24 Jul Horizontal Row Performance Exercise
Program design for the recreational to professional athlete and every individual between adheres to certain training principles. This concepts holds true for every component of a strength and conditioning program. Each component within a training program should have a specific purpose and goal in terms of training response.
Resistance training has the goal of increasing the strength components of the neuromuscular system. This is achieved by placing the kinetic chain under duress. This state of “duress” is achieved by challenging the muscular system to perform more work than accustomed too. Over time this overload on the muscular system causes adaptations within the kinetic chain. These adaptations are in the form of increases strength and potentially hypertrophy.
Now recognize the process of overloading the neuromuscular system for strength gains of the athlete or weekend warrior elicits the concept of functional training. Functional training is simply exercises and programming with a purpose. Exercises, training programs, and strength training exercises need to be purposeful for the athlete. Referencing Mike Boyle functional training incorporates balance and proprioception. We need to develop purposeful strength for the athlete, and this is achieved via the use of total body, proprioceptively challenging, multi-joint, and multiplanar exercises. Isolated, single joint exercises are very non-functional and not very useful for the athletic population.
A very simple process of accomplishing the implementation of developing functional strength within the kinetic chain is training upper body push strength, upper body pull strength, lower body push strength, and lower body pull strength. Utilizing this concept implements multi-joint, total body, and multiplanar exercises in a simplified format addressing the needs of the athletic population.
Don’t think of muscles but rather movement patterns and developing strength in movement patterns. This keeps it simple and accomplishes the goal of strength training for the athlete. An example of an upper body horizontal pull exercise is the Horizontal Row with Exercise Ball.
Improves Your: Upper body horizontal pull strength
Target Area: Posterior chain of upper body
Why Its’ Important: Optimal performance in athletic actions requires the development of functional strength within the kinetic chain. This is achieved by a comprehensive strength training program incorporating exercises which are multi-joint, proprioceptively challenging, and multiplanar. Accomplishing this goal can be achieved via the implementation of strength training exercises training movement patterns rather than isolated muscles.
The Common Problem: The athlete or individual utilizes non-functional, single joint, isolated exercises and modalities. These exercises and modalities do not develop usable strength for the athlete or individual.
The Solution: Implement functional exercises into the strength training component of the athlete’s training program.
Horizontal Row with Exercise Ball
Set Up:
- Place an Olympic bar on a squat rack at a height where you are able to hang underneath it
- Lie flat on your back with the bar directly above the chest, legs straight, feet together, and torso rigid
- Place your feet directly on top of a stability ball and grasp the bar with both hands shoulder width apart pulling the body slightly off the floor
Action:
- Pull the upper body towards the bar keeping the feet in place and the legs straight
- Continue to pull upward until your chest is touching the bar
- Pause slightly, return to the starting position of the exercise and repeat
- Keep the torso and legs straight throughout the exercise
About Performance Coach Sean Cochran: Sean Cochran, one of the most recognized performance coaches in sports today. A career spanning positions with 2 major league baseball organizations, over 10 years on the PGA Tour and work with top professionals including three-time Masters, PGA, and British Open Champion Phil Mickelson, future hall of fame Trevor Hoffman, and Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy provides Sean a proven track record of success. He has been involved in the production of numerous performance videos and authored books including; Performance Golf Fitness, Complete Conditioning for Martial Arts, and Fit to Hit. He has been a presenter of educational seminars for numerous organizations including the world renown Titleist Performance Institute.