Carolina Fitness Magazine - The Christmas Abbott Issue Fall 2015 | Page 21

Regarding mobility restrictions, I
always start where the athlete can. If
limited positioning does not allow a
safe break off the floor I find the place
where they can break the bar safely
using blocks, risers or plates. Let’s also
be honest. Overhead and front rack
mobility aren’t always, if ever perfect
either, especially in older and novice
athletes. I have come to expect some
form of mobility dysfunction in every
athlete. I teach and work hard to be
flexible, creative, and thoughtful as
those issues surface.
Most novice Weightlifters have thoracic spine and hip limitations that
disrupt their ability to set up with their
hips low, chest high and shoulders
back, the set up that I believe is most
advantageous for breaking the bar off
the floor. In my experience these limitations arise for a of couple reasons.
Generally, novice Weightlifters will
have a weak back and limited control
of their scapula. Contemporary life
style conditions don’t help this situation. For the most part many folks sit
at a desk most of the day, are on their
couch at night, drive their car to and
from, and any spare moment between,
sometimes during, are on their smart
phone. Each of these situations promotes positioning that restricts hip
range of motion and leads the shoulders to lurch forward.
To develop some range of motion in
the thoracic spine I have my athletes
lay on a double lacrosse ball, placing it
just below their ribs, and then spend
two or three minutes doing straight
arm passes that mimic snatching. You
can do these with a PVC pipe, light
barbell, or without. After two to three
minutes, move the ball up and repeat,
working all the way up to the top of the
spine and to the base of the traps.
Hip mobility is beneficial for a variety
of athletic and general health applications. However, for the purpose of
this article the goal is to push the knees
outward in the setup, giving the athlete
the ability to set up closer to the bar.
My favorite exercise to open the hips is
any variation of a banded distraction
stretch. Simply attach the thickest
band you can work with to a fixed
structure, step into it with one leg, and
then facing away from the structure
place the band as high as you can on

your hip. From this position lunge
forward w ]HY