Assessments and Corrections
Assessment #1: Overhead squat test
The overhead squat is probably my favorite assessment because it tests a lot of things at once. It tests ankle/calf mobility, hamstring mobility, thoracic mobility, and lat mobility. It also involves a squat and squatting movements are an important part of vertical jump training. If you can perform an overhead squat correctly chances are you can squat correctly while properly activating the correct muscles. Simply stand one foot length away from a doorjam or wall, take a broomstick or something similar, grasp it with your hands shoulder width apart, raise it overhead, and squat with your feet shoulder width apart - just like the following video.
Overhead Squat
In the overhead squat you want to meet the following criteria:
1. Hips below knees (break parallel)
2. Heels flat on floor and no wiggling of the feet
3. Knees over the feet
4. Stick shouldn't be touching the doorway or wall
5. Maintain neutral spine - no rounding of upper or lower spine
My upper back and neck posture could stand to be a bit more vertical in that video, but here is a video on addressing that and other common problems in the overhead squat. I recommend you do each correction once per day – two or 3x per day is even better.
Overhead squat correction
(note: holding something between your knees is optional and not 100% necessary)
Assessment #2: Inline lunge test
The inline lunge assessment tests ankle mobility, hip flexor mobility, and quadriceps mobility. You basically just put one foot directly behind the other in a straight line, hold a vertical stick behind your back, and lunge. The following video explains it:
Inline Lunge
In the inline lunge you want to meet the following criteria:
1. Minimal upper body movement when descending and rising(no leaning to the side or forward)
2. Feet in line one right behind the other - no accessory movement
3. Heel of front foot staying down
4. Back knee on ground right behind lead foot
5. Have someone watch your lower back as you descend into the lunge - your spine should stay in the neutral position without excessive arching.
And here is a video on correcting problems:
Inline Lunge Corrections
Assessment #3: Hip flexor mobility in isolation
You may have done fine on the inline lunge yet you might still benefit from lengthening the hip flexors. Hip flexor mobility is ultra-important for athletes because it enables us to more freely engage your glutes. The tighter your hip flexors are, the harder it is to properly activate your glutes, and vice-versa. In my experience the hip flexors are the one muscle that is tight in just about everyone. To test hip flexor mobility simply lay on your back, bring your knees into your chest, and keep one knee in while extending the other leg to the ground as follows:
Hip flexor assessment
Hip flexor correction
Assessment #4: Hamstring mobility
Hamstring mobility is important because it’s hard to squat correctly without it and tight hamstrings inherently put you at a disadvantageous athletic posture. The following video identifies how to test it:
Hamstring mobility assessment
Hamstring mobility correction
Assessment #5: Isolated ankle mobility
Having mobile ankles is important as it allows you to more freely utilize your plantar flexors and also takes stress OFF your knees. If your ankles are tight you’re inherently going to transfer more stress onto your knees. To assess your ankle mobility simply place the front of your foot 6 inches away from a wall and attempt to touch the wall with your knee while keeping your heel DOWN.
Ankle mobility assessment
Ankle mobility correction
Assessment #6: Glute activation
Earlier I discussed the importance of having a glute dominant hip extension pattern. Basically what this means is you want your glutes to be highly active when you squat, when you jump, when you run, or do anything really. The glutes are the biggest most powerful muscles in the lower body and truly can make or break an athlete’s success. Here is a simple assessment to determine if your glutes are active with hip extension. Simply lift the leg as in the video and see whether your glute or hamstring tightens up first.
Assessment:Glute activation assessment and correction
(note: If you have problems with glute activation I recommend you do 50 reps of the actual assesment drill per side per day.)
Correction: Glute activation correction
(note: on the above glute correction, assume a DEEP bulgarian split squat with your leg leg far enough out in front that your knee stays behind your toes. From that position pull BACK slightly with your lead leg, activating the lead side glute - attempt to hold for 60 seconds per side)
Assessment #6: Hip flexor activation
If your hip flexors are weak you can’t correctly engage your glutes and will tend to operate in an inefficient posture. I had severe hip pain yrs ago because I didn’t know the importance of having strong hip flexors. I spent all of a week performing hip flexor exercises and went out and did some sprints and for the first time in AGES I could feel my glutes working when I ran. On the following assessment keep your spine neutral or arched and try to lift your foot at least 3 inches off the ground.
Assessment: Hip flexor strength assessment
Correction: Hip flexor strength correction (hold for 10-20 seconds per side)
Assessment #7: Lower ab strength
The lower abs stabilize the pelvis. If your lower abs are weak you can correctly activate your glutes and more stress gets transferred onto your spine. What follows is an assessment test and progression for developing good lower ab strength. Simply lie on your back with your feet straight up in the air, then lower your legs to the ground while not allowing your back to arch up.
Assessment and correction: Lower ab assessment and correction
(note: On this drill work with whatever progression you can while lowering your feet all the way to the floor and keeping your back flat. The goal is to be able to perform the straight legged variety and lower your legs to a 30 degree angle off the floor.)
Quick Dynamic Warm-up
Skip: 25 yds x 3
High knee run: 25 yds x 3
Straight leg kick moving forward x 10 reps per side
Side lunge x 10 reps/side
Deep lunge moving forward x 10 reps per side
Sumo Squat x 10 reps
Pullback butt kick walking forward x 10 reps
Walking Forward Elbow to Foot x 10 reps/side
Go through each movement for 1-2 sets per move.
Plyometric Exercises
Ankle jump
Tuck Jump
Lateral Barrier Jump
bilateral line hop
Single leg line hop
Single response squat jump
Low box rebound jumps
Depth Jump Over Hurdle
Depth jump onto box
(note: In my experience most people training on their own don't have plyometric boxes. A simple weight bench as demonstrated above fits the bill nicely as a poor man's substitute.)
Alternate leg bounding
Single leg bounding
Strength-Speed and loaded Speed-Strength exercises
Dumbell 2 hand swing
Barbell jump squat variations
Barbell Skips
Learning the hang snatch
Learning the hang clean
Strength exercises
Barbell Squat
Romanian Deadlift
Barbell hip thrust
Poor Man's Reverse Hyper
Bulgarian Split Squat
Barbell calf raise
Single leg DB calf raise
Single Leg Deadlift Progression
Single leg squat progression
Single leg calf raise