joint during fast extension (kicking) movements.
Thus it appears that experienced footballers can benefit from specific training, but the effects appear to be peripheral to the actual enhancement of kicking power. The heavy weight protocol does seem to offer a pathway to increased power but this may not translate directly into kicking distance due to the specifics of the kicking action and the high skill requirement. It seems therefore that (as with most technical sport skills) enhanced strength must be constantly married to technique if this is to translate into improved performance.
BEATING KICKING-INDUCED HAMSTRING INJURIES
Those involved in kicking sports are more prone to hamstring injury. A British team discovered that the incidence of hamstring injuries for top rugby players was 0.27 per 1,000 player training hours and 5.6 per 1,000 player match hours(9). On average, injuries resulted in 17 days of lost time, with recurrent injuries (23%) significantly more severe (25 days lost) than new injuries (14 days lost).
Second-row forwards sustained the fewest (2.4 injuries/1,000 player hours) and the least severe (7 days lost) match injuries. Running activities accounted for 68% of hamstring muscle injuries; however, injuries resulting from kicking were the most severe (36 days lost). Similar relatively high rates of hamstring strain have been discovered in professional football(10).
In the rugby study it was discovered that players who included Nordic hamstring exercises in addition to conventional stretching and strengthening exercises in their conditioning routines, had lower incidences and severities of hamstring injury during training and competition.
The Nordic hamstring exercise specifically develops eccentric strength in the hamstrings. This is important as it is during the ‘lengthening under load’ eccentric muscular action phase of numerous speed/power movements, including kicking when hamstring injuries are more likely. Researchers have in fact estimated that 85% of the energy involved in kicking at and after foot-strike is a consequence of the eccentric action of the hamstrings(11).
Conclusions
Specific conditioning methods seem to be slightly peripheral (particularly for experienced players), while high resistance weight training has its advocates and can be useful in terms of injury prevention, as can eccentric hamstring exercises. However, it appears that the biggest factor for improving kicking ability in terms of accuracy and distance are repeated, technically correct practices, with consideration paid to where to ‘look’. Mental training can also be highly beneficial.
EXERCISE BALL
Have you ever used that ball in the gym to do exercises? A few months ago I started to implement it into my workout routines to target my abs and my core. Ever since using it, my balance, strength, and control in my abs, hips, and back has improved drastically. I highly recommend buying one for your house or using one at the gym! In the complete guide to kicking & punting e-book I discuss all of the exercises kickers and punters should be doing and how to achieve full effectiveness.
Below I attached a chart indicating the correct size ball for your height. I recommend the 65cm size for most H.S. and older kickers and punters. If you are over 6'3" tall then get the 75cm. For youth kickers & punters you should get the 55CM size.
You can buy any brand, and most sports stores carry them like Sports Authority, Sports Chalet, Dicks Big 5, etc. You should be able to buy them for under $35.00 if you do your research.
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