The Best Stretches & Mobility Exercises for Lacrosse Players

If you play lacrosse – your body is probably tight.

If you ask any lacrosse player from youth to college if anything hurts, the answer is inevitably yes. Tight quads and glutes. Chronic tension in their upper back. Cranky shoulders. The list goes on and on.

And justifiably so. Lacrosse is inherently tough on the body. If we zoom out and look at the game from an outsider's perspective we see:

• Lacrosse is max effort in nature. Every cut, dodge, sprint, and shot is a max contraction. The game is played full out, and it puts strain on the body.
• Lacrosse, and especially lacrosse training, is highly repetitive. Players take hundreds of shots or hours of wall ball.
• Lacrosse is naturally asymmetrical. Players shoot, pass, and even carry the ball on just one side of their body – inevitably leading to imbalances from developing musculature and tension on one side more than the other.

And yet despite chronic pain, tightness, and restrictions – most lacrosse players tend to neglect stretch and mobility work.

You're willing to spend extra hours on the wall, in the gym, or at the field – but if you spent even 15 minutes per day on mobility work, you'd unlock your body, move and feel better, and enhance your performance.

That's the goal of this article. To cut through the fluff and give you the exact stretches that you can use to improve your mobility so that you can perform your best on the field and feel your best off of it.

Let's dive into the "must do" mobility exercises & stretches for lacrosse players.

Stretch #1: Toes Elevated Ankle Gliders

‍

Let's start at the bottom of the body and move up, starting with an area lacrosse players often neglect – their ankles.

Your ankles might not feel tight (although they likely are) but should still be a priority because unlocking your ankle mobility can have major performance benefits.

Optimal ankle mobility allows you to play lower – ultimately allowing you to get more aggressive in your change of direction and refining your sprint mechanics.

This lower athletic position is essential for you as a lacrosse player, and it's most commonly restricted by ankle mobility.

This is the most effective stretch we've found to improve ankle mobility. Throw your toes up on a foam roller, wall, or fence while watching a game and then drive your knee forward towards the toes creating to increase the range each time.

This one is simple but extremely effective.

Stretch #2: Active/Passive Hamstring Stretch

‍

Let's move up the chain to the hamstrings – and if you're a lacrosse player at any level, we know you have tight hamstrings.

They don't feel tight? Well, can you touch your toes? Better yet, can you lay on your back and lift a straight leg until it's completely vertical? Working with thousands of lacrosse players, we know that answer without even asking – and it's probably no.

Hamstring health is essential to lacrosse players because optimal length not only prevents injuries – but can actually enhance speed by allowing for a more optimal sprint mechanic.

While performance gains are great, we really emphasize hamstring work because even the slightest tweak can cause you to be off the field for weeks.

These tweaks, pulls, or even tears are the result of a combination of improper loading, insufficient strength, or chronic tension/muscle shortness. While the first two are topics worthy of their own article – stretch work can go a long way in improving hamstring health.

This isn't a common stretch, but we've found it insanely effective for lacrosse players because it creates both an active and passive release.

Make sure that you're keeping both legs straight the entire time. If you're feeling a bend at the knee, it means that you've hit your end range. This is the range we're looking at improving.

Stretch #3: Couch Stretch

‍

When it comes to a lower body stretch, this might be the GOAT – and should be a stretch that you're doing daily.

Sitting all day in class puts you in a flexed hip position that leads to chronic tightness through the front of your lower body – specifically in the hip flexors and quads. Combine that with heavy sprint work or a grueling practice and you'll immediately start to get pain & tightness.

This stretch undoes that.

Called the "Couch Stretch" because you can do it on the back of your couch, this stretch truly opens up the hip flexors and quads - and can create instant relief. It might seem aggressive, but a 2-minute static hold (even while watching Netflix) can completely release tension - while performing an "active" version (flexing into the stretch) for 10-15 reps can show noticeable improvements in hip mobility.

This is a stretch that 100% pays off.

Stretch #4: 90/90 Stretch

While most lacrosse players know hip flexor stretches – they rarely consider hip rotation exercises.

The truth is, lacking hip rotation is often one of the most significant contributors to back, hip, and knee pain.

90/90 exercises are the absolute best exercises for improving both internal and external rotation at the hip.

This is a versatile exercise that has dozens of variations – but it's easiest to just start with the basic holds. We call this the "90/90 3 Way Stretch" because we're essentially "hanging out" in three different positions here and trying to sink deeper into each.

While this is more passive, there's also insane value in doing active versions. These involve active mobility and force you to reclaim range by pushing against that end range of motion. Here's three variations (ranked from easier to harder):

• 90/90 Hip Switches
• 90/90 Hip Lift Offs
• 90/90 Active Flow

They might not seem like much, but these exercises are truly game changers for hip mobility. Adding these a couple times a week and you'll find noticeable improvement in your hip mobility.

Stretch #5: Scorpions

Let's move up the chain to the low back – the most common culprit of musculoskeletal pain in the world.

Lower back pain isn't just for the 45-year-old office worker, it's a common complaint amongst elite lacrosse players as well. While understanding low back pain could be an entire book, let's skip the deep dive for today and just say that low back pain is often the result of tight hips, poor core strength, and improper loading/tension.

While you should try to look at why your low back pain is happening, we have an exercise that can immediately release stuck tension – the scorpion stretch.

The release that most lacrosse players get from this exercise is insane.

