I still get looks when I am doing lower body mobility exercises or roll my back over a foam roller in the gym (Below you can see Bill Hartman demonstrating a t-spine mobility exercise).

It still shocks me that so few people perform mobility exercises.

I know mobility exercises are standard with athletes and in the performance world.  It still shocks me that not many people in fitness do mobility exercises.

If people did, they would get better fitness results, recover from injuries faster and are less likely to be injured.

M is for Mobility

Mobility is a key component to injuries or holding your clients back from optimal movement and results.

The joints in our body require movement.  With most of us, constant sitting, driving, awkward postures, previous injuries and poor training techniques lead to muscle imbalances.

In many cases, muscle imbalances lead to a decrease in movements in our joints.  This decrease in joint movement leads to joint dysfunction.  This joint dysfunction leads to the joint not moving properly.

Muscle Imbalance => Decrease Movement => Joint Dysfunction => Decrease in Fitness Results / Slow Injury Recovery / Increase Risk of Injury

How Can Poor Mobility Lead to Injuries?

Poor mobility forces the joints above and below to do more than they can.  As these joints above and below adapt in order to respond to the movement we need, this adaptation lead to greater stress on the joints which leads to increased risk of injury.

An example of this is the ankle and knee.  In many cases the ankle lacks mobility and what results is a compensation of the knee in order complete the movement.  In order for the knee to create the movement needed it will collapse in or rotate in.  Many times the compensation of the knee leads to greater stress on the knee and in time it will lead to an injury to the knee.

How Can Mobility Be Holding Your Client Back from Reaching Their Fitness Goals?

If your client does not have ideal mobility in their joints, they will not be able to get the most out of many exercises.  They will have limited range of motion when they do certain exercises which will lead to getting less out of the exercise and achieving less benefit.

An example of this is the squat.  If your client lack hip mobility in the sagittal plane (forward and back), they will be limited on how deep they will be able to squat before their technique breaks down.  A limitation of the depth creates muscle weakness in the ranges of motion of the knee and hip plus leads to a decrease in the benefits from the exercise.  This leads to slower fitness results.

Mobility movements are easy to add to your client’s workout, bootcamp or routine during the day.

The joints that need to be focused on are the ankle, hip and thoracic spine.

To help your clients get better results, make sure to add some mobility exercises.

For more details on mobility exercises, check out:

Rick Kaselj, MS

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