The dynamic glute and calve stretch high knee pull with dorsi flexion prepares the musculature of the buttocks and calves for explosive movements on the court.
The dynamic glute and calve stretch warms up the respective musculature, reduces the risk for injury and improves flexibility and stability by increasing muscle tissue temperature.
The high knee pull with dorsi flexion is one of the essential dynamic stretches for tennis players since it targets various muscle groups used during running, jumping and shot production.
It also supports activation of the leg stabilizers since you are standing on one leg, which has a positive impact on developing and maintaining dynamic stability during shot production.
Therefore, we recommend that you incorporate the high knee pull with dorsi flexion into your tennis-specific dynamic warm up routine.
Glute And Calve Stretch Progression
This is also a great time to mentally prepare yourself.
Make sure you can control the action throughout the entire range of motion. Otherwise you defeat the purpose of the exercise.
Very often, athletes are not focused and they just go through the motions. They become sloppy. Especially when it comes to maintaining dynamic stability.
Here are the progression levels:
- Beginner: look down during the action
- Advanced: look forward during the action & increase speed
- Professional: close your eyes
As a beginner you want to perform the stretch in a controlled fashion so that you can maintain dynamic stability throughout the stretch.
Advanced athletes can speed up the action to increase the dynamic stability requirements.
Professional athletes can close their eyes during the action. That makes it even more difficult to maintain dynamic stability throughout the action.
Glute And Calve Stretch Summary
- Take a step and raise the left knee towards the chest
- Grab your leg with both hands just below the knee
- Pull knee as close to your chest as possible
- During the knee pull flex your feet and stand on your toes
- Hold the knee for 1 second
- Release the left knee
- Take a step and raise the right knee and repeat
Targeted Musculature
- Buttocks (Glutes)
- Calves (Gastrocnemius)
- Calves (Soleus)
- Hip Flexors (Iliopsoas)
- Hip Adductors
More Dynamic Stretches
Of course we have more great dynamic stretches that you can do before you start playing tennis to get yourself prepared and ready for action.
Simply chose 6-8 dynamic stretches for your dynamic stretch routine that warm up the major muscle groups of the legs and hips and you are ready to go!
Here are a few suggestions:
- Duck Walk Dynamic Stretch
- Dynamic Cross Over Lunge Stretch
- Dynamic Bilateral Squat Trunk Rotation Stretch
Other Static Stretches For You
Apart from the dynamic high knee pull glute stretch we have some other static stretches for you that target the muscles acting on the hip and knee.
You can use these stretches during the cool down once you are finished with your match or training session.
Simply click on them to learn more or watch the videos:
Training Zone
In this section we provide you with some more workouts and training tips you may be interested in to optimize your training:
