Protecting that Knee, PART 2 - ACL Warm-Up

ACTIVE DYNAMIC WARM-UP AND INJURY PREVENTION

Too often a traditional warm-up for a soccer practice or a game is a jog around the field followed by static stretching, ball drills, and small side games. The objective being to progressively get the athletes ready for practice or game. Instead of the traditional warm-up, a progressive Active-Dynamic Warm-Up during the initial 10-20 minutes can be more beneficial for the athlete’s total development. The Active-Dynamic Warm-Up is composed of purposeful active movement that progressively readies the body for practice or competition while stressing biomotor abilities (strength and power, coordination, speed and agility, flexibility and dynamic mobility, balance and stability, and fitness) that are foundational for improved performance and injury prevention.


A concern for injury prevention might be the most persuasive reason for structuring an Active-Dynamic Warm-Up into the practice. Soccer requires starting/stopping, cutting, jumping, and other high force maneuvers that have high incidences of ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injuries. Shockingly, several studies have found that girls have three to eight times more ACL injuries than boys depending on the sport and more than seventy percent of these injuries are non-contact related. There are numerous theories as to why this occurs including finding that female athletes tend to be quadriceps dominate and have weak hamstring muscles. Because of these imbalances, forces within the knee when decelerating from a jump or sprint were much higher in those athletes with less active hamstrings. Studies have shown that injuries were decreased significantly when female soccer players perform certain exercises and drills during their warm-up.

Next time, we will discuss the warm-up exercises you can do to get that knee warmed up and helping prevent injury.

Protecting that Knee, PART 1 - ACL Fitness Program

In 1972, legislation known as Title IX of the Educational Amendments was enacted enabling women to participate in academic and athletic events without gender bias. Today, more than two and one half million girls participate in high school sports compared to three hundred thousand in 1972. Coinciding with increased participation has been an increase in knee injuries, especially Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries.

The ACL is one of four major ligaments in the knee and its function is to stabilize the knee keeping the lower (tibia) and upper (femur) leg bones from moving too far from each other, either forward or to the side. Sports such as basketball, volleyball, and soccer, which require starting/stopping, cutting, jumping, and other high force maneuvers, have the highest incidences of ACL injuries. More than seventy percent of these injuries are non-contact. Several studies have found that girls have three to eight times more ACL injuries than boys, depending on the sport. However, the good news is that proper training can reduce the number of these injuries. In fact, a two year study (PEP) performed by the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation during 2000 and 2001 found that ACL injuries were decreased by 88% and 74% respectively, when female soccer players performed certain exercises and drills during their warm up.

Many studies have attempted to discover why women have more ACL injuries than men. There is no definitive answer. However, there are several factors that seem to predispose women to this injury:

· Anatomically, women have a greater Q angle (the angle formed by the femur and the tibia when viewed from the front) at the knee which can allow the knee to internally rotate to a greater extent than their male counterpart.

· Girls tend to have quadriceps that are too dominant and hamstrings that are too weak.

· Females are not as efficient when it comes to cutting, decelerating, and landing due to muscle reaction time disparity.

· Women have “looser” knee joints than men.

The knee joint is at risk regardless of gender. It is imperative that athletes learn how to apply and absorb forces properly (starting/stopping, cutting, landing, core strength, etc.), strengthen muscles that support the knee (especially the hamstrings in girls), increase agility, and enhance their proprioceptive awareness (plyometrics, coordinated movements at fast speed, control position of limbs during potentially vulnerable situations).

Many organizations have implemented successful knee injury prevention programs. These programs share several key components including understanding and improving proper movement skills, increasing power/core strength, and enhancing proprioception. The Velocity Sports Performance staff has implemented these components in the following units: mobility/flexibility, balance, power, and agility.

Several of the mobility, power, and agility exercises are plyometric in nature. Plyometric exercises involve stretching a muscle followed by a rapid concentric contraction of that muscle which engages the serial-elastic and proprioceptive components of the muscle tissue. The result is a more powerful force application. Plyometric exercise bridge the gap between strength and speed. They must be carefully introduced into the training regime insuring that the intensity of these exercises is increased gradually throughout the season.

Note that static stretching is not included as part of our recommended pre-training or pre-event warm-up. Several good studies suggest that static stretching tends to shut down the mechanisms that enable the human musculature to produce large forces. Motoneuron excitability is definitely decreased during and after static stretching protocols. Because of these studies, and based on results from our own experience, all of the exercise units are used to increase muscle temperature and flexibility. If static stretching is to be used for increasing joint range of motion, we recommend that it be performed as a post-training or post-event activity.


There are hundreds of exercises and drills that athletes and coaches can choose from to augment sports training. Most ACL injury prevention programs use the same 4 to 15 exercises throughout the training cycle. We have chosen a larger set that specifically addresses the needs of female soccer players, adds variety, and increases intensity as the program progresses. These exercises and drills should be done at least three times a week for a period of 20 to 30 minutes during the warm up phase of training. They should be continued throughout the entire season. The emphasis must be on quality of effort, not quantity. If done properly, the potential for ACL injury will be reduced and the training program will be enhanced.

Protecting that Knee - Injury Prevention

This week we will start a 3 part series on knee and ACL protection and injury prevention, so stay tuned for warm-ups and workouts along with plenty of injury prevention tips to help you protect that knee!!

Adults need to be fit too!!

Check out this video about Velocity Sports Performance's ADULT FITNESS Class, and get stronger, more agile, and help fight the aging process!

Ever Feel like each year your AGE is fighting against you?

We can help you fight back!

