MTS New York

Movement Training

What is efficient movement? Eliminating false steps, maintaining good body position at all times. Eliminating compensations.

How do we train it?

We start by training the foot. The foot is the most important component of movement. We need to train it. An athlete must initiate movement from his foot and synchronize up through the hips and upper body. When an athlete can learn how to initiate movement from his foot and not the upper body first he will not take false steps. Proper body position having your chest over your mid-foot at all times, gaining a step every movement, pushing through the foot and not lifting the leg to move, releasing the opposite hip on each push, and getting your hips over your feet to change direction are the keys to performance.

Compensations:

• Standing up to move
• Turning the upper body before lower body in any direction
• Not pushing and releasing opposite hip, cross over to move
• Leaning forward (bent at the waist), not sitting down
• Wide stance (not able to move without crossing over)
• Decelerating by widening stance.

Keys to movement:

Body Position (stance)

1. Chest and hips over mid-foot (back of the ball of the foot)
2. Weight on the mid-foot
3. Feet shoulder width
4. 60 degrees

Efficiency (gaining a step every movement)

1. Push through the foot and release the opposite hip to move.
2. Push through the foot to turn the upper body or change direction.
3. Avoid turning the upper body without pushing through the foot (slower movement)
4. Most athletes lift one leg to move causing them to push up and not out (slower movement)

Jumping

1. Push through the foot up through the rest of the body
2. Load arms and legs at the same time with good body position
3. Avoid bending at the waist on the load phase (upper body has to move to get back into position before you can leave the ground…. results in slower reaction time)
4. Arms and legs move at the same time. Swing through the shoulder with arms bent on elevation

Landing

1. Land in a position ready to move.
2. Chest over mid-foot knees bent, weight on mid-foot, feet shoulder width apart

Arm action while in motion

1. Always keep arms bent at 90 degrees and swing through the shoulder on all movements
2. Arms and legs must be in synch and moving together at all times

Power

1. Synchronization of the body
2. Creating force through the ground starting with the push through the foot and transfer to the upper body

At Movement Training Systems New York we have developed a series of drills to train efficient movement in any sport. This system has allowed Alex Kovalev to stay be on top of his game at age 35.