What is mobility training?
Make it stand out
What is it and why is it so important?
Mobility means the ability to move freely. That is what mobility training is all about; helping your body move freely.
Limited range of motion (ROM) in your joints can result in pain, stiffness, and discomfort with certain movement patterns. It can come from muscle imbalances AND your rib cage/pelvis position and breathing patterns!
If you can’t move freely, you might experience things like low back pain, pelvic floor tightness, crunchy knees, pinchy hips, stiff ankles. All of those things that make you grimace when you get up off the floor, out of a chair, or get up in the morning.
This is why you should prioritize mobility training in your fitness programming; it’s the type of training that helps you live more comfortably and will keep your body feeling young.
How to incorporate mobility into your programming:
To get maximum results, you would want to start with a breathing & movement assessment to understand the range of motion (ROM) in each of your joints and understand where you have compression in your thorax (rib cage) and pelvis. From there, you could build very specific programming to address YOUR needs.
However, you can still benefit from a more general total body mobility approach. Here are three ways you can add “mobility training” into your workouts:
Start every workout with positional breathing exercises - Think of this as stretching from the inside out. By focusing on breathing in different positions, you can improve rib cage mobility, which will in turn improve spine & pelvis positioning, as well as diaphragm and pelvic floor function.
End range strength work - Keep using traditional strength training exercises (deadlift, squat, press, etc.), but add in accessory work that is focused on using maximum range of motion (thing ATG split squats), rotation (hips, spine, shoulders, everywhere!), and move in different planes of motion.
Use more “typical” mobility techniques - On active rest days, in accessory work, or as part of a cool-down, incorporate more “typical” mobility training techniques like PAILs & RAILs, isometric holds, and CARs. This will help you increase end range strength and control at your joints.
Mobility training takes TIME.
Mobility training uses a lot of connective tissue and neurological adaptations that take a long time. 12 weeks of consistent work is a minimum timeframe to begin to see lasting adaptations. That’s not to say you won’t move and feel better before then, but it may not last! So don’t give up, keep going!
If you need help with mobility training..
All of my programming includes positional breathing exercises & mobility training. If you want help finding a fitness program that works for you, I have you covered. You can check out the self-paced 4 week intro to breathing & mobility program, FEF Membership (multiple program options), 1-1 online personal training, or 60 minute movement assessment. You can find out more information about each at the link below!
