Name: Playbook - TrickStrong RX - W2/D4 Dynamic Effort Day
Uploaded: 2023-11-08T15:55:23.538Z
Duration: 75 min
Description: W2/D4 Dynamic Effort Day

Stairs seems to be impossible  to me now after this

Nick

Lars

Let's get explosive!

No two workouts will be the same. The goal for Dynamic Effort Day each week is to train movements that develop our speed and explosiveness. We want to improve 'rate of force production' - a fancy way of saying that we want to produce a lot of force, quickly! This will translate to higher jumps, safer landings and heavier lifts 💪

•	Step 1: Warmup
•	Step 2: Explosive Pistol Squats
          - 10 x2
          - 90 sec rest between
•	Step 3: Plyometric drill of the day
•	Step 4: Finisher Circuit A 
•	Step 5: Finisher Circuit B

Don't skip the finishers! They are comprised of accessory lifts to further plug up weak links, improving athleticism and resilience.

The reps are a guideline. The hallmark of a good warmup is that you feel prepared to move!

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

This mobility drill fits perfectly into a warmup as a line drill. You can also do this throughout the day to improve hip flexor and quad length.  

Grab your knee with the same side hand, and with core engagement, hinge forward. 

You should feel a stretch in the quad and hip flexors, without feeling compression at the lower back.

Dynamic Quad Pull

Piriformis walks are excellent for a dynamic warmup or mobility session. Support your ankle and knee joints as shown.

Piriformis Walks

Knee To Wall Taps are great for ankle mobility. They help us to create stability and control within our movement.

This is where flexibility and mobility differ. The former is just a position you can get to, while the latter is a movement you OWN. 

Notice the direction of the toes here. They are pointing forward, which encourages us to move through our ankle joint rather than our foot.

Shifting your weight to the front leg loads your foot and ankle more and enhances the benefits if you can tolerate it. If this is too much, you can start by shifting your weight more towards the back leg or by doing this same motion from a kneeling lunge position.

The wall gives us a goal to reach that can be measured over time and can guide us in going just far enough. We want to avoid letting the heel come up off of the ground.

Knee to Wall Taps

Lateral Band Walks are great for developing lower body strength - especially in the glutes! These are also awesome for building total body coordination, endurance and stability.

Lateral Band Walks

This drill is helpful in improving ankle joint mobility - especially in improving dorsiflexion ROM. 

The belt or band is placed at the ankle crease right at the top of your foot (not on your shin)! 

If your setup allows for it, try to have the band angle downwards by putting your foot on an elevated surface. If not, parallel to the floor will still have plenty of benefit.

The band helps mobilize the ankle joint by allowing your tibia (shin) to translate forward on your fixed talus (ankle bone). 

Notice the direction of the toes here. They are pointing forward, which encourages us to move through our ankle joint rather than our foot.

Shifting your weight to the front leg loads your foot and ankle more and enhances the benefits if you can tolerate it.

Be sure that your knee is tracking over your second toe and not going too far inwards or outwards. 

You should feel no pinching or pain during this!

Optional: Banded Ankle Mobilization

The goal of banded hip mobilizations is to improve joint mobility of the hip. 

In traditional stretching, although the hip is moving, the muscles are primarily targeted.

This drill is useful if: 

1)	there is pinch or block sensation (usually when you are in a squat or otherwise flexed and/or internally rotated hip position

2)	You are plateauing or unable to get more ROM no matter how much mobility work you do
3)	Pain relief

*If you have excessive hip mobility or instability, this exercise is not for you as it will likely make your issue worse. 

With banded hip mobilizations, we use the band to bring our hip into certain positions so the joint can be stretched. 

This banded child's pose drill helps improve hip flexion.

You should not go to the point where you feel your pinch or block sensation as we are running into a joint block. 

Sets, reps and frequency should be gradually increased as tolerated as you can get sore from these drills.

Optional: Banded Hip Mobilization - Child's Pose

A primer prepares your body for the work at hand! Go light (or bodyweight) so you don't fatigue yourself. 

Lunge with even pressure through both legs. Pause with your knee at a hover and hold for a few seconds before rising. 

Focus on pushing through the big toes of both feet for increased stability.

Primer: Lunge Pause (2x5)

Desert Eagle Warmup

For the explosive pistol, squat on one leg with compression through your hips and knees. Your free leg should be raised in front of you as a counter balance. Make sure your heel is grounded and that your hip and knee track straight over your foot.

