Mobility is often overlooked, or grouped in with flexibility training, but it’s actually very different and pretty important to work into your regular routine. Mobility training includes working through your full range of motion and movements to improve a range of things, and while this includes flexibility, it also covers balance, strength and stability.
The difference between mobility and flexibility
Flexibility focuses on stretching and lengthening our muscles. While this can be included as a part of mobility, it’s not the only thing it encompasses. Mobility focuses on your awareness and perception of your body’s positioning and movement. Mobility training generally includes exercises that allow you to move through your full range of motion, with a focus on actively controlling your muscles and joints at the beginning, in between and at the end of your range.
Benefits of Mobility Training
Mobility training is key to help prevent injury and joint deterioration, and can also help reduce aches, pains, and knots. By actively engaging and strengthening the stabilisers of your joints, you’ll find yourself much less likely to hurt yourself due to incorrect engagement or overuse of certain muscles. Not only this, but it can also help to improve your posture and relieve tension. Once you introduce mobility training to your regular workout routine you’ll also most likely see improved overall performance and increased range of motion.
Including mobility training in your routine
Including mobility training in your weekly workout routine is a must if you want to see consistent improvement with minimal injuries or other setbacks. If you don’t include any mobility training in your workout, you may find yourself overcompensating with other joints if a certain part of your body isn’t as mobile as the rest – which is how you get injured. For example, if one of your hips is more mobile than the other, you may find yourself taking more weight in that side of your body, or over-using the muscles in your good hip to compensate for the bad one, which can eventually lead to an overuse injury, or worse.
For some good examples of mobility exercises you could include in your routine, take a look here.
Comments