Mobility is one of the keys to exercise longevity.
Working on your mobility will unlock hidden potential in your body. It can help you break through plateaus and improve your overall health. You need good mobility to become stronger and move well.
Mobility is not Flexibility.
Mobility is not something we do to "become more flexible." It is being able to control the flexibility you have and the. Create greater, safe usable ranges of motion, and there are many great benefits to doing this.
With mobility training, you can mitigate injuries and maximize your progress in everything you do, whether it's increasing muscle mass, building strength, or developing movement skills.
Mobility training helps you connect your brain to your body. It helps decrease the gap between passive flexibility and active control over your body - thereby mitigating as much injury doing the things you want to do. Whether you want to snatch 30kg kettlebells over your head, hike a 14k footer or play with your grandchildren. You have to have control over your body. That includes your joints.
Many athletes, cross-fitters and those that routinely work-out think that chronic aches and pains are normal but this is not true.
Pain is not normal.
Chronic injury is not some badge of honor. You're not tough because your knees are banged up from your workouts.
Much of your chronic pain and injuries are fixable, and many of them can be avoided with proper mobility training.
Definition of mobility
Mobility is the strength and control within a joint's range of motion.
The difference between mobility and flexibility is active versus passive range of motion. For example, you may be able to pull your knee up to your chest with outside help (gravity, your arms, someone leaning on you, a yoga strap) but how close and long can you hold your knee up to your chest without the outside help?
Good mobility means that you can "instruct" your hip flexors to lift your knee to your chest just as much as you could by pulling it up with your arms.
In a small range of motion, it is possible for your muscles to have strength. For this reason, strength alone is not enough: You need to train your entire range of motion to build mobility.
There are two types of mobility
Type 1 - Mobility of muscle / part of the body (isolation)
It is possible to have mobility in certain muscles and none at all in others.
It is possible to have high mobility in the upper body but very little in the lower body (think of a professional rower or a baseball pitcher).
If one muscle becomes strong and mobile, it doesn't mean your entire body has a good level of mobility, which is why it's important to have the 2nd type.
Type 2 - Overall mobility, also known as structural balance.
It is the ability of your entire body to balance and move together as one.
Structural balance is by far the most important thing you can have for muscle growth, health and injury prevention. A body that has overall mobility has the best chance of staying healthy because it has no weak points.
A good amount of structural balance allows a person to perform and handle any position the body is in - either intentionally or unintentionally.
Also, no joint is put under unnecessary stress because everything is working properly, which helps prevent many of the chronic injuries people experience.
Your body wants to stay balanced by default.
This is essentially the body's own natural mechanism for avoiding injury.
Without structural balance, you will not be able to reach your full potential as the body will restrict your growth to stay healthy and avoid injury.
The triceps naturally counter-balances the strength of the biceps. Likewise, your quads need to counter-balance your hamstrings. This should be obvious, but often it is not and reflected in most people's training.
If you push your body past it’s current capability injuries occur. If you don’t have the proper scapular rotations, elbow rotations, wrist strength and so on, the chance of developing chronic elbow pain or shoulder injury is greater.
Take Action
Mobility exercises and movements should be a critical part of your overall exercise program. This means choosing the right mobility exercises that focus on improving range of motion, stability and muscle control. It also means addressing areas of weakness and muscle imbalances, which when done purposefully will protect your body from injury. Ultimately, the goal of mobility is to help you move in a better, more controlled way without being compromised or limited.
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