Dr. Amber and the R2P team showcase and discuss movements and exercises to help you Prepare, Perform, and Recover before and after your games.
RAISE THE BAR WITH US
PREPARATION
Prepping your body for a game or practice involves multiple components. Warming up your muscles with dynamic stretching, increasing your heart rate, and activating your shoulder/rotator cuff muscles!
STRETCHES
Go through these dynamic stretches baseline to second base for each movement. Lengthening your muscles while moving to allow them to prepare to run, throw, and hit!
MOVEMENTS
These movements will get your heart rate elevated while opening up your legs and shoulders!
These movements will get your heart rate elevated while opening up your legs and shoulders!
SHOULDER SPECIFIC
Specifically warming up your rotator cuff with these exercises will prep your arm for throwing and also help to maintain strength.
STRENGTH
Strengthening your body through workouts allows you to perform well and be strong with your softball movements. Your lower body, core and upper body are the 3 regions to focus on. Ideally resistance can be used through a set of bands or weights to add load to these exercises. Focus on completing the workouts 1-2x per week with 8-15 repetitions for each movement and 3 sets.
UPPER BODY
There are many muscles that surround your shoulders. Strengthening these muscles will help make your throws more fluid and reduce your risk of injuring your shoulder.
LOWER BODY
Legs are the power house of softball. Work all parts of your legs to increase strength in these areas to work towards generating more power!
CORE
Core and abdominals are part of the solid foundation that allows you to generate force with your throws and hits.
Core and abdominals are part of the solid foundation that allows you to generate force with your throws and hits.
RECOVERY
Recovery between games and practices is the key to feeling your best throughout practice. Two components of recovery are relaxing your muscles and maintaining flexibility.
SOFT TISSUE WORK
A small foam roller and a lacrosse ball are all you need to roll out the muscles in your arms, hips and legs to reduce muscle tension between games and practices.
A small foam roller and a lacrosse ball are all you need to roll out the muscles in your arms, hips and legs to reduce muscle tension between games and practices.
ACTIVE RECOVERY
These stretches will help your muscles relax and get back to a baseline mobility level so you can jump into the next game or practice without feeling tight. Having the necessary flexibility will allow you to perform your best!
WHEN SHOULD I SEND MY ATHLETE TO PHYSICAL THERAPY?
Parents and coaches should consider consulting a physical therapist for their youth athlete when the individual is experiencing pain, swelling, or decreased/painful movement. All of these items can then lead to a decrease in normal ability to perform daily activities or sport participation. Not only do PTs treat injury but they are movement specialists and can help determine areas of your body that may be limiting your performance. Here are some instances to consider consulting a PT:
- A new injury that occurred during an activity, often a sprain or strain
- A pain that has developed over time with no specific incident and causes discomfort during or after activity
- A constant reoccurrence of a minor injury that only slightly limits participation (ie. reoccurring ankle sprains)
- Concussion or head injury with lingering symptoms
- Post-operative care
- Inability to feel recovered after a series of practices or games
- Flexibility limiting every day activities or performance
- Seeking a movement assessment to learn areas of limitation that may contribute to future injury
SHOULDER STRETCHES
WARMING UP
HIP & SHOULDER WARMUP
Check out these free resources and educational material from ACL Programs and Concussion Care, to Female Health and other Sport Specific Videos. More content is being produced as we speak!
BE READY 2 PERFORM!
Rehab 2 Perform is a Fitness Focused Physical Therapy & Sports Rehab Company 8 locations in the DMV.
Through an Evidence Based and Modern Approach to Physical Therapy, R2P serves the Active Adult, Competitive Athlete, and those looking to be more Active by focusing on movement, functionality, and not necessarily on pain. We will have you Ready 2 Perform!
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