The following blog shows you the 5 best yoga poses lacrosse players should do after their practice, workout, or game, in order to help them prevent injury, recovery more quickly, and get back to the field sooner with less soreness.
We all want to play our best and perform at the highest level possible as often as we can, but without taking care of our bodies this is impossible. I am showing you these stretches so you can be a better lacrosse player. These stretches work because they allow the muscles we use most often in lacrosse to recover. The main reason to do these is because they help to prevent injury from overtraining, or playing too much lacrosse. It only takes a few minutes, but it could mean the difference between you stepping on to the field for your next game, or having to watch from the sidelines.
Here are the 5 best stretches to do as lacrosse players to help prevent injury, recover more quickly, and play injury-free!
1. Wide-legged forward fold with a strap behind back
This stretch is awesome because it helps your muscles responsible for changing direction to recover. At the same time, it also stretches your chest and preserves the health and mobility of your shoulders, critical for being able to throw. Make sure to make your chest as big as possible, and keeping pulling your chest forward as you fold in order to protect your spine.
2. Lizard
You spent your entire time on the lacrosse field using your hip flexors, and if you don’t stretch them afterward, they aren’t going to be happy. Use this stretch to help your hip flexors recover more quickly, prevent lower-back pain from soreness, and even get stronger in your hips for more powerful shots, quicker dodges, and bigger hits.
3. Pigeon
This is possibly the most important one on this list. Pigeon stretches your outer hips and glutes, which are the power center of your lower-body. Your glutes are responsible for sprinting, changing direction, shooting, and anything involving a squat motion – they are very important, and they are used OFTEN in lacrosse. Use pigeon to help these muscles recover and get back to 100% more quickly on the field.
4. Seated V Stretch
This stretch is great for helping to relieve tightness or soreness in your lower-back. Your lower-back takes a beating in lacrosse from all of the running and quick changes of direction. The Seated V Stretch stretches your lower-back as well as the muscles on the insides of your thighs which connect to your lower-back, which not only relieves soreness, but also gets you back onto the field feeling better more quickly.
5. Reclined Twist
Take care of your back! This relaxing pose is the perfect finisher to your post-lacrosse stretching routine. We twist whenever we do anything in lacrosse, whether that’s playing defense, changing direction, dodging passing, or shooting. Those twists take a toll on your spine, and the reclined twist helps your back recover..
Try these stretches out after your next practice, game, or workout! You’ll be surprised at how much better you feel, both immediately afterward, and the next day. Take care of your body, and it will take care of you.
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What’s my personal experience with yoga?
I started doing yoga as a Senior lacrosse player for the University of Wisconsin. I was shocked at how much it helped improve my athletic performance as a lacrosse player. It made me stronger, more powerful, I recovered more quickly, and I FELT better! I led yoga workouts for my team beginning that year, and it turned out that they liked yoga, too. Shortly after graduating, I started Man Flow Yoga to help spread the benefits of yoga to people that don’t normally do yoga, namely, guys and athletes.
About the author, Dean Pohlman, Founder & CEO of Man Flow Yoga, Author of Yoga Fitness for Men, Expert on Yoga Fitness for Men.
Dean Pohlman is an E-RYT 200 certified yoga instructor and the founder of Man Flow Yoga. Dean is widely considered to be an authority on Yoga for Men. He has worked with physical therapists to create yoga programs for back health and spinal recovery. His workouts and programs have been used by professional and collegiate athletes, athletic trainers, and personal trainers; and have been recommended by physical therapists, doctors, chiropractors, and other medical professionals.
Dean is a successfully published author through DK Publishing (Yoga Fitness for Men), selling 35,000 copies worldwide in English, French, and German; in addition to being a co-producer of the Body by Yoga DVD Series, which has sold over 40,000 copies on Amazon since its release in 2016.
Man Flow Yoga has been featured in Muscle & Fitness Magazine, Mens’ Health, The Chicago Sun, New York Magazine, and many more major news media outlets.
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