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If it is one movement that has the most carry over to almost all kinds of sports and achieving a high performing physique of general population, it is the "Triple Extension".
Triple Extension means extension of three major joints namely the hip, knee and ankle, happening together at once. In most sports where the athlete is required to perform at the best level in either running faster, jumping higher, jumping longer, dunking the basketball faster or cleaning and snatching heavier weights etc. and in achieving all of these in the most efficient ways, proficiency in the triple extension proves to be most vital. This is due to the fact that the athletes who can extend their hips, lock their knees and extend their ankles out most explosively and without any stability or mobility restrictions, those are the ones who perform at their best on the field.
How do you develop an efficient "Triple Extension" ?
A powerful triple extension requires not only the ability to extend fully, but extend powerfully and to develop a powerful movement, one has to ensure strength, muscle, mobility and stability!
Mobility and Stability :
Strength and power development will only work or will only be possible if the athlete is able to move better.
Hip Mobility : To better extend your hips, your hips should be able to contract unrestricted which means your hip flexors should be supple and released. Along with this, the piriformis and glutes should also not cause restriction. Hence it is required to roll and stretch the hip flexor complex, the IT bands, piriformis and the glutes. This is possible through Self myofascial release using foam roller, lacrosse/tennis ball or med-balls as well.
Knee Stability: According to Mike Boyle's Joint-by-Joint approach, knee joint is meant to be stable and not mobile. If the knee joint has to move in a certain circumstance, it means there is compensation going on because either the hip or the ankle isn't mobile enough to produce as certain movement and that is when there are chances for injury. For stability at the knee, not only the mobility and strength at the hip complex and ankles play a major role but also how strong the tendons and ligaments are nearby to the knee joint i.e. the quads, the adductors, abductors. Hence, the role of multi planar and unilateral lower body exercises play a major role. Also there are options for barefoot training to wake the dead nerves under the feet and get a better mind-muscle-joint connection.
Ankle Mobility : In most of the cases when a person cannot squat or jump with optimal positioning, it is due to the tight ankles that restrict him from doing so. Hence, it is essential that the ankles are mobile enough to flex and extend efficiently because both flexion-extension complement each other. None can happen if the other isn't happening. Hence, it is advised to stretch the ankles before every lower body session or maybe stretch in between sets as fillers. In the CPPS pre-movement assessments, ankle mobility is tested with squat test and stretching to understand where the athlete stands at present and how to train him/her.
Core Stability : To execute any high quality powerful movement, the pre-requisite is the stability of your core. If the center of your body is stable, then your extremities can move around freely and do what you intend to do ion the first place. Obviously, if you're looking for a high performing activity, your basic core strength and stability should be at par of an average individual, hence, you can try your hand at anti-type movements or dynamic core movements like rollouts, single arm carries, tire hammer chops etc. to stabilize and strengthen the core along with big compound lifting.
Strength and Muscle -
Hip Extension: To develop a strong hip extension, program hip hinging movements like hip thrusts, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, glute ham raise, back extensions, reverse hypers, pull throughs, etc.
Knee Extension : A strong knee extension happens when an athlete has strong quadriceps that are developed by squatting, lunges, split squats, and other squat variants.
Ankle Extension : When ankles extend, if you observe, it contracts the corresponding calf muscles. Hence, the more efficiently your calves contract, the better the ankle extension with be. Use calf raises, with weights, isometric holds and eccentrics to build strength and muscle.
Power :
Lastly, integrating strength, mobility and stability, the athlete looks to go up a notch in using all the elements in an explosive manner and thus achieve powerful contractions or extensions.
Movements such as vertical jumps, box jumps, single leg jumps, kettlebell swings, dynamic effort or speed deadlifts, speed squats, Olympic lifting variants, etc. will help you to develop power using triple extension.
A bonus add-on to generate better force or power is extension at the upper spine or the thoracic spine. Anytime you see an athlete preparing to jump or throw, the suppleness of the thoracic spine - rotation and extension plays a huge role.
Thus, to complete the profile, we add one more extension to the triple extension and that is "Thoracic Extension"
References:
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