Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
Whether recovering from a lower extremity injury or striving for improved performance, developing horizontal braking skills is essential.
Enhanced horizontal deceleration allows athletes to reduce whole-body momentum more effectively, enabling them to slow down over shorter distances and times. This skill is particularly critical for athletes who need to rapidly change speed and direction during play.
For the untrained or injured athlete it is important that we take a slow and progressive approach to introducing deceleration forces to avoid setback and excessive soreness in the training process. After successfully loading regular split squats I would use the following progression to gradually introduce higher eccentric braking forces to the athlete.
🔺Alternating Forward Lunge: This would be my entry point to all deceleration work. Although bodyweight lunging may seem rather elementary, it can often be a challenging variation for an athlete recovering from lower extremity injury.
🔺Forward Lune Off Box: The addition of the elevated box increases the braking forces in the forward lunging movement.
🔺Forward Lunge with Cable Resistance: I like to use the @ancoretraining device attached at a low angle to enhance eccentric force.
🔺Alternating Forward Lunge with Flywheel: Finally I would progress to flywheel lunges using the @wheelersportstech. These are significantly more challenging and require adjustments in posture and shin position that more closely mimic the positions required during COD activities in a competitive environment.
In addition to a weight room based approach it is also critical to include higher speed and impact related activities like plyometric variations and change of direction based drills to mimic the speed and variable movements of the sporting environment.
Learn with us in person/online ➡️ @certifiedfsc @mbsc.tv @strengthcoachdotcom
Train with us in person ➡️ @mbscofficial
Get Manual Therapy ➡️ @movementasmedicine
Train with us online ➡️ @mbsc_online
Whether recovering from a lower extremity injury or striving for improved performance, developing horizontal braking skills is essential.
Enhanced horizontal deceleration allows athletes to reduce whole-body momentum more effectively, enabling them to slow down over shorter distances and times. This skill is particularly critical for athletes who need to rapidly change speed and direction during play.
For the untrained or injured athlete it is important that we take a slow and progressive approach to introducing deceleration forces to avoid setback and excessive soreness in the training process. After successfully loading regular split squats I would use the following progression to gradually introduce higher eccentric braking forces to the athlete.
🔺Alternating Forward Lunge: This would be my entry point to all deceleration work. Although bodyweight lunging may seem rather elementary, it can often be a challenging variation for an athlete recovering from lower extremity injury.
🔺Forward Lune Off Box: The addition of the elevated box increases the braking forces in the forward lunging movement.
🔺Forward Lunge with Cable Resistance: I like to use the @ancoretraining device attached at a low angle to enhance eccentric force.
🔺Alternating Forward Lunge with Flywheel: Finally I would progress to flywheel lunges using the @wheelersportstech. These are significantly more challenging and require adjustments in posture and shin position that more closely mimic the positions required during COD activities in a competitive environment.
In addition to a weight room based approach it is also critical to include higher speed and impact related activities like plyometric variations and change of direction based drills to mimic the speed and variable movements of the sporting environment.
Learn with us in person/online ➡️ @certifiedfsc @mbsc.tv @strengthcoachdotcom
Train with us in person ➡️ @mbscofficial
Get Manual Therapy ➡️ @movementasmedicine
Train with us online ➡️ @mbsc_online
