It is great to see all the attention now being focused on hip rotation and the role that it plays in throwing and hitting actions. I have been emphasizing the role of hip rotation in many skills for over thirty years so it is especially nice to see that this important action is now being addressed by coaches and equipment companies.
As the saying goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” so in many respects I feel good about the attention being focused on hip rotation. There are even companies that have imitated the hip belt and hip exercise that I developed for strengthening the muscles involved in hip rotation. Sadly, they do not present a totally accurate picture.
In addition, they have yet to accurately imitate the exercises that I developed to improve the speed and power of hip rotation by strengthening the hip rotary muscles. Nor have they been able to duplicate the weight shift and hip rotation combination which is really the key to more explosive power in hitting and throwing.
To do these hip exercises you need Active Cords. The Active Cord set contains a non-slip hip belt with 4 metal D-rings spaced equally around the belt for attachment of the cords in different places. This makes it possible to execute different exercises as they are executed when performing the skill in competitive conditions.
This is where the imitations of my exercises do not stand up to scrutiny. They hold the athlete in a fixed position while he rotates the hips against the resistance of a belt, usually placed around the waist, which decreases the strength development of the hip rotational muscles.
There is no doubt that you can gain some strength by doing this, but it is not totally sport specific and the results will not be long-lasting once the athlete gets into game situations. In addition, the athlete assumes a stationary position and rotates the hips with the weight equally distributed on both feet. This rarely occurs in most throwing and hitting sports.
But for a successful throw or hit the athlete must be able to shift his weight and then execute hip rotation to duplicate the sports skill. You will not be able to do this on the machines. Also, most often you will find rotation around the spine, rather than the front leg for the most powerful axis of rotation. To get a different axis of rotation, however, you must do the exercise with the use of Active Cords.
You can use the Active Cords in just about any setting as long as you have something to which you can attach one end of the cord. For example, the cords can be used on a field by clipping them on to a fence or a fence post to do the exercise. (All cords come with metal dog clips which make it easy to attach and detach very quickly).
After doing the exercise, as for example in a plyometric fashion, the athlete can then go into execution of the total skill on the field while the muscle memory is still very active. This reinforces the learning and the athlete improves much more quickly. It is also a great way to develop speed as the exercises are adapted to overspeed training.
With the Active Cords you can also do many other exercises that are not possible with the belt resistance exercises that others are proposing. To execute their exercises you must be in a gym (or wherever the apparatus is set up) and remain in place. This arrangement does not allow you to also do exercises such as side and front lunges which are also critical in many, if not most, hitting and throwing actions.
There are many other features that can be mentioned to show the superiority of using Active Cords in comparison to the belt exercises developed by other companies. Perhaps even more importantly for many coaches and athletes, is that Active Cords cost much less! For less money you get many more benefits and greater ease of use.
It is great to see all the attention now being focused on hip rotation and the role that it plays in throwing and hitting actions. I have been emphasizing the role of hip rotation in many skills for over thirty years so it is especially nice to see that this important action is now being addressed by coaches and equipment companies.
As the saying goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” so in many respects I feel good about the attention being focused on hip rotation. There are even companies that have imitated the hip belt and hip exercise that I developed for strengthening the muscles involved in hip rotation. Sadly, they do not present a totally accurate picture.
In addition, they have yet to accurately imitate the exercises that I developed to improve the speed and power of hip rotation by strengthening the hip rotary muscles. Nor have they been able to duplicate the weight shift and hip rotation combination which is really the key to more explosive power in hitting and throwing.
To do these hip exercises you need Active Cords. The Active Cord set contains a non-slip hip belt with 4 metal D-rings spaced equally around the belt for attachment of the cords in different places. This makes it possible to execute different exercises as they are executed when performing the skill in competitive conditions.
This is where the imitations of my exercises do not stand up to scrutiny. They hold the athlete in a fixed position while he rotates the hips against the resistance of a belt, usually placed around the waist, which decreases the strength development of the hip rotational muscles.
There is no doubt that you can gain some strength by doing this, but it is not totally sport specific and the results will not be long-lasting once the athlete gets into game situations. In addition, the athlete assumes a stationary position and rotates the hips with the weight equally distributed on both feet. This rarely occurs in most throwing and hitting sports.
But for a successful throw or hit the athlete must be able to shift his weight and then execute hip rotation to duplicate the sports skill. You will not be able to do this on the machines. Also, most often you will find rotation around the spine, rather than the front leg for the most powerful axis of rotation. To get a different axis of rotation, however, you must do the exercise with the use of Active Cords.
You can use the Active Cords in just about any setting as long as you have something to which you can attach one end of the cord. For example, the cords can be used on a field by clipping them on to a fence or a fence post to do the exercise. (All cords come with metal dog clips which make it easy to attach and detach very quickly).
After doing the exercise, as for example in a plyometric fashion, the athlete can then go into execution of the total skill on the field while the muscle memory is still very active. This reinforces the learning and the athlete improves much more quickly. It is also a great way to develop speed as the exercises are adapted to overspeed training.
With the Active Cords you can also do many other exercises that are not possible with the belt resistance exercises that others are proposing. To execute their exercises you must be in a gym (or wherever the apparatus is set up) and remain in place. This arrangement does not allow you to also do exercises such as side and front lunges which are also critical in many, if not most, hitting and throwing actions.
There are many other features that can be mentioned to show the superiority of using Active Cords in comparison to the belt exercises developed by other companies. Perhaps even more importantly for many coaches and athletes, is that Active Cords cost much less! For less money you get many more benefits and greater ease of use.
Thank You Dr. Mike
Was a student of yours in the 80’s, saw you again at Ramona HS where I was working. Still teaching and coaching and learning. Thank you!