5 Helpful Tips for Training the Hypermobile Athlete

The hyper mobile athlete absolutely NEEDS to be strength trained differently than other athletes. Find a specialist who understands the demands of activities such as pilates, yoga, barre, dance, etc. so that you can make sure you are getting the most out of your training.

No matter your age. No matter your sport.  Hypermobility can be a tough thing to live with. I know this because I have had to deal with hyper-mobility my whole life. It by no means is the end of the world, but it does mean that we have to work extra hard to make sure that our muscles are strong enough to support our joints!

Those who may struggle even more with this are those individuals who are participating in Dance, Pilates, Barre, and Yoga, Gymnastics classes, etc. because of the inherent mobility required to complete these types of classes. I am NOT saying that you should quit these activities by any means; actually, I have a strong appreciation for all of them, but it does mean that you should be training specific muscle groups of specific joints in precise ways to ensure that your body is ready for the demands of your class.

Here are my 5 best tips for working with hyper-mobile individuals:

Giving External Cuing During exercise can be crucial for helping make sure that the hyper mobile patient is getting the most out of the exercise.

1. Always ask your hypermobile patient, client, or athlete where they “feel” an exercise.

Whether it is your patient’s first time lifting or their 8 trillionth session, always ask. It’s not just that hypermobile people can cheat to get into a position that looks acceptable, it’s that they very frequently don’t even know how it’s supposed to feel. Ask them, and then educate them.

2. Provide external cueing or feedback.

It doesn’t matter if it's using your hands to put them in a position, to block them off, poke them in the muscle they should be feeling, or give them a target to reach for, giving them a physical external cue can make a huge difference.

3. Help them get and then maintain tension through their joints.

For example, one cue I use frequently with my hypermobile dancers when coaching a squat is to place a band around their knees and to hold max tension against that band. “Feel your glutes turn on? Perfect. Keep spreading those knees apart the whole time.” This helps hypermobile athletes build and maintain tension in their lower bodies through the movement while also reinforcing where an exercise should be felt.

4. Emphasize pauses, eccentric control, and tempo work when training.

But, why? These approaches teach hypermobile athletes to truly FEEL the movement, from top to bottom, and everything in between. Too often, a hypermobile athlete will drop into and out of a movement without ever really feeling it. Pauses and speed changes (tempo) slow the movements down, and again, helps them maintain tension throughout the movement.

5. Stop stretching them!

Lastly, for the love of all things good in this world, stop stretching your hypermobile athletes. Don’t even let them stretch. Have get soft tissue work done if needed, but we have to stop static stretching: the relief from the stretch reflex is temporary, and the “tight” feeling comes back worse as the muscles knot up to keep loose joints in place.

If you are a hyper-mobile athlete (regardless of your age) and you’re dealing with issues during dance, yoga, pilates, barre, etc. and you would like some more guidance from me about how to strength train safely and get the most out of your training then click the button below to sign up for a discovery session or a phone call, so that we can see if you’re a good fit to work with our Movement is Medicine Team!