Maximize Mobility in 5 Steps

Mobility drills can be extremely valuable to maximize performance and reduce risk of injury. BUT! I see a lot of time wasted rolling on a foam roller while chatting before a workout. There are principles we can use in order to get the most ‘bang for your buck’ with time spent on warming up and cooling down. The proper use of mobility movements can help to PR a lift, or prevent you from throwing out your back. This list is a set of guidelines that I use in my practice and may not be applicable to everyone, as usual for a more individualized approach, contact me here.

Use a foam roller or lacrosse ball appropriately

The purpose of foam rolling or using lacrosse ball is to manipulate our tissue. By deforming our connective tissue and muscles over a foam roller or lacrosse ball, we stimulate mechanoreceptors (nerves that sense pressure/stretch/change in tissue). This will cause the muscle to ‘give’ a bit with less guarding and this improves muscle response during our actual stretching. Roling should be quick and dirty, no more than 30-60 seconds per body area.

Add weights or additional load to stretches

Don’t shy away from using dumbbells, barbells, bands or plates to increase the intensity of your stretch. For example, you can improve your overhead mobility by lying flat on your back and reaching arms overhead. Imagine how much more effective this would be if you added a barbell in your hands to ‘force’ that overhead position even more!

Try eccentric l e n g t h e n i n g

Eccentric lengthening is the period of movement where a muscle is elongating. For example, as we squat down our quads and calves are eccentrically lengthening. By slowing down the lowering phase, and even adding a pause in this lengthened position, we can improve our mobility through knees and ankles. This theory can be applied to any muscles and any body joint. For example, a good way to prep the body for squats, is squatting…long, slow lowering, long pauses in the bottom and slow rising.

Prioritize static versus dynamic stretches

Static stretching involves holding positions for a prolonged period (I usually see 30-60 seconds). However, static stretches need to be helds for a minimum of 1-2 minutes per position to allow for muscle and connective tissue lengthening. Pre-workout static stretching may result in decreased performance during explosive movements in a workout, while dynamic movements can improve performance. Dynamic stretches involve taking joints through a full range of motion. They are usually compound movements, for example Inchworms, Squat and Reach, or Calf Scoops. My general rule of thumb is to start my warm-up with a handful of static stretches followed by dynamic and I generally use my cool down for exclusively for static stretching.