drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
Mobility is critical to increasing strength and preventing injuries.
Novices normally focus primarily on how many push-ups and pull-ups they can do. Their plan for increasing strength centers around the number of reps they perform. Advanced fitness enthusiasts, on the other hand, understand that improving mobility is the key to developing strength and balance, AND preventing injuries.
Mobility is not the same as flexibility. Flexibility is a component of mobility, but it is not the only part of it.
There are two aspects of mobility:
Most people know the first aspect of mobility. If you have ever seen someone do the splits on the ground, this is passive flexibility. Dynamic flexibility, however, is a different type of mobility that I’d like to focus on in this post.
Your ligaments and tendons are what structure your muscles. Have you ever heard of someone injuring themselves by reaching into the car to pick up a bag of groceries? They might have super strong muscle from doing squats and bench presses, but they crumble when their body isn’t in its typical position. They have very poor mobility.
One of the reasons that I love bodyweight training so much is that you develop strength throughout your entire body. You aren’t isolating muscles, but developing strength as a complete unit. After my training sessions I feel a oneness throughout my whole body that I could never achieve through gym-based training.
Many bodyweight exercises also inherently improve mobility. For example, both the Gracie Drill and the Dive Bomber Push-up bring your shoulders through a full range of motion.
[h=2]How Do You Improve Mobility?[/h]The first method is passive stretching. The second is to bring your joint through a full range of motion under varying degrees of tension. There doesn’t need to be a lot of tension, but there must be some.
Novices normally focus primarily on how many push-ups and pull-ups they can do. Their plan for increasing strength centers around the number of reps they perform. Advanced fitness enthusiasts, on the other hand, understand that improving mobility is the key to developing strength and balance, AND preventing injuries.
Mobility is not the same as flexibility. Flexibility is a component of mobility, but it is not the only part of it.
There are two aspects of mobility:
- Degree of flexibility of the muscles, tendons and ligaments under low stress (passive flexibility)
- Degree of flexibility of the muscles, tendons and ligaments under medium to high stress (dynamic flexibility)
Most people know the first aspect of mobility. If you have ever seen someone do the splits on the ground, this is passive flexibility. Dynamic flexibility, however, is a different type of mobility that I’d like to focus on in this post.
Your ligaments and tendons are what structure your muscles. Have you ever heard of someone injuring themselves by reaching into the car to pick up a bag of groceries? They might have super strong muscle from doing squats and bench presses, but they crumble when their body isn’t in its typical position. They have very poor mobility.
One of the reasons that I love bodyweight training so much is that you develop strength throughout your entire body. You aren’t isolating muscles, but developing strength as a complete unit. After my training sessions I feel a oneness throughout my whole body that I could never achieve through gym-based training.
Many bodyweight exercises also inherently improve mobility. For example, both the Gracie Drill and the Dive Bomber Push-up bring your shoulders through a full range of motion.
[h=2]How Do You Improve Mobility?[/h]The first method is passive stretching. The second is to bring your joint through a full range of motion under varying degrees of tension. There doesn’t need to be a lot of tension, but there must be some.
