Confesión Y Limpieza

Several stretches help make proper squat technique easier and more effec- tive. Execute stretching after a thorough warm-up. Perform these stretches as remedial work for the squat, both before and after you squat.

• Squat Stretch. The best range of motion or flexibility improvement activ-

ity for the squat is squatting itself. Perform the Squat Stretch by getting into the deepest squat you can achieve without losing proper form and staying in that position for a few seconds, letting your own weight assist the stretch. Ascend and repeat. If you do this stretch a few times every day or every workout, your muscles adapt within a few weeks and make the squat much easier to perform. You can also put on the weighted X vest for the Squat Stretch; the added weight helps increase the degree of stretch. To get a fuller hip stretch in this position, squat down with no weight on your back and, after you are at the bottom, use your elbows to push your knees outward. Hold for 5 seconds, ascend, and repeat as desired. • Stretch #9, Hamstring Stretch. Tight hamstrings cause your lower back

to round out at the bottom of the squat, straining your lower back. The most effective way to stretch the hamstring muscle group is to avoid toe touches and the Sit-and-Reach Stretch (which can tighten up your lower back) and perform instead the Hamstring Stretch, described in chapter 4, Warming Up and Cooling Down. Face the pool wall, place one foot on the pool wall and lengthen the back of your thigh while bending from your hip. The degree of hamstring flexibility determines how high you place your foot on the pool wall. If you cannot straighten your leg, your foot is too high. As you sink into the stretch, keep bend- ing from your hip, not your waist, and push your buttocks back as you bring your upper body down, with your back flat, in a straight line. • Stretch #10, Deep-Muscle Hip, Thigh, and Buttocks Stretch. Tight

hips respond to the Deep-Muscle Hip, Thigh, and Buttocks Stretch. If you have not done this stretch before, you may not be able to stretch very far at first. As you progress, the farther forward you lean with a flat back, the more you feel the stretch in the outside of your hip. Because this is a deep stretch, you get better results when you breathe deeply and relax. Keep your front shin (standing leg) vertical, and avoid curling under at the pelvis. Press your buttocks back.

• Calf Stretches #7 and 8. Focus on these calf stretches if you find your

heels rising as you lower your squat toward the floor.

• Stretch #1, Outer-Thigh Stretch. You can often alleviate pain on the

outside of your knee by stretching your iliotibial band, which is a long strip of mostly connective tissue that runs down the outside of the thigh from the hip to the knee. Although the tissue spans the length of your thigh, it is most often felt in the knee area, outside and just above. Run- ners are especially likely to be familiar with the pain of iliotibial band

Intensifying Workouts 139

irritation. You can relieve this knee pain by stretching and relaxing your hip abductor muscles, your gluteals, and your tensor fascia latae with the Outer-Thigh Stretch.

Plyometrics

Plyometrics is a term used to describe activities that enable a muscle to reach

maximal force in the shortest possible time. Simply stated, plyometrics are exercises that involve a jumping or leaping movement and include skipping, bounding, jumping rope, hopping, lunges, and jump squats. A practical defini- tion of plyometric exercise is a quick, powerful movement of lengthening and then shortening, called the stretch-shortening cycle—for example, jumping up and then drawing your knees to your chest and curling your torso into a ball.

Pushing your body upward explosively through water elevates your heart rate and trains your muscles to gain greater fitness using the principles of plyo- metrics. Pushing off the pool bottom and leaping—sideways, forward, straight up, or into a torso tuck—trains your muscles to marshal a great amount of force into one exertion. Repeating this exertion of force progressively overloads your muscles and cardiovascular system. Use plyometric techniques to activate your body’s energy systems and musculoskeletal structure in order to

1. advance fitness level and improve body composition; 2. increase muscle power;

3. enhance sport performance;

4. challenge your body to improve balance, coordination, and agility; 5. tone and strengthen muscles;

6. increase healing and conditioning in the final stages of injury rehabili- tation; or

7. add variety, challenge, and spice to your workout. Muscles contract in three ways:

• An eccentric muscle contraction occurs when your muscle contracts and lengthens at the same time. One example of an eccentric muscle contraction is when you lower yourself from a chin-up position. Your biceps (upper-arm) muscle contracts and lengthens as you lower yourself from the chin-up bar.

• A concentric muscle contraction occurs when your muscle contracts and

shortens at the same time. An example of a concentric muscle contrac-

tion is when you pull up into a chin-up position. Your biceps muscle contracts and shortens as you raise yourself up to the chin-up bar. • An isometric muscle contraction occurs when your muscle contracts but

does not change in length. An example of an isometric muscle contrac- tion is when you hang from a chin-up bar with your arms bent at 90 degrees. Your biceps muscle contracts but does not change in length because you’re not pulling up or lowering down.

The formal definition of plyometric exercise is one in which an eccentric (lengthening) muscle contraction is quickly followed by a concentric (shorten- ing) muscle contraction. In other words, when a muscle is rapidly contracted while being lengthened and then immediately followed with a further contrac- tion while being shortened. This process of contract and lengthen followed by contract and shorten is referred to as the stretch-shortening cycle.