Once you've bottomed out, explode to a standing position as quickly as possible. However, don't go so fast that you break form. 

Remember, as long as we are training movement patterns to a degree where it is challenging (while good form is maintained) then we are golden! 

Modifications (reduced range of motion, pistol box squat, bulgarian split squat, hand assistance, etc) are all welcome here.

Explosive Pistol Squat (10x2)

The skier and it’s variations are amazing for building single leg strength, stability, explosiveness and change of direction ability in a safer, controlled environment. 

The band forces us to explode at takeoff and control our landing.


Skiers are a valuable exercise in preparing us to cut, pivot, take off and land in a 3 dimensional way as we often do in tricking and other athletics.

Modification: unbanded - simply jump from left to right leg repeatedly without the band

Plyo Drill Week 2: Skier Jump (4x5)

The finisher circuits are accessory lifts to further plug up weak links, improving athleticism and resilience. Pick a weight that is challenging but controlled. Each circuit will consist of 2 rounds, with 90-120 sec rest between rounds. Use minimal rest between individual exercises.

The standing clamshell is most effective with a looped band around both ankles (harder) or knees (easier).

Start on one leg with your knees slightly bent. 

The clamshell comes in when you spread your knees apart by raising one leg to the side. Notice how I am also externally rotating at the hip. My free knee faces outwards at the top of the rep. 

Drive this motion by squeezing your glutes together and maintaining that tension throughout the rep. Try not to let yourself arch in the lower back. Go to your available range of motion, which will improve over time. 

Once you have completed the clamshell, or hip opening movement, return with control to the original position.

Standing Clamshell

If you haven't been doing single leg calf raises, you will feel the difference not only in your calf, but in your foot and hip muscles as well. This is excellent for functional carryover to athletics as we are often pushing off on one leg.

Stress the negative by lowering slowly and past neutral by using a step, stair or slant board. 

This is great for injury prevention because it begins to mimic controlling landings and decelerating from cuts and pivots. 

Research shows eccentric exercises are extremely beneficial for tendon issues. This can be a great exercise for those with achilles tendon pain provided it is progressed appropriately.

Early on, using the minimum necessary hand assistance is a good way to build up to doing it without support.

Single Leg Calf Raise

The Copenhagen plank is an incredible but underutilized side plank variation with emphasis on the adductors. 

These muscles are located in the inner thigh and are often undertrained even though they are necessary for efficient athletic movement. They aid in single leg stability and transfer of power from the upper to lower extremities via several anatomical slings (Lateral, Anterior Oblique, etc.)

To do it right: 

1) Get into a sidelying position with your elbow stacked directly under your shoulder

2) Tensing your core, rise to a side plank with the bottom leg bent. Push into the ground using only your top leg to rise. If this is too much, assist in holding the position using your bottom leg. 

3) Be sure that your ear, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle are in line. Maintain a neutral spinal position

4) Hold this position for 10 seconds before returning to the starting position

Copenhagen Plank Hold

Finisher Circuit A (DE)

Hanging leg lifts are amazing for total body stability, including at the shoulder and the spine. This is also a great exercise to improve hip flexion strength. 

Simply drive your straight legs to your chest while keeping your shoulders engaged. The goal is to get your legs past parallel. 

Modifications: double knee to chest, single knee to chest, arms straight, unweighted, on back, on ground (if no pullup bar)

Aim to move only move at the hips, while keeping the spine neutral (not excessively arched or rounded)

Hanging Leg Lifts

The anterior tibialis muscle is important for foot and ankle stability. It has a massive role in decelerating us so we can convert our momentum from a horizontal run to a jump. We do this a lot in tricking during pivots. 

When contacting heel first, the anterior tibialis must slow the foot down so it can hit the floor with control. If its weak, we have "no brakes" and tend to get excess stress on the knees and hips to control that momentum.

For this exercise, try to raise your toes as high as possible and actively squeeze your shin muscles at the top of each rep. Lower with control.

If kettlebells aren't an option, do them standing against a wall. You can also try to (safely!) tie a dumbbell or plate to the bottom of your foot.

Anterior Tib Raises

Start in a plank position. Make sure your core is engaged, your wrists are stacked under your shoulders and your spine is in a relatively neutral position. 

From here, shift your weight to one side until you are able to transition to a side plank T position as shown. Hold for one second before returning to complete the other side. One rep is completing a T on both sides.

W2/D4 Dynamic Effort Day

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