What is the oblique sling, and how does it affect me as an athlete? Are you a baseball player and want to throw harder and hit the ball further? Or are you a volleyball player that wants to increase arm speed and hit harder? Or are you a quarterback that wants to throw with a little more mustard? Your ability to do so is dependent upon your ability to load and create length through your oblique sling. This sling is our bodies personal whip. Understanding how to use it is a insanely effective way to improve sport performance.What Is The Oblique Sling Your oblique sling is a line of musculature that runs from your shoulder to the contralateral side of your pelvis. In other words, right shoulder to left hip and left shoulder to right hip. This line of musculature is what rotates our pelvis into side lying. As mentioned, it is our bodies own personal whip. When looking at your torso, your oblique sling begins just above the hip at the external oblique, moves to the rectus abdominus, to the internal oblique, to the serratus, and into the pec on the opposite side. Picturing this line of muscle anatomically allows you to see its importance in generating rotation. It plays a huge role in all rotational sports. As a strength coach that works with mainly overhead and rotational athletes, this is an important concept to understand and continue to find new ways to address and fine tune.Role Of The Oblique Sling In Throwing Your oblique sling plays a massive role in the stretch reflex of throwing. Briefly, the stretch reflex is also known as the stretch shortening cycle. The stretch reflex involves eccentric lengthening of the muscles involved in the movement, which stores elastic energy, allowing us to generate power. An Eccentric...