Mobility is one of the most neglected parts of our workouts today. Mobility has been traditionally treated as less important, making it easier for individuals to justify skipping it or “doing it later.” Mobility is the active range of motion of a joint and muscles. It has many benefits for the body both during and after exercise.
Pre-workout mobility gets the blood flowing throughout the body and prepares the body for the upcoming exercise. Additionally, it enhances movement quality before adding load or resistance. Pre-workout mobility can help you warm up more effectively. It can be viewed as dynamic stretching as it uses motion to work a muscle slowly into its full range of motion.
Post-workout mobility helps with muscle recovery and lengthens the muscles that cause contraction during exercise. Post-workout mobility helps to prevent the occurrence of injury in the long run.
Developing a consistent mobility routine can reduce incidences of pain throughout your lifetime, improve functional movement quality, and keep you mobile as you age. Mobility routines can be used as active recovery and help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Mobility routines do not have to be extravagant and long undertakings. It is simply the process of taking your body through a range of motion to stretch and lengthen the muscles. It can be done in the morning and evening and broken down at different segments during the day whenever you experience some tightness.
If you are not in a position where you can get down on the floor for a hip flexor and hamstring stretch, modify it, and perform a seated hamstring stretch. Similarly, you can perform a seated piriformis stretch to relieve hip pain or tension if a floor is not available to you. Doing these exercises are all ways you can incorporate mobility training into your day and
Overall benefits of mobility
Warm-up more effectively
Improved movement quality
Improved posture
Increased strength
Improved form during weightlifting
Reduced pain levels throughout the body
Reduced risk of injury
Improved range of motion
Lowered levels of soreness after exercise
Exercises or movements to improve mobility
Some exercises that can improve mobility are the hip flexor stretch, cat-cow, adductor stretch.
Cat-cow
On hands and knees, lower head, and arch spine while contracting stomach muscles. This is the cat position. Raise the head slowly while lowering the spine to move into the cow position. DO NOT PRESS DOWN IN COW POSITION.-10 reps
Downward dog
From a hands and knees position, raise knees off the floor, forming a triangle between hands, hips, and feet. Tighten quads while pressing chest toward the knees. Simultaneously raise hips and press heels toward the floor. 1 min.
Adductors
Standing with your feet spread apart and toes pointed 45° outward, bend one knee and shift your weight slightly in that direction. Tighten the hip and press down. You will feel the stretch in the inner thigh of the extended leg. Keep the head up and back straight.
Hip flexors
Kneeling with one leg out in front of you, forefoot positioned just beyond the knee, and flat on the floor, press your hips forward and hold. Keep the head and shoulders back.
Gluteus Maximus
Sitting on the floor and reclining back with both arms behind the body and knees bent at 90 degrees with feet on the floor, cross the lower leg (just above the ankle) over the thigh of the opposite leg. Bring your torso upright by walking the hands closer to your hips. Lean forward and hold while keeping arms straight.
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