By keeping your chest on the floor you're forced to create mobility in your lower back. If you then take a couple of seconds to pause at the end of the rep (when your foot is touching your opposite hand) and relax into the stretch, you'll immediately start to feel those muscles release some of that chronic tension.

If you have a tight back, this is the one you need to be doing daily.

‍

Stretch #6: Banded Lat Stretch

Let's continue to focus on the back for the next few exercises.

The lats (latissimus dorsi) are both the powerhouse and the workhorse muscle of the upper body.

This means that not only do you activate your lats a ton in lacrosse, but they're also responsible for a lot of power generation from your upper body.

Because of the amount of workload put on the lats, they often hold a ton of tension. This often leads to them getting tight, short, and restricted – which can wreak havoc on literally your entire upper body.

The funny thing is, most lacrosse players don't realize just how tight their lats are until they try this stretch. Then they get obsessed with it.

To get setup, loop the band as high as possible and aim to create a "pull" through your entire side body by sinking your hips in the other direction. While you're here, really focus on expanding and opening your rib cage – so take deep breaths during the stretch.

When you use this side body stretch after a workout or practice, you'll typically feel your entire upper body release. It's worth it.

‍

Stretch #7: T-Spine Extensions

With the structural demands that shooting puts on the body, a lot of players get tight through both the shoulder and upper back.

You're almost always tight and restricted through your thoracic spine region (often called the "t-spine" and making up the upper portion of your back). Not only does this affect performance by reducing your capacity for rotation, but it also leads to further poor postures and movement limitations through the upper body.

This exercise creates extension through that upper back and stretches the various muscles that hold chronic tension through this region. You'll love this stretch because you rarely enter t-spine extension and thus these are muscles that are rarely stretched.

This can easily be done at home with a lacrosse stick or broom off of your bed/couch. Make sure this isn't just being pushed into the lower back and that you're intentionally creating that extension through your upper back.

After a long day of sitting, this exercise feels absolutely incredible.

‍

Stretch #8: Side Lying Book Openers

Every lacrosse player wants to shoot harder, and while you're all working on refining your mechanics and getting more powerful – nearly all lacrosse players are missing the rotational capacity that allows for optimal shooting mechanics.

What's that mean? You can stretch your way to shooting harder.

Not only can releasing the upper back and improving rotation lead to more range of motion in shooting, but it's also a phenomenal way to improve spinal health and release tight musculature that's causing tension and pain throughout the upper body.

This is our favorite exercise for both.

Here, we really want to emphasize the importance of rotating in our upper back by keeping our knee down on the ground and squeezing our abs to reduce using our lower back to find extra mobility.

‍

Stretch #9: Pec T Stretch

If we work with 10 lacrosse players, male or female, we'll see 9 that have tight pecs and restrictions through the front of the shoulders that create the classic forward rounded shoulder position.

Part of this can be attributed to so much sitting and poor postures, but it's compounded by inherent movements of lacrosse – from shooting to passing to even just cradling a ball.

A large portion of this chronic tension, tightness, and restriction through the front of the body can be released by releasing the pecs.

We love this exercise because it's an opportunity to really create release through both the pec major and minor along with through the front of the shoulder (you'll feel the stretch with wherever you're tightest).

You can use this stretch either actively (pushing up & holding for 4-5 seconds) or more passively (hold for 20s).

Stretch #10: Shoulder Dislocators

‍

This might be a common one, but when it comes to upper body stretches – it truly remains undefeated.

Lacrosse players get tight anteriorly through the pecs and delts, and the shoulder dislocator creates a stretch through that exact region. While you can do this with a broom or hockey stick, we actually like the banded variation the best to give you the ability to change tension as you go through the movement.

Either way, you'll typically feel this wherever you're tightest. For some players that'll be through the chest and pecs, for others it'll be the shoulders. Just make sure you're going slow and controlled through the entire range. Start with your hands further apart and then gradually move them inwards to increase the stretch – eventually you should be able to do this with a lacrosse stick comfortably.

Stretch #11: Swimmer Hold to Rotation

‍

Let's consider this a bonus stretch, but if you're doing it right it can be a massive pay off for improving your upper body mobility.

This combines both shoulder mobility and t-spine rotation into one exercise.

You should start by lifting your palm to the sky and aiming to create as much range as possible overhead. Then you should reach behind you and try to touch your opposite shoulder (intentionally pushing your hand down your body to create extra range). Then you rotate through the upper back by taking your elbow down to the floor.

This is one that we include in all of our lacrosse programs because it's insanely effective in challenging multiple ranges of motion that you need on the field.

In Conclusion

After working with hundreds, if not thousands of lacrosse players – these are the exercises and stretches we routinely have players tell us are game changers for their body.

Sometimes it's releasing tension, tightness, or restrictions. Sometimes it's just improving range of motion so that you can optimize your mechanics on the field. But either way, all lacrosse players should have some sort of mobility routine in their daily life.

We've not only built mobility into each one of our Relentless Lacrosse workouts, but we also give players the exact routines they should be following 2-3 times per week to improve their range of motion and movements.

That's why we created our Relentless Lacrosse programs – to give you a complete system that includes not just strength and conditioning but also the mobility work that keeps you healthy and performing at your best.

It doesn't take much, but it does require action. So we encourage you to either do these stretches right now or create a list that you can follow & commit to yourself that you'll tackle them before bed.

Get stretching & train Relentless!

‍