By Miguel J. Ortiz
The motivation to lose weight, burn fat or get strong usually comes with the idea that one must really turn up the intensity of their workouts. Most gravitate to sprint intervals, box jumps and plyometrics exercises. Well, before you challenge your body with these higher intensity movements, you should really learn to absorb and control the brakes first.
For example, you wouldn’t drive a car or get on a bike without understanding how the brakes work. You wouldn’t be taught how to go down a mountain on skies before being instructed on how to slow down. The same should go before jumping into high-intensity exercises. Prepping the body appropriately for high-intensity exercises is important because it helps stabilize and strengthen the ankle, knee and hip joints. This will decrease the chances of injury and increase the chances of improving performance. So, why not work on it?
Here are two great exercises that work on overall absorption, core and joint strength.
For all beginners, I highly recommend doing the Global Extension Absorb drill first. This exercise will begin with a full global extension of the body. We do this because we don’t want to worry about leaving the ground, the focus is on how we would land if we were off the ground. So, by coming up on your toes it allows you to have enough distance off the ground to create proper force on the way down. Come up onto your toes and reach as high as possible with your arms while taking in a deep breath. Once fully extended, throw your arms down forcefully as you bring your body from a tall position to about a 90-degree squat. In the video, you should be able to hear my heels hit the floor. You’ll also notice I come to a complete stop with my arms by my side. This exercise isn’t meant to be repeated back-to-back. You want to focus on one rep at a time as you focus on the brakes. So, generate enough force into the ground to stop your body using your ankles, knees, hips and core properly to absorb that said force. The purpose of staying isolated in that position is to ensure stability.
For example, you might slam down, but be in a consistent forward lean, which would mean on the way down you didn’t drive your heels into the floor. If you are unable to stay completely still during the landing, try to slow the force down until your able to control your body completely at the bottom position. I recommend doing 2 or 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps before getting into your high-intensity movements.
The second exercise is a little more advanced. It is the Global Extension Split Absorb. Athletes, heavy runners, cyclists and anyone really looking to improve their athletic performance should give this exercise a try. Because of the split position, you’ll be landing with more force on the front foot/leg which will put more stress on that same ankle, knee, hip and core but slightly differently than the previous exercise. The same concepts will apply as before. You want to get fully extended, drive all that force into the floor and absorb with proper control. I would recommend doing about 2 or 3 sets of 5 to 6 reps per side. Now that your brakes are fully prepped, enjoy the higher intensity movements with an added sense of strength and control. Enjoy your movements and stay active.
Miguel J. Ortiz is a personal trainer in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a Master Trainer for Pain-Free Performance and a Certified Nutritional Consultant with more than a decade of professional experience. He can be found on Instagram at @migueljortiz. You can find videos of the exercises mentioned in this column on his YouTube channel at tinyurl.com/ORTfitness.
