I was talking with Tristan last week, he had a strained hamstring – that is never cool. He had to sit out practice, miss at least one start and it looked like he would even miss all his starts at the tournament this past weekend.
Think of all those opportunities lost.
How many scouts at that big tournament never got to see him play?
He will be fine and there will be other tournaments, but he plays at a pretty high level and he is on the bubble to make a big leap up to the next level for next season, so he wants to capitalize on every opportunity.
When I asked what happened, he said it was just a routine save from his butterfly – he kicked out his left leg and felt a “pop” up high on his hamstring. I never like to hear things described as a “pop”, but it sounded like it wasn’t THAT bad.
Even by the time I talked with him a few days after it happened he was going about his daily activities pain free. He was lucky… but he was still off the ice.
After a few more questions, I discovered the mistake he made that probably set him up for that injury.
…not Tristan – – just like the picture 🙂
He mentioned that he had been working on his splits in the two days before the injury.
When I asked “what were you doing to work on your splits?”
He said, “I was just really spending a lot of time every day trying to get down into the splits. Before I go on the ice I really try to stretch into my splits” – – – ah HA!
That explains it!
He was committing the most common mistake goalies make when they are working on their flexibility… he was stretching his muscles into a position of WEAKNESS leaving him vulnerable to strains, tweaks and full on tears.
That is what happens when you stretch a muscle. Muscles are weak when they are in a lengthened position. You have to use specific protocols in your mobility and strength training to teach your body how to control that specific muscle pattern in a lengthened position.
Lengthening a muscle is totally fine – – as long as you are doing the things to build strength and control in that new range of motion. Make sense?
Yes, it does make sense, but you still probably don’t know what to do so you don’t end up like Tristan. This article and video explain it to you really nicely >> get it HERE
If you just want to cut to the chase and have me show you exactly what to do for your off-ice training every week, then you should click HERE – – right now you can even get access to everything for $1 (not a typo… only $1).
Have a good one!
Maria