Football players are known for their grueling exercise routines involving heavy lifting and intense strength training. However, flexibility and agility are just as vital to any athlete if they’re going to perform at a professional level. And that often means incorporating training like yoga. Below, fitness trainer Eugene Pallisco talks about the role that yoga and flexibility training take in a football pro’s exercise plan.
Why Are Yoga and Flexibility Important?
Football is, undoubtedly, a challenging game. Injuries are common and highly demanding on the muscles, leading to tightness, pain, and discomfort even without underlying injuries. As such, injury prevention should be incorporated into every football player’s wellness routine.
And as it turns out, yoga is incredible, making the muscles more pliable. That added elasticity helps players stay more coordinated, which can help with performance and further lower the possibility of an injury.
However, the most vital reason yoga is excellent for football pros is its improved range of motion. Players have to contort their bodies into multiple positions on the field, so enhanced mobility is an absolute must.
Examples of Good Yoga Poses for Football Professionals
While yoga practice is beneficial for any athlete, a few poses are particularly worthwhile for football players. These are as follows:
Sun Salutations
Sun salutations are the quintessential yoga warm-up. They involve the entire body in the breath and go through a series of motions to help wake up the body and prepare it for training or a game.
Child’s Pose
On the other side of the coin is the child’s pose, which is the ideal closer to a yoga routine. It’s perfect for cooling down after an intense workout and resetting your breath. It can also help relieve tension and stress in the body.
Downward Facing Dog
Here is another yoga staple that can significantly benefit football players (or anyone who works out on their legs often, for that matter). It provides an incredible stretch to the hamstrings, calves, and spine, and it works as both a warm-up and a cool-down exercise.
Supine Twist
The supine twist is a restorative cooldown pose that helps with spinal flexibility while stretching the chest, glutes, and obliques. It can also help reduce lower back pain.
Focusing on Flexibility as an Athlete
Even if you don’t want to commit to a complete yoga practice, incorporating some stretches to improve flexibility is vital for any athlete.
For example, you can do a child’s pose in your cool down by itself as a stretch or add poses and holds to your warm-up to get your muscles ready to be engaged. Alternatively, you can use yoga as an active recovery workout, as it can relax your muscles while keeping them from stagnating.
Flexibility should be the foundation of every football player’s workout routine, regardless of how you implement it. It improves the body’s awareness and endurance, making for more efficient workouts, better performance on the field, and lower stress off the field.
About Eugene Pallisco
Fitness expert and licensed trainer Eugene Pallisco works in Dallas, Texas. Since he began working with motivational fitness mentors in high school, Eugene has devoted a significant amount of time to sculpting and molding his training philosophy, which is centered on improving others. Before starting his private training firm in the fitness industry, he gained more expertise by working one-on-one with gym patrons after beginning as a group fitness teacher.
