You cannot talk about reducing your risk of groin strains or sports hernia or lower ab strains without including your ‘core’ in the conversation.
The muscles of your torso (abdominals/back) have fascial (connective tissue) integrations with the muscles of your groin (adductors/medial hamstrings).
They work together to stabilize and to generate and transmit forces.
They can also fail together when your off-ice training fails to functionally strengthen the entire chain. Failure to do so leads to weak links that are vulnerable to injury.
When you see an NHL goalie tear their groin, it is typically a reach with one leg combined with a rotation of the torso. It is THAT rotation that overloads the system and “pop” goes the groin.
So here is an off-ice goalie exercise to help you train that functional chain…
Key Points:
• It is not a big movement, it is not meant to be a big movement
• Do not use a heavy resistance; use a medium resistance at most
• Make sure you have proper footing so you can stand in a wide stance without your feet slipping
• Do 10-15 facing each way
Cheers,
Maria
PS – yes, you can use a resistance band instead of a cable column for this exercise, no worries at all.