Some important takeaways:
- Mobility work can boost your athletic performance, helping you run faster and lift heavier.
- When you’re consistent about mobility work, you may be less likely to be sidelined by an injury.
- Any type of exercise that moves your joints through a full range of motion counts as mobility work.
- It only takes a few minutes a day to improve your mobility, but try to be consistent about it.
Picture this: You’re in the gym and can’t sink into a squat without pain in your hips. As a result, you skip the exercise and fail to complete your leg-day training session. Over time, your quads and glutes weaken, and you’re unable to build any lower-body strength. Even though this may sound extreme, having poor mobility can hinder every aspect of your life — from your ability to do a simple exercise at the gym to completing everyday tasks.
And while mobility work may not be as immediately rewarding as strength work or cardio, dedicating time to building your mobility can make a massive difference when it comes to your speed, agility, and overall athletic performance. But doing so is about more than boosting athleticism alone. Good mobility is essential for living a healthy and productive life — right now, and well into your old age.
Here’s a helpful breakdown of mobility work, including why you should make it a regular part of your life, some standout benefits (backed by science, of course), how to mix mobility work into your workout schedule, and a few movements to try.
What mobility work is — and why it matters
Mobility work involves doing exercises that increase the range of motion of your joints. It’s all about improving the way you move — both within your athletic training and also when you’re going about regular life — picking up your toddler, carrying groceries, powering through a marathon day of fall yard work, etc. You have a lot of options, but some common mobility exercises include deep squats, cat-cow, hip circles, and thoracic extensions.
A lot of guys skip mobility training, assuming it’s only for older adults or the elderly. But this isn’t the case. No matter your age, there’s a solid chance that consistent mobility work can boost your current athletic performance right now. When your joints have better mobility, they’re less likely to restrict your movements and your workouts.
Alternatively, you might have a habit of skipping mobility work because you’re already ultra-flexible. Interestingly, being flexible isn’t enough to guarantee that you have proper mobility. While mobility is linked to your flexibility and both are crucial in daily life, the two are distinctly different. Flexibility relates to your ability to passively lengthen and stretch your muscles and tendons, and move your joint through a range of motion without much active control and without pain. While mobility is about actively controlling and moving your joint through its full range of motion. This might involve things like flexibility, stability, strength, and balance.
It’s possible that you’re already doing a bit of mobility work without even realizing it. Any exercise that moves your joints through a full range of motion is considered mobility work, including running, swimming, and golf. But it can also be even more targeted, like downward-facing dog pose and the 90/90 stretch.
When it comes to boosting your mobility, your regular gym sessions may be more helpful than you realized. A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Sports Med found that resistance training with external loads noticeably improved the range of motion in participants across multiple studies.
It’s all about consistency
With mobility work, consistency is key. Try to commit to exercises that move your joints through a full range of motion on a daily basis. Even just five minutes of a few dynamic stretches or yoga poses can make a difference in how your joints feel and perform. You can also create a mobility routine for yourself, based on which joints in your body could use a little TLC.
Boosting your performance with mobility work
Having good mobility may seem less important than building strength or flexibility, but it’s not. Here are just a few of the benefits you’ll tap into by doing mobility work:
- Better athletic performance: A 2022 systematic review published in the Journal of Sports Sciences found that mobility work can significantly improve athletic performance, allowing you to potentially run faster, go farther, and lift heavier.
- Reduce muscle soreness and strain: By improving the range of motion in your joints, you may experience less strain and soreness after your workouts, and you also may be less likely to become injured.
- Boost your strength: Improving your range of motion might have an impact on your strength training. You may be able to sink deeper into a squat, get more range during a row, or fully extend your arm in a shoulder press.
- Stress reduction: Nearly any type of physical movement, mobility work included, can help lower your stress levels. It also reduces the negative effects of stress on your body, which often include lower testosterone levels.
- Improved posture: Mobility work may help you sit up a bit straighter. Instead of slouching, your joints will be better able to support you and enable you to maintain good posture.
The most important step — getting started
Getting started with mobility work doesn’t have to involve a major shift in your routine. It really can be as simple as adding in some yoga poses or dynamic exercises before your next workout. Maybe you take a few minutes for cat-cow pose or some tension-releasing hip circles. Remember: anything that helps move your joints through that full range of motion will improve your mobility. Tune in and listen to how your body feels, and think about whether mobility work might make a difference.
Dr. Cam’s health hack:
Still looking for a place to start? Consider following a staple of Dr. Cam’s exercise routine:
"The best exercise that I have found to counteract all the computer sitting we do as professionals are DEAD HANGS. Just hang from a bar for as long as you can. Develops hand & forearm strength that counteracts RSI, decompresses the spine, stretches muscles & improves shoulders."
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