Name: Playbook - TrickStrong RX - Improve Your Toe Touch + Pike Mobility ✅
Uploaded: 2025-04-08T19:59:02.082Z
Duration: 20 min
Description: Improve Your Toe Touch + Pike Mobility ✅

Are you the type that has never been able to touch their toes? Maybe you want a stronger pike position for certain skills. Either way this 20 minute active mobility session will help you do just that!

In Toe Touch Mobility, we incorporate drills addressing different aspects of our ability to pike and fold, including spinal mobility, end-range hip strength, hamstring mobility, core strength and nerve mobility. 

Our comprehensive approach is more likely to help you achieve your goal - especially if you have only focused on hamstring stretching in the past.

By the end of this workout, you should see some noticable improvement in your range of motion.
Take a before and after video as a fun way to mark your progress! Share it with us @trickstrong for a feature 💪

To keep your improved mobility and strengthen your pike position, do this 1-3x per week. 

Time Tip: Try fitting this into your routine as a warmup or cooldown to some of your workouts during the week 🙌

Initial Test (Take a "before" video to mark progress)

Get into a quadruped position. Slowly alternate between arched back to rounded back positions, feeling movement at each vertebrae.
 
Look up as you arch, look down as you round and push through your arms.

With Cat Camel, we are training spinal mobility and hip/spine dissociation, which is important for proper articulation with movement. We want each segment of your spine to be able to move and interact with each other. Typically after injury, segments of the spine have reduced range of motion. 

The old adage – if you don’t use it, you lose it – applies here. 

Our ability to compensate and use only certain parts of our spines can trick us into thinking we are more mobile than we are. These areas that have forgotten how to move can lead to other issues if left unaddressed.

Cat Camel

This advanced exercise is a staple for enhancing spinal mobility and strengthening the posterior chain, including the lower back, hamstrings, and glutes. 

Begin by standing upright on the floor or a stable elevated platform, such as a box or step. Ensure your feet are positioned at hip-width. With your legs as straight as possible, slowly start to curl your spine downwards, vertebra by vertebra, beginning from the neck. Allow the weight of your body to gently pull your upper body toward the ground, keeping the motion controlled and deliberate.

Descend as far as your mobility allows without discomfort, aiming to reach below your feet. It’s crucial to maintain a slow pace to fully engage the muscles along your spine and the back of your legs. Pause at the bottom of the movement to deepen the stretch.

To return, reverse the curl slowly, realigning your spine from the lower back up to the neck, until you are back in the starting upright position. Keep your core engaged throughout the exercise to protect your spine and enhance stability.

As your flexibility and strength improve, feel free to gradually add hand-held weights to challenge the muscles further.

Regular incorporation of the Jefferson Curl into your routine can lead to improved flexibility, a stronger back, and better posture. Always perform this exercise with caution, especially if you have existing lower back issues. 

Modifications: Cat-Camel, Half-kneeling Hamstring Stretch, Seated Jefferson Curl

Jefferson Curls Progression (Bodyweight)

This is a great drill to include in a warmup, core or mobility circuit. 

This combines the benefits of a downward dog stretch with a dynamic plank. Inch worms are excellent for total body mobility, stability and coordination.

Inch Worms

This mobility drill fits perfectly into a warmup as a line drill. You can also do this throughout the day to improve hamstring length and to reduce lower back tension. 

Lead with a straight leg and hinge from the hips while sitting your butt back. Arch your lower back when doing this. 

Another tip is to imagine that you are "scooping water" with your hands.

You should feel a stretch in your hamstring without feeling pain at the lower back, calf or feet.

Hamstring Walks

These are designed to enhance the mobility of the sciatic nerve and can relieve tightness or pain along the back of the leg. The progression moves from the Sciatic Nerve Glide to the Sciatic Nerve Tensioner. Do the highest progression of this exercise that you can without pain. Modify by introducing a soft knee bend if needed. 


Sciatic Nerve Glides: 

Begin by sitting on a chair with your back straight and feet flat on the floor. Extend one leg forward with your toes pointing upwards. As you perform this movement, gently tilt your head back to look upwards. This position slightly reduces the tension on the sciatic nerve, making it a gentler introduction to nerve gliding. The movement should be smooth, focusing on the sensation of a gentle pull rather than any sharp or painful sensations. Return to the starting position and repeat several times, maintaining a rhythm that avoids increasing nerve tightness or pain.

Sciatic Nerve Tensioners:

Once you are comfortable with the Seated Sciatic Nerve Glide and can perform it without increasing tightness or symptoms, progress to the Seated Sciatic Nerve Tensioner. From the same seated position, extend one leg forward with the heel on the floor and toes up. As you extend your foot towards the ceiling, simultaneously tilt your head downward, looking towards your lap. This adjustment increases the tension along the sciatic nerve more than the Glide. Perform this movement gently and stop if you experience any sharp or shooting pains. Similar to the Glide, use an on-off approach where you hold the position briefly before returning to the start position, then repeat.

The goal is to gently increase the nerve's mobility and tolerance to movement without provoking pain. Progress from the Glide to the Tensioner should be based on comfort and absence of adverse symptoms. Regular practice can lead to improved nerve mobility and a reduction in discomfort associated with sciatic nerve mobility issues, enhancing overall flexibility.

