Walkout Stretch (The Inchworm)

This is a great overall stretch that also challenges core strength tremendously. You feel this stretch all the way from the calf muscles into the lower back.


1, Bend at the waist and reach your hands towards the ground. Keep your legs straight but don't lock the knees.



2. Walk the hands out over the head. Activate your core to keep the body as straight as possible.



3. Keeping the legs straight (again, without locking out the knees) use the ankles to walk the feet back up towards the feet. As you draw closer to the feet you can raise up onto your fingertips in order to keep the legs more straight. Stand up tall and repeat all of the movements 6-8 times....moving like an inchworm.

Drop Lunge, Hip Flexor Stretch

Sprinting and kicking the ball--whether passing or shooting--makes for highly developed but tight hip flexors in soccer players. Tight hip flexor muscles have been traced to some lower back pain issues, because the ovedevelopment this particular set of muscles can pull the hips and lower back out of their natural alignment. This stretch is designed to more deeply stretch these muscles. It's challenging to learn the steps in this stretch, but once you've got it down it's an etremely effective and superior stretch:


1. Stand tall, chest out, pulling you naval towards your spine, engaging your core. Take a BIG, reaching step backward onto your tiptoes, while keeping your front foot planted flat on the ground.



2. Squeeze the glute and quadricep muscles of the backward reaching leg, straightening the leg. As you squeeze, begin to twist the shoulders in the direction of the backward leg, reaching back towards the heel with one hand and out and skyward with the other hand. Hold this position 5-10 seconds. Step forward and repeat with the other leg. Repeat 6-8 reps on both sides.