By Chris Scales

Speed and agility are undoubtedly two of the most important abilities to have in a sporting environment. Even those of you that don’t take part in competitive sports but enjoy hobbies such as power walking or hiking, increasing the strength and power output of the leg muscles will benefit you. Increasing the power and speed of muscle contraction will allow you to get to all corners of the court, change direction on the pitch or make it to the ball before it goes out a lot faster than you have done in the past.

One way of making this possible is to first increase the range of motion at the joints, by lengthening the muscle (stretching) then performing dynamic exercises that condition the muscles and increase their power output. There isn’t really one stretch I can tell you to do that is going to increase the potential energy because you need all the muscles in the leg working together so you’ll have to target your glutes, calves, quads and hamstrings. Hopefully, most of you, who had sessions with us, remember how to stretch these muscle groups properly. If you don’t, come and see us and let us show you how.

When the muscles have been lengthened, it is now time to condition them. There are hundreds of various exercises that you can do but to keep it simple I’m just going to go through one. The Squat: it’s like sitting down, but without the chair. However, to really get the benefit out of this exercise, you are best off performing it using just one leg at a time. The reason for this is when we run, for example, we are only using on leg at a time. It also will stop your dominant leg from overpowering the other, as well as increase balance by working the stabilizing muscles at the knee joint. The correct technique for the squat is to keep your back straight, bend the knees and have the hips come straight down; you should be able to do it with your back against the wall. The lowering phase of the squat, also known as the eccentric contraction phase, should be done at a very controlled pace; allow 3 seconds for this phase. The second phase, know as the concentric contraction phase, is where we generate the power so should be done are a slightly quicker speed, allow 1-2 seconds. Repeat ten times before switching legs, and if you are a beginner, just do two sets. For frequent gym goers, increase repetitions and sets according to your own experience.

Start just by using your own body weight to get a feel for the exercise, if you struggle with balance, by all means hold on to the window ledge or a railing whilst performing the exercise. If you then find this to be too easy, increase the difficulty by holding some free weights or place and exercise ball (Swiss ball) against the wall and, with your back against it, perform the squat. This will incorporate the use of your trunk muscles.

Like any other exercise, use prudence to avoid injury and seek professional advice if you have an existing condition that could potentially increase your risk of injuries. 

Have a great month