3-D Hips: Power and Speed in Lacrosse

I enjoy writing, talking and teaching about 3-D Hips. I truly believe they are the power source of the body and it's usually the first place I go in the body if to look for dysfunction. Usually an hour or so with 3-D hip work, I can usually get pretty good results with better movement from an athlete. From there, we can really  develop more power and speed for their respective sport.

This summer I had the pleasure of working with one of my former athletes who is now at major university playing Lacrosse. At the beginning of the summer, Matt and I sat down and really discussed what he needed in terms of performance enhancement and what was expected of him in his position. From there, I took Matt through a basic evaluation to see where he was. This was not your typical max bench, squat, deadlift, etc tests. Functionally, Matt needed to be quicker and explosive not necessarily bigger/stronger. Don't get me wrong, he definitely needed to be stronger but  full-body functionally stronger.

I hesistate to use that word "functional" because has become very distorted. However, for lack of a better term, I will use it. For Matt, he needed to be able to move in all three planes of motions with mobility and stability which would translate to more power and speed. With this, he also needed to get a faster shot. Well, this was going to be fun.

The fun thing for me was not only observing Matt but going online and doing research on athletes who are powerful and fast and also had powerful and fast shots.  The name that kept coming up over and over again was Paul Rabil formerly of Johns Hopkins University. Well, I must have watched the Paul Rabil videos about 2 dozen times and every time, it was undeniable to me that this athlete was getting his power from HIPS! Was he involving his arms and torso? Of course he was but the generator of power, to me, began in his hips. Will doing wrist curls and all that business benefit a lacrosse player? Probably yes. I have had this discussion with many lacrosse players and I've come to the conclusion that it may help with the whipping of the wrists but inevitably we want to start and finish at the hips.

For Matt, we had to start a Level 1 as his 3-D Hip MOSTABILITY balance reach tests showed he was lacking.

Balance Reach Tests:

1. Right Leg Single Leg Balance with left foot anterior reach to end range at ankle height (Sagital)
2. Right Leg Single Leg Balance with left foot posterior reach to end range at ankle height (Sagital)
3. Right Leg Singe Leg Balance with left foot left lateral reach to end range at ankle height (Frontal)
4. Right Leg Single Leg Balance with left foot right lateral reach to end range at ankle height (Frontal)
5. Right Leg Single Leg Balance with left foot left rotation reach to end range at ankle height (Transverse)
6. Right Leg Single Leg Balance with left foot right rotation reach to end range at ankle height (Transverse)
7. Switch legs and repeat process

I find that numbers 4 and 6 are some of the most telling if an athlete will have any hip restrictions. Number 4 tests if they are able to move into the frontal plane on the same side hip. This motion is SUPER important as when we walk, jog and run as it allows the lateral hip musculature to econcentrically load and explode. This frontal plane lateral translation and rotation of the pelvis is lacking in most of the athletes I see and when I can get them loading in that plane, I see many compensations, especially with the groin muscles, melt away.

Number 6 is equally important as it test for hip internal rotation. Whoa! Imagine that: Frontal plane and Transverse planes are the most important!!! What many coaches and strength coaches see in walking, jogging and running is the sagital plane of forward and backward; however, if we are looking through 3-D Applied Functional Science, we know that the other two planes are as important or more important.

This wasn't the only test that Matt went through but it was my big clue into what we had to do. From there, we started the 3-D LUNGE MATRIX. Since Matt is a smart guy and a good athlete, he was able to pick it up in no time.

A Principle of Function is that it is Driven by Gravity, Mass, Momentum and Ground Reaction Forces. If we know this, we can use the strategy of using these drivers to increase function. We tweaked the Lunge Matrices by adding weights, speed, height of reaches, length of lunges, etc. However, we did not do any of this until Matt could perform the lunges with proper execution.  This is another bone I have to pick with many trainers and strength coaches. They will place artificial loads on the athletes who can barely do the movements without load and expect them to be able to perform. THAT'S CRAZINESS! That's having someone sprint before they can crawl!

The progression below is courtesy of Gary Gray, PT from The Hip Functional Video Digest series:

• Anterior Lunge with sagital overhead reach
• Lateral Lunge with sagital overhead reach
• Rotation lunge with sagital overhead reach

• Anterior Lunge with transverse reach to same side
• Lateral Lunge with transverse reach to same side
• Rotation Lunge with transverse reach to same side

• Anterior Lunge with transverse and flexion to same side
• Lateral Lunge with transverse and flexion reach to same side
• Rotation Lunge with transverse and flexion reach to same side

• Anterior Lunge with transverse and overhead reach to same side
• Lateral Lunge with transverse and overhead reach to same side
• Rotation Lunge with transverse and overhead reach to same side

As Matt was able to do the lunge progressions with more weight, speed and distance, he said his hips felt "more open" so when we progressed to do 3-D Speedwork, quick cuts, reverses, and shuffles as well as "first step" explosion were easier.

Athletic Enhancement is about progressions, and these progressions are germane to the individual. If we want our athletes to get better, look at their strengths and weaknesses and improve both.

We must look at the entire structure when we are looking to enhance performance of an athlete. Focusing on one area of the body will inevitably lead to limited results.

If you are looking for more power and speed in a car, you arent going to look at the steering wheel, windows or seats. You are going to look at the engine to see what it can do. If something is wrong with the engine in a Porsche, you are not going to get much out of it. It's the same with the body. The hips are the engine. The best thing about the hips is that if you can keep upgrading your them, you performance will improve as well.
Start with the lunge matrix progressions. See what you can get out of your hips. I guarantee if you give the hips the MOBILITY and STABILITY that they need, you will get results.

Happy Monday!

Will