Once a week I head over to Boston University to fiddle around in the strength and conditioning center. I’ve been going there for well over two years now, and as much as I love training in a state-of-the-art facility – if for nothing else for a little change of scenery – I think the greater benefit is the opportunity it allows for me to hobnob with some other really smart, forward thinking coaches.

Yesterday was a classic example.

I had just finished my bench workout (I know! Benching on a Tuesday! Blasphemy!) when coach Jill Zeller asked if I’d take a few moments to look at her hip. Her left side had been bothering her as of late, and she was curious to get another set of eyes to take a peek and to see if I picked up on something she hadn’t.

In the process fellow BU coach, Will Turner, joined the festivities and before you could say Minas Tirith three times really fast, the three of us were geeking it up talking about acetabulum anatomy, Left Anterior-Interior Chain (<– Postural Restoration Institute shenanigans), and pelvic alignment.

Oh my god, get this….at one point Jill was like, “dude, if it’s a Left AIC, why would my left hip hurt?” And Will was like, “anterior humeral glide syndrome?” And I was like, “and that’s why the honey badger can’t have gluten!!!”

It was hilarious.

Whatever. You had to be there.

Anyways, it was a good brain dump and after the fact Jill and Will started chatting about some new fancy schmancy warm-up drill Jill had picked up the previous weekend while out in Denver working with University of Denver strength coach, Matt Shaw.

Split Stance 3D Hamstring Mobilization w/ Reach

What Does It Do: This actually hits a number of cool things:

1. The “3D” part refers to the multi-planar aspect of the mobilization. I.e., by reaching in a variety of directions (forward, left, and right) we then hit the hamstrings in all planes of motion – not just sagittal.

2. As such we also get a fantastic glute stretch/mobilization because we’re grooving a hip hinge pattern.

3. In addition, with the bent leg, there’s a significant ankle dorsiflexion component.

Key Coaching Cues: I feel this one looks fairly self-explanatory, but there are a few points to hammer home.

– It’s important to maintain a neutral spine and to try to avoid going into excessive lumber extension on these.  A lot of people are going to want to crank through their lower back on these rather than through the hips.

– Too, you need to own your rib position (something I explain in more detail HERE).

– To prevent any HYPERextension of the knee, rather than locking the knees out I’d advocate for “soft knees” instead (just short of locking out).

– Be sure to “push” your hips back while performing the reach in the opposite direction.

– Shoot for 3-5 reps per direction.

– Use these as part of an extended warm-up, or as a nice “filler” in between exercises.