Many strength coaches typically recommend multi-joint exercises such as the squat, bench press, overhead press, power clean and others for development of the major muscles. By major muscles I mean the gluteus maximus, hamstrings, pectoralis major, quadriceps, and latissimus dorsi.
Thus it stands to reason that the development of these major muscles can enhance the athlete’s performance. However, it’s important to understand that as the level of development increases, the closer the athletes become in their quality of performance. At this time the victors will often be those who pay the most attention to the nuances or details of their development.
Since time is precious, many athletes will tend to neglect the lesser muscles. This can be a big mistake, as many of them can be incorporated into the workout without taking up any extra time. It will usually require just a slight modification in the execution of the exercise.
In fact, many of the lesser muscles can be developed at home during the athlete’s leisure time. The smaller muscles recuperate very fast and will usually not affect the major workouts.
The development of some of the smaller muscles can also help prevent injury. For example, many shoulder problems are due to weak rotator cuff muscles. Such muscles are not developed in typical bodybuilding or conditioning exercises. Yet the football quarterback, and baseball pitcher and javelin thrower must have a well-developed rotator cuff not only to prevent injury but to create greater force in the throwing action.
These muscles must also be exceptionally strong for other sports such as tennis (the service), volleyball (spiking), and golf (arm rotation and follow-through). Unfortunately, the rotator cuff muscles are relatively small and situated deep inside the shoulder making it difficult to observe their development.
Many injuries to the wrists are usually caused by weak forearm and finger muscles. Carpal tunnel syndrome is an increasingly common injury in continuous weight training, in some forms of aerobic training and in repetitive motion jobs. This appears to be the disease of the new century. It is hitting not only athletes, but word processors, dental hygienists, assembly line workers, grocery store checkers, butchers, carpenters and people in many other occupations.
The development of the finger, hand and forearm muscles are particularly critical in the throwing and hitting sports. By developing a stronger grip, the athlete may find it easier to hold a bat or racket more firmly during contact creating more force in the hit while safeguarding the fingers, hands and wrists against injury. Individual finger strength can produce more force in throwing and give the athlete even more accuracy.
Most of the common ankle sprains that occur in sports can be prevented by developing muscles on both sides of the ankle; i.e., the muscles on the sides of the shins. Some of these muscles play a major role in sports that involve running and jumping they are needed in cutting and pivoting actions.
Runners also need well-developed ankle and foot muscles as well as good anterior shin muscles, especially the tibialis anterior. These muscles are important in the prevention of shin splints and balanced development of the calf muscles.
Development of the muscles that cross the sides of the ankle joint are essential in lateral stability of the ankle. They prevent the foot from excessive abduction or adduction. Some of these muscles are also important in helping maintain the arch of the foot which acts as a shock absorber and energy returner in running.
Obviously, development of the smaller and finer muscles is critical to athletes in almost all sports. Several common exercises can help develop these muscles.
For the forearms the athlete can do the following exercises: wrist curls and reverse curls. Equally valuable are exercises such as ulna and radial flexion with the Strength bar that duplicate the wrist break in batting, tennis slice serve, golf swing, etc. Also important is supination and pronation with the Strength bar that occur in almost all throwing and hitting actions.
Some of the best exercises for the fingers, that will automatically also affect the forearms and wrists — since the major muscles that control the fingers are located in the forearm — are done with Exer Rings. The rings are most beneficial since with their use you can duplicate all the actions of the fingers against resistance. You can develop stronger hand or individual finger grip or strength individual fingers for gripping or when rehabbing.
Toe raises are recommended for the front side of the lower leg (shins). For abduction and adduction of the foot we have found the best exercises to be abduction and adduction with the Total Athlete System™.
For the rotator cuff, one of the best exercises is the T-bench medial rotation that I created for pitchers and quarterbacks. It is done with the Total Body System™ or with dumbbells For the lateral rotators, lateral rotation, with dumbbells, with the forearm hanging vertical and the upper arm supported across a bench.
Keep in mind that most injuries occur to the weakest muscles, usually the small and relatively “insignificant” ones. But you must understand that no muscle is truly insignificant. All involved muscles are important and can be developed in different exercises.
Coaches should make these exercises an integral part of their athletes’ early training program before beginning high-intensity work. The muscles should be developed sufficiently to enable your joints to withstand the stress.
For details on how these exercises are best executed, see Kinesiology of Exercise. For additional information on some of the exercises, read Explosive Basketball Training.