Many adults have discovered that with each passing year comes a new ache, pain, or injury. As our lives get more hectic, schedules get more booked up, and time becomes more precious, we tend to devote less time and attention to our health and to exercise. But exercise is precisely what we need to keep our daytime energy levels up and to keep away those pesky aches and pains!

Research has shown that many of the common ailments of both adult men and women can be controlled through regular exercise. However, when starting a new exercise program, it’s important to keep certain things in mind to help avoid aggravating those everyday aches and pains or sustaining other injuries:

1) Avoid training when you are tired. This is your body’s way of telling you that you need rest, and might cause you to be more susceptible to injury.

2) If you experience pain when you are exercising – stop! It’s normal to “feel the burn,” but not to feel the pain.

3) Tone down your exercise program for the day if your muscles are feeling stiff from previous workouts or hard labor.

4) Introduce new activities gradually – if you are not familiar with an exercise or are trying it for the first time, take it slow.

5) Make sure that you stay hydrated – before, during and after your workout.

With the Velocity Fitness program, we will:

Warm you up with an active dynamic warm-up to wake up those muscles, get your heart pumping and help ward off potential injuries.

Increase your stamina during exercise by focusing on energy system development. We’ll work on building up your energy system to help you last longer while you participate in aerobic activity.

Make you stronger. Want to increase your muscle tone? Get an over-all leaner look? Or even protect yourself against bone loss that comes with Osteoporosis? The strength training portion of Velocity Fitness is just what you need.

While it may seem like introducing a new exercise program might introduce new aches and pains, in reality, a regular exercise program can help alleviate the ones you may already have. In addition, a regular exercise program can help prevent chronic health problems that tend to appear later in life, such as high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, high cholesterol levels, arthritis, and even depression. At Velocity Sports Performance, our Velocity Fitness adult program is just what the doctor ordered, not only to help you feel better, but also to provide a little fun and variety to your exercise program!

You CAN slow down the aging process. So let’s get moving!

Velocity in the News - The Seattle Times

Performance Art

In coaching kids, it's about core mechanics and confidence
By Richard Seven

TIMES HAVE SURE changed from when I was a kid so many years ago. That's what I'm thinking as I veer from a Redmond arterial one weekday afternoon and turn into a mall of warehouses inhabited by companies that teach kids dancing, martial arts and gymnastics.

Past those, I arrive at Velocity Sports Performance, where the kids make up about 80 percent of the clients working with personal trainers and learning competitive mechanical concepts like explosion and quickness.

Inside, I find four high-school lacrosse players warming up for their 90-minute training session with Sports Performance director Rick Huegli, who was strength and conditioning coach for the University of Washington football team for 18 years.

Kids from 8 to 18 begin showing up to work out in small groups and at the direction of coaches inside the 14,000-square-foot training facility. Two kids, perhaps 10 years old, trudge up an artificial-turf field while a coach restrains them in a harness. This drill helps them practice the proper running motion and build stabilizing muscles in the legs and core. Other kids move sideways up another part of the field, each focusing on pushing off the correct portion of the propelling foot.

Velocity's mantra of "Speed Balance Agility Power" is displayed prominently inside the gym. Coaches there don't spend time on skills specific to a sport, say kicking a soccer ball or dribbling a basketball with the off-hand. Instead, they work on mechanics such as how to quicken that first step, keep speed at a high level longer and move in ways that reduce the chance for injury. Velocity coaches work with athletes such as former UW sprinter Ja'Warren Hooker and recreational athletes, but the core business is kids who want to improve their ability, whether it's so they can make a team, move up on the depth chart, get a scholarship or improve self-confidence.

More intensive youth coaching is a growing trend, and the Redmond Velocity club, which opened just more than a year ago, is part of a national company that has dozens of franchises. While youth sports are bigger than ever, school programs are going through continued cuts. The concept of Velocity started with Loren Seagrave, a former Olympic track coach. He maintains that speed is a skill you can develop. Huegli agrees and follows a developmental pyramid in his approach to his young athletes.

"Between, say, 7 and 10 years old is about fundamentals, with FUN in capital letters," Huegli says. "Between 10 and 14, train them how to train. From 14 to 18, you train them to compete. And at 18-19, you train them to win."

As the after-school crowd rolls in, Huegli breaks down the mechanics of a stride to the lacrosse players and then sends them sprinting, two at a time, down a four-lane indoor track. Velocity guarantees that kids who go through at least 24 sessions (36 hours) will improve their scores in a series of athletic tests.

Clients usually employ packages in blocks of 12, 24 and 50 sessions. Prices range from $20 to 35 per hour; most sessions are 90 minutes. See www.velocitysp.com/redmond for details. The value I see in programs like Velocity is that they help give kids a better chance of sticking with sports by developing good habits and building confidence. I've read where three-quarters of youth baseball players quit by the time they are 13. And the American Obesity Association says about 30 percent of youths are overweight. Part of me wonders how necessary all this is, but the kids seem to be there because they want to be. So if Mom and Dad are willing to spend the money and drive them to and from another appointment, why not the gym?

Looking for something to do over Mid-Winter Break?

Well don't forget to sign up for Velocity Sports' Speed and Agility Camp February 19-22!

Beat the winter blues and get a step up on your competition with this camp for Ages 9 and above.

Running from 1-3 pm each day and only $150 per athlete, the camp will focus on:

Starts, Acceleration & Deceleration
Plyometrics & Explosive Power
Multi – direction / Agility
Core Strength, Stability & Balance
Dynamic Mobility, Flexibility & Coordination
Proper Athletic Positions & Postures
Injury Prevention

Team Camps are also available in the AM.


Go here for more information:http://www.velocitysp.com/redmond/mid_winter_break_camp
or call us at 425.881.0647