Why Powercore 360 is the Perfect Training Tool for Rotational Sports Movements!

This article discusses why Powercore 360 is the perfect training tool for rotational sport athletes who want to hit, throw, or kick with maximal power and velocity. Various issues, related to rotational sports movement training and performance, will be presented, including 1) power sources of the body; 2) body sequencing for hitting, throwing, and kicking; 3) how to best train hip and shoulder force development; 4) how technique plays a role in power development; and 5) the role of conditioning exercises; and 6) the simultaneous integration of technique and strength training.

What Are Rotational Sports?

Rotational sports are sports where the body rotates or turns (from right to left or left to right) to perform the movements of the specific sport in which an athlete hits, throws, or kicks. Rotational sports include baseball, softball, volleyball, golf, lacrosse, hockey, soccer, tennis, racquetball, mixed martial arts, boxing, throwing events in track and field (hammer, shot put, discus), and many others.

Power Sources for Sports Movements

Various body segments are capable of creating power for rotational sports movements.

Summation of Forces

In the study of human movement, the summation of forces means to add the forces from different body segments (i.e., forces from the wrist and hand to the forces of the elbow and forearm…) to other body segments to gain greater forces.

Regardless of which sport movement you’re considering, if the objective is to hit with more power, one of the easiest ways to add power and speed to a rotational sports movement is by adding or summing muscle forces from numerous body segments.

Volleyball is a sport where athletes can easily create greater hitting power by using more muscle forces.

Adding more muscles also reduces injury risk because the hitting forces come from many different muscles—not just from the shoulder and back.

Sequencing the Body Segments

In any sports movement, the movement of the various body segments needs to be sequenced in the correct movement order.

Movement from the Ground Up

Because of the forces of gravity, if the athlete wants to properly sequence (for maximal power development) a hit, throw, kick or punch, he or she will start the movement by pushing the feet into the ground.

In a properly sequenced baseball swing, the athlete will start the forward body movements of the swing with the feet pushing into the ground: 1) using feet and ankle muscles, and then he or she will move up the body, adding the 2) lower legs and knees, 3) thighs and hips, 4) abdomen and lower back, 5) shoulders and chest, 6) upper arms and elbows, and then finish with the 7) wrists and hands.

Note: I see many athletes performing exercises that are training the wrong body movement sequence.

Traditionally, athletes have been taught to train rotational strength and power by 1) throwing medicine balls against a wall or by 2) using a cable machine or resistance band with the ball or exercise handle being held in the hands. While these exercises can improve strength and rotational power, the issue is the wrong body sequencing.

Technique and Mechanics

For most athletes, improving mechanics (even without simultaneous improvements in muscle strength and power) will often improve hitting, throwing, kicking, and punching speed due to increased efficiency of movement.

A big part of what technique or mechanics training should be is training the correct body segment movement sequencing and coordination.

Hip and Shoulder Turn

Many athletes are fairly good using their hands and arms to hit a ball; however, in my experience most young developing athletes do not know how to properly move their hips and shoulders (in a sequenced, coordinated fashion), to leverage the great forces that can come from these body segments.

Many athletes may have learned how to move their hips backward and down and then forward and up, as in a squat or dead-lift exercise pattern.

Most young athletes I see have no idea how to move their pelvis and hips sideways or in a rotational movement—or even know that they should. They need to be taught this movement—and they have to rep it!

Powercore 360 Products Teach and Train Hip, Torso, and Arm and Leg Movements for Sports

This softball player is developing her ability to control her hips and pelvis laterally in the pitching motion, as she works with the Powercore 360 Hip Trainer and resistance bands.

The hip trainer is worn over the top of her hips and pelvis. As she works against the resistance bands, the correct muscles in her legs and around her hips and pelvis are engaged in the drill. She will feel how to engage the correct muscles as she performs the correct pitching movements. As she improves her technique, she is simultaneously learning correct body sequencing while strengthening the correct muscles at the same time.