Sciatic Nerve Glides

This interesting exercise, playfully named for its resemblance to Michael Jackson's iconic forward lean, targets spinal mobility, hamstring flexibility, nerve mobility, as well as core and posterior chain strength.

Begin by securing a resistance band around your hips, attaching the other end to a stable anchor point behind you to create tension. Walk to a small elevation, such as a weight plate or a low step. Put the front half of your foot on the surface to elevate toes. This position will naturally tilt your body forward slightly and put your ankle in dorsiflexion, which increases nerve mobility and core activation. 

With your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent, engage your core and keep your back straight. Initiate the movement by pushing your hips back as if you're trying to close a door with your glutes. Allow the tension from the band to pull you gently backwards, increasing the stretch in your hamstrings and the load on your posterior chain.

Descend until your upper body is facing your legs, or as far as your hamstring flexibility allows. 

To return, drive your hips forward, engaging your glutes and hamstrings to pull back to the starting upright position. Perform the exercise in a controlled manner, focusing on the tension in the muscles rather than the speed of the movements.

"MJs" are excellent for athletes looking to enhance performance through improved lower body flexibility and strength. They also serve well for anyone aiming to improve their overall mobility and core stability. Start with a lighter resistance to master the form and gradually increase the tension as you become more comfortable with the movement.

The windmill is an amazing exercise for combining the hip hinge movement pattern with spinal rotation, which not only trains our core and shoulder stability, but also lengthens our hamstrings, thoracic spine, pecs and neck. 

Think about why we would need this movement pattern as tricking athletes. Owning this movement creates more stability in tricks such as touchdown raiz, gumbi, sideswipe – any move that loads through the hips with spinal rotation.  

You can begin this with soft knees, and progress to straight knees which will stretch the hamstrings. Notice how I turn my feet away from my overhead arm about 45 degrees to allow room for the rotation. 

Look towards your overhead arm the entire time. As you maintain core rigidity, load your shoulder in line with gravity by aiming the weight directly at the ceiling.
Avoid excessive shrugging and trunk sagging.

Modifications: dumbbells, unweighted, medicine ball

KB/DB Windmills

This L-Sit Progression shows the development from a Supported V-Sit to the full L-Sit, focusing on enhancing compression strength—crucial for getting a stronger and deeper pike shape. This progression focuses on improving lower abdominal and hip flexor strength. We will hold for 5-10 seconds per repetition

Supported V-Sit
Begin in a seated position with your legs extended in front of you. Place your hands on the floor beside your hips, using the floor, blocks or parallettes for support. Engage your core and press down into your hands, lifting your legs off the ground. Straighten your knees as much as your flexibility allows. This supported position helps you build the initial strength and stability required for the more challenging L-Sit.

L-Sit Isometric
Once you have mastered the Supported V-Sit, transition to the full L-Sit. Start in the same seated position with legs extended. Place your hands beside your hips on the floor or on parallettes. Press down firmly, straighten your arms, and lift your entire body off the ground. Extend your legs forward and elevate them as high as possible, aiming to form a 'L' shape with your body. The goal is to lift your legs close to chest level, maintaining them parallel to the ground or higher, while pushing the floor away to activate the back, core and hip flexors intensely.

This sequence is ideal for gymnasts, dancers, and anyone looking to improve their control and efficiency in pike positions and similar movements.

L-Sit Progression

This portion should be approached as a playful exploration of your mobility, especially in forward fold and pike positions. Treat this not as a strict exercise but as a fun and relaxed period of mobility training. Set aside 3-5 minutes to explore your movement limits in various positions.

Start with a timer set for 3-5 minutes, ensuring you have enough space to move around comfortably. Begin in a standing position, gently reaching toward your toes. Don’t focus too much on perfect form, such as keeping your knees straight; instead, pay attention to how your body feels and where you find tension.

Explore these variations during your session:

Elephant Walks (Bend One Knee at a Time): As you fold forward, alternate bending each knee while keeping the other leg straight. This "walking" motion helps loosen the hamstrings differently on each side and adds a dynamic element to the stretch.

Seated Forward Fold: Transition to a seated position on the floor with legs extended. Reach toward your toes, exploring the stretch from a different angle and focusing on the lower back and hamstrings.

Posterior Weight Shift Wall Drill: Stand a foot or two from a wall, facing away. Bend at the hips and try to touch the wall with your butt, keeping your legs straight. This movement emphasizes the proper weight shift, crucial for deepening the forward fold.

Wide-Legged Forward Bend: Spread your legs wide while standing, then bend forward at the hips. This variation stretches the inner thighs and hamstrings, providing a different aspect of mobility.

Squat to Forward Fold: Perform a deep squat, and from this position, extend your legs to transition into a forward fold. This combination works both the squatting and folding motions, engaging your entire lower body.

Switch between these variations fluidly, staying as long or as briefly as you like in each position. The aim is to keep your movements gentle and free from any painful sensations. Focus on breathing deeply throughout.

Improve Your Toe Touch + Pike Mobility ✅

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