Strive and Uplift Tips

RECOVERY

Recovery is as important as training, but did you know that there are many ways to recover? And that different kinds of recovery are better for different kinds of training/competing stresses? This Skyd article from Coach Ren Caldwell from Strive & Uplift breaks it all down for you! There’s a lot of good info including direction on how to do soft tissue work (don’t roll ON a painful spot, roll ADJACENT to it) and whether ice baths are really the best use of your limited time/resources at tournaments!

WARM-UPS

Quick game-day warm-up tip: static stretching like a hurdler’s stretch can reduce your on-field power! Choose dynamic (movement-based) movements instead, and make sure you warm up your breathing patterns and core engagement!  If you’re looking for a good dynamic warm-up for your team or yourself, you can find one in any of our virtual memberships for ultimate players! 

Check out this Exercise Demo video on heel kicks.

Best warm-up to do before squatting? It depends on where you’re tight, but we’re guessing your answer (like many ultimate players) is either “Hips!” and/or “Ankles!” If ankles are your big issue, try this one, where the focus is rummaging around in your ankle joints to open them up! If you’d like more range of motion in your hips, we love Coach Liz’s Bear Squats because they have a great core integration component! Try these out, and let us know if you notice a difference in your squat depth or strength! 

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HUCKS

Looking to improve your hucks? Try this half-kneeling thoracic mobility exercise in the gym or at home - movements like this create the functional range of motion and core control that help power up those big throws! 

HORMONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Every ultimate player (regardless of gender) should read this awesome article from our coaches Bert and Kira about hormonal considerations in training for ultimate! It’s possible to achieve peak performance no matter where a tournament fall during your menstrual cycle! This article (and the references within it) will give you the knowledge and understanding to modulate your nutrition, recovery, training and other aspects of your “whole athlete” self. And the more we know about ourselves, our teammates, the people we coach, and our community at large, the more support we can offer to bring everyone up! 

RETURN TO PERFORMANCE

We’re super excited about our Return to Performance program, dropping at the beginning of 2020! Coach Ren has been working for 2 years with two amazing PT’s, Deb Scheibe (recent USAU Hall of Fame inductee) and Catherine Nutting, to develop this program for anyone who is postpartum and ready to build themselves into a badass athlete! We’ll help you get from postural exercises all the way through plyometrics at your own pace, whether you had a kid last week or 10 years ago! 

SHOULDER MOBILITY

Why is shoulder mobility important for ultimate? And why does it matter that most ultimate players have a very different range of motion with their throwing shoulder? Well, running is supposed to be a symmetrical activity - if one arm can freely swing backwards and the other can’t, it’s going to throw off your running form! Also, limited shoulder mobility can mean getting skied because you don’t have that needed inch of overhead reach - it can also make you more susceptible to injury on layouts. Test your shoulder mobility, and read more about shoulder health for ultimate if you want to focus on improvement during the club off-season!

CORE WORKOUTS

Did you miss our latest Core Challenge, or wish you could’ve told a friend about it? We’ll soon be offering our Core Challenge as a product you can buy (and start) anytime! The goal of our core challenge isn’t to create a 6-pack, but to activate and integrate your core into the rest of your sport movement. Try this movement to challenge lateral knee stability, and focus on your core’s role to keep your hips stable! 

DRILLS

We’d like to give a shoutout to one of our favorite field drill, Colombian Tag (named because Sockeye learned it in Medellin in ‘08)! There’s a bunch of variations, but all of them train reaction speed, lateral power, hip turn and those coveted first three steps. Try it out at your next practice, or get a friend to run a track workout with you!

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