The Duck Walk Dynamic Stretch is a tennis warm up preparing various muscles of the lower extremities for explosive movements.
The duck walk dynamic stretch also opens up the groin area and by increasing muscle tissue temperature the duck walk reduces the risk for injury and increases flexibility.
The goal is to get in the lowest squat position possible but that also puts more stress on the quadriceps and patella tendons.
Therefore, it is advisable that you start in a squat position of 90 degrees knee flexion and gradually move into a deeper squat position while duck walking forward.
Duck Walk Dynamic Stretch Progression
Implement the stretch into your dynamic stretching routine prior to your training or workout. 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, especially during the walking, so that you can maintain dynamic stability throughout the stretch.
You can keep the hands in front of your body while distributing your body weight through the heels because that makes it easier to maintain dynamic stability during the duck walk.
Advanced athletes can speed up the action and maintain a narrow base during the walk position to increase the dynamic stability requirements. You can take the hands behind the head or reach with your arms over the head while performing the duck walk.
Professional athletes can close their eyes during the action. That makes it even more difficult to maintain dynamic stability throughout the action.
Duck Walk Dynamic Stretch Description Summary
- Feet shoulder width apart
- Drop into the lowest squat attainable
- Look up towards the sky
- Back remains straight
- Weight remains on the heels
- Place hands behind your head so that elbows point sideways (shoulder is at 90˚)
- Walk forward using small steps
Targeted Musculature
- Glutes
- Quadriceps
- Hip Adductors
- Dorsi Flexors
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:
- Lunge And Twist Core Stretch
- Dynamic Abductor and Adductor Stretch: Bilateral Lunge
- Dynamic Piriformis Stretch
Other Static Stretches For You
Apart from the duck walk dynamic stretch we have some other static stretches for you that target the muscles acting on the knee and hip.
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:
