Why you should integrate mobility exercises into your fitness lifestyle

You might find that your body feels tight and unathletic when performing the simplest of tasks, such as, bending down to pick up the pen that just rolled off your WFH makeshift desk. The reason for this could be down to a number of factors; for example, not stretching enough following a workout. However, I ask you: how much mobility do you do before or after a training session or online class?. If your answer is not a lot don't worry and certainly don’t panic. It is common for the answer to be little to none as you wouldn't find yourself using a practical application of S&C in your regular gym routine. Mobility differs from flexibility (stretching your muscles following a workout) because long-term it will allow your body to move freely and efficiently during a workout. Integrating this prior to your training enables you to work towards an optimal range of motion and prevent injuries that are likely to occur over time from strenuous training - It would be awesome to show off to your instructor when they say “get deeper!” in a squat and you can show them what you’ve got. There are some excellent mobility exercises that are easy to follow and will be provided at the end of this article for you to have a practice with at home.

Understanding the importance of this S&C application means you can tailor mobility exercises to your goal or sport and concentrate on specific movements that will enhance the quality of your performance and/or skill. To correctly tailor mobility to you, you must first establish the training aim in which you fall under. The six most common training aims and a couple of their examples are:

Skill Development:

• Improve or perfect a specific movement or work towards something new
• Olympic weight lifting
• Learning how to Conventional Deadlift/Squat/Bench Press

Speed and Power:

• Improve the exertion of force to increase speed (sport predominant)
• Plyometrics (Les Mills GRIT)
• High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Strength:

• Improve bone and muscle strength to reduce the risk of injury.
• Weight training
• Pump or Kettlebell classes

Hypertrophy:

• More sets and reps (volume) with lower intensity to increase muscle mass.
• ALBT Class
• Step n Tone class

Fat Loss:

• Does what it says on the tin - weight loss specific and increases metabolism.
• Running
• Cycling

Endurance:

• Increase stamina allowing you to train for longer and go the extra mile.
• Walking
• Aerobics or Zumba class

Further importance of mobility training is that it works towards preventing injury or reinjuries. A very broad example of this could be a runner with a bad ankle sprain which has affected part of their joint movement and stability; therefore, may benefit from balance control exercises as a starting point. Although, we are all guilty of continuing to train on a sprain because we don't want to avoid being inactive; and, normally if you experience a 'niggle' during running you just ice it and give it a day to ease off. Sadly, this isn't enough to prevent the same thing happening on your next run. Conditioning your joint stability specific to this sort of injury should reduce the risk before you begin loading it with a particular weight and impact. One type of mobility particular to this is often a slow single-leg movement which you can find at the bottom of this article. Enjoying your training routine, or workout, is what we love to see in the fitness industry, and maintaining a mobile lifestyle means you will notice improvements in your techniques and depth. Below is a list of great mobility exercises to ensure you are performing to the best of your ability, and beasting that workout!