Beach Fitness

Now is a really exciting time to be involved in Beach Ultimate! But keep in mind…. with the ever increasing amount of exposure and opportunities to play comes a rise in the level of competition. Embracing physical training is therefore essential to stay one step above. Thanks to Beach Ultimate Lover Tim Morrill, you can reach and maintain your top Beach Ultimate fitness level!

Let’s talk a bit about the theory aspect of things… For best Beach Ultimate results, time investment must be dedicated to both sides of the training spectrum: Sport Skills Training (SST) and Functional Performance Training (FPT). SST has little to do with fitness, and consists of throwing, catching, cutting, defense, and of course game IQ. On the other hand, FPT involves the development of strength, power, conditioning, efficiency and resilience.

Both SST and PPT are essential. Often, players gravitate toward one side of the spectrum and become unbalanced. Training our weakness is how we grow and develop.

Here is an important question: Is training for Beach Ultimate the same as training for field ultimate? Although very similar, there are some fundamental differences that should be taken into account in your training. Most notably, the sand vs grass playing surface results in the activation of different muscles.

When you put force into the ground on a grass field, the hard surface quickly responds and propels you forward via the contribution of the stretch shortening cycle in the lower legs. On the beach, the sandy surface does not reciprocate the contact of your foot in the same elastic manner as the field. Rather, the forces are dissipated as your feet sink in the loose sand, greatly decreasing the contribution of the lower legs.

Now that the lower legs have lost their chance to propel you forward who/what is left to do the job? The hips! More specifically the hip extensor muscles of the glutes and hamstrings. The name of the game in beach ultimate is hip extension!

Developing the glutes and hamstrings to powerfully drive the hips through the instability of the sand is key to optimizing performance on the beach.

Training tip: recognize your weaknesses and gaps in your game. Maximum results in training will come when you focus more energy on improving your weaknesses and less on improving your strengths.

As you can see, there is still a lot to learn! It’s a good thing that Tim just released his brand new Morrill Performance to help you reach your Beach Ultimate potential. Take your game to the next level with the Functional Performance Training System! Also, keep up with the Morrill Performance Facebook pages for updates and feel free to reach out to Tim anytime by e-mailing [email protected]!