This world long-drive champion trains against the resistance of the Powercore 360 band to correctly sequence his body motion while conditioning the specific muscles required to develop greater power and club-head speed.

This professional baseball pitcher is working on keeping his shoulders back (closed), while his back foot pushes against the ground and then his lower half turns. This training helps him to improve movement sequencing, increases hip and shoulder separation, builds arm speed, and helps prevent injuries.

Strength and Conditioning

The stronger a muscle is, the greater the force it can generate. Increase the strength of the muscles involved in the hitting, throwing, or kicking motions; if the body segments are properly sequenced, the end result should be greater force, power, and speed.

Note: 1) It is extremely important to realize that not every muscle in the body is “involved” in a hitting, throwing, or kicking motion. Improving overall total body strength does not equate to improved hitting, throwing, or kicking force, power, or speed. 2) If the hitting, throwing, or kicking motions are not properly sequenced (with good technique and mechanics), there won’t necessarily be any improved force, power, and speed.

The ideal approach to ensure improvements in force and power development to hit, throw, and kick with greater power is to strengthen the muscles in the same movement direction and in the same body movement sequence as the specific sport movement. This will incorporate the training principle of “Specificity of Training” and will maximize the carryover from the training activity into the actual hitting, throwing, or kicking sports skill.

Powercore 360 products provide strength and conditioning while improving technique.

This lacrosse athlete is training torso strength, rotational power, and shoulder turn speed as he shoots on goal.

This MMA fighter is training endurance as he turns his hips, shoulder, and punching arm through the resistance of the bands for an extended duration.

Resistance Directly to the Hips and Core

The hip trainer is worn over the top of the hips and pelvis, which allows resistance from the bands to be essentially directly attached to the pelvis and hips (not indirectly to them through the hands, arms, or other body parts).

Hip and Shoulder Separation

The ability for a rotational athlete to turn his or her hips independent of the turn of the shoulders (often referred to as hip and shoulder separation) is important to gain maximal power from his or her core.

Shown above is the Powercore 360 Hip Trainer being used to train muscle strength around the hips and pelvis that create and control or stabilize the rotational movements of the hips and pelvis.

Simultaneous Technique (Mechanics) Training and Strength Training

Powercore 360 products were designed so rotational athletes could hit, throw, and kick while they work either with or against a resistance band. This action allows athletes to build strength, power, and bat or arm speed all at the same time, decreasing training time and increasing the effectiveness of the training activities.

Shown above is the Powercore 360 Hip Trainer being used to train muscle strength around the hips and pelvis that create and control or stabilize the rotational movements of the hips and pelvis.

The band resists the turn of the hitter’s hips and pelvis. If the athlete trains against the resistance of the band, the muscles that create this movement will get stronger, and if he or she trains fast, that person will develop greater levels of power and speed.

Shown above is the Powercore 360 Torso Trainer being used to strengthen the rotational muscles of the thoracic spine and the abdominal and lower back areas. These areas control the rotational movements of the shoulders in the volleyball swing and other hitting, throwing, and kicking movements.

The band resists the turn of the hitter’s shoulders and t-spine. If the athlete trains against the resistance of the band, the muscles that create this movement will get stronger, and if the athlete trains fast, he or she will develop greater levels of power and speed.

Summary

Powercore 360 is the perfect training tool to improve hitting, throwing, kicking, and punching movements for rotational sport athletes. This versatile, inexpensive, and portable system can be used at home, in the weight room, on the field, on the court or in the gym to rapidly improve sports mechanics while increasing core strength, power, and speed. It builds proper muscle memory, as the athlete repeats the correct and properly sequenced movement patterns. Athletes learn the movements faster as they can feel their arms, legs, and core performing new and unfamiliar movement patterns. The Powercore 360 training system improves performance faster than any other training system as it builds power and speed and improves technique at the same time.