February Mobility Challenge

The 2020 February Healthy Habit Challenge is…

Spend 15 minutes per day, 5 days per week on MOBILITY

We’ve all heard that it needs to be done…but is it really that important? What does mobility even mean?!

What does mobility mean?

According to Grayson Wickham of Movement Vault, “Mobility is our ability to take our body through a range of motion, before being restricted, with control".” While FLEXIBILITY is passive and refers to our connective tissues’ ability to stretch and elongate, you can think of MOBILITY as our joints’ ability to move through a range of motion.

Mobility and flexibility work together, but there are two separate things. A person can have good flexibility, but poor mobility. That’s because the ability of the muscles that surround a joint to stretch is just one factor in determining the ability of said joint to move well.

Why is it important?

What if I told you that with a few minutes each day you could:

  • prevent injury

  • increase strength

  • decrease pain

  • increase training longevity

That’s what working on mobility can do. Because it involves working on body awareness, strengthening imbalances, and coordination, often times it can even fix chronic pain and injures.

What should I do for it?

  • full range of motion, compound movements, under control - think strict pull-ups starting and finishing with straight arms, full range of motion push-ups, or squatting below parallel. This happens regularly during your workouts at CFCH, which is why we stress full range of motion before weight or speed!

  • active mobility drills - this includes dynamic warm-up drills like hip openers, high knees, as well as movements like I-T-Ys and thoracic rotations.

  • Crossover Symmetry - one of the greatest programs for increasing strength and stability in the shoulders

  • static stretching - save this for post workout if you’re holding stretches for an extended period of time (more than 15 seconds or so). Static stretching is when you find a position that causes a muscle to feel a stretching sensation, and hold that position.

  • myofascial release - foam rolling, using a lacrosse ball, or other tool to apply sustained pressure to the soft tissue

What if I need more specific direction?

How about a guided mobility video? Check out these great resources that give daily guided videos that you can follow along with:

The Ready State - (formerly MobilityWOD) is led by PT and CrossFit Affiliate owner, Dr. Kelly Starrett and addresses many different branches of mobility work. Use as part of your warm-up or after a workout. Long standing, reputable resource that includes a 14-day free trial.

Movement Vault - developed by PT Grayson Whickham and uses active stretches, activation exercises, joint mobilizations, and myofascial techniques to improve mobility. Choose the daily programmed video, or search videos based on your area of need. Great for warm-up or after workout. Free 7-day trial.

ROMWOD - very popular within the CrossFit community. Focuses only on stretching and holding static poses, so this is great for after your workout or to relax at the end of the day, but not before your training session. 7-day free trial.

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