In hockey, and most sports, flexibility is very important. Flexibility is the range of motion
about a joint. Good flexibility is very important to increase the speed of muscle contraction
as well as muscle contraction. It also prevents injury and maximises technique. Good
flexibility is needed when a hockey player does a lunge motion to slap the ball in hockey
which requires the contraction of the biceps femoris (hamstring) and the relaxation of the
rectus femoris. This is a very common movement in hockey, and it displays flexion at the
knee joint. This happens through the sagittal plane and through the knees hinge joint. The
shoulder joint also requires a good amount of flexion as the player hits the hockey ball. In
the swing motion of the movement there is abduction at the shoulder joint in the pre
movement stage. The muscle that is at work here is the medial deltoid and the relaxing
muscle is the latissimus dorsi. The articulating bones at the shoulder joint are the humerus
and the scapula. Flexibility is therefore very important at the shoulder joint as well as a lack
of it can lead to injury of either the latissimus dorsi or the medial deltoid. The gluteus
maximus is another muscle that is at risk of being injured if it is not trained with flexibility
exercises. Abduction of the gluteus maximus leads to adduction of the Adductor longus,
adductor brevis and adductor magnus. This all happens in the transverse plane at the hip
joint where the articulating bones are the pelvic girdle and femur. Gluteal stretches can be
done to increase the flexibility at the hip joint for abduction movements. So, the muscles
that are mainly needed to be flexible are the biceps femoris, the medial deltoid in shoulder
and the gluteus maximus.
There are two ways in which you can test for flexibility. One of these methods is called the
sit and reach test and the other involves the use of a Goniometer. Usually mid and post-
tests are done to allow progressions to be monitored to ensure flexibility-based adaptations
are occurring. The goniometry test is done as follows. A 360-degree protractor with 2
extending arms is used to measure the range of motion (ROM) at any joint in the body. The
head of the goniometer is placed on the axis of rotation of a joint and the arms extend along
the articulating bones. The difference in joint angle is taken from starting position to the full
range of motion position. Goniometer tests are good as the data is objective and an
accurate measure which can be done on any joint and plane of movement allowing it to be
very sport specific. However, it can be difficult to locate the axis of rotation and training is
required to get an accurate measure. The test our class used to measure our flexibility was
the sit and reach test. This was done as follows. A box was placed against a wall and shoes
need to be removed. I sat with straight legs and feet against the box, slowly moving
forward. I reached as far forward as possible at full stretch with my position held for 2
seconds. The best score from 3 recorded. This is a good test as it is easy to do, and the
equipment is cheap. There is also standardised data for comparison. However, it only tests
flexibility in the lower back and hamstrings only and is not joint or movement specific. The
participant must also be warmed up. Below is a normative table from
(https://www.brianmac.co.uk/sitreach.htm) that will be used to compare the class data to.
, Saji Rai
Below are the results displayed in a table from our class and what the student was rated
based on the normative table.
Name Score Norm result
Saji Rai 31cm Average
Harry Williams 42cm Good
Jack Bailey 45cm Good
Noah Mauchlen 36cm Average
Regan Brown 35cm Average
In terms of my own flexibility, based on the sit and reach test score, my result is Average.
However, this doesn’t mean that my flexibility can’t be improved. My flexion at the shoulder
is about 150 degrees when flexing my shoulder. A full range of motion would be 180
degrees which would be very good. There are several different types of stretches that can
be done to improve my flexibility and to get my score up to at least 38cm which would be
the ‘Good’ category. I don’t have a flexibility programme as such however I do static
flexibility exercises every now and then to keep my flexibility in the average zone. Static
stretches such as hamstring stretches and holding that position can increases elasticity of
muscles therefore increasing flexibility. So, I could do more exercises, dynamic exercises as
well to improve my flexibility.
For my training plan I will plan a meso cycle which tends to be between 6 and 8 weeks of
length. I will use the MRS VOPP TWC principle to plan my 6-week flexibility programme.
There are different parts to MRS VOPP TWC. It states that training must be moderated, not
reversed, specific, varied, there must be overload and progression, periodisation and
testing, warm up and cool down. So, I must moderate my training so too little overload can
lead to no adaptations however too much overload and progression may lead to injuries and
overtraining of flexibility. If I stop flexibility training, I will get reversibility where the effects
of my training are reversed and therefore, I will lose my newly acquired progression in my
flexibility. My training should be specific, so, if I am training for flexibility my training must
be specific to the joints that need the most training. However, I must also vary my training
so I must make sure that I change the training methods, so I don’t just do static stretches
but also dynamic stretches. Overload involves the use of the FITT principle. It is when the
body is made to work harder than normal through training which allows for a fresh and
motivating experience as repeated training of the same type can lead to boredom and a lack
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