When we talk about mobility training, often times people equate it to yoga and stretching, but this isn’t the case! When you take a mobility class with me, I’m referring to a particular movement system called Functional Range Conditioning. It’s a system that is used frequently with high level pro-athletes, cirque du soleil, and physical therapy. But what exactly is it and what can you expect in one of one of my mobility classes?
What is Mobility?
Mobility is your ability to move your body without an outside force acting on it. It is strength and flexibility combined. Stretching helps your flexibility, which you need in order to do mobility training. Mobility is your ability to use your flexibility in your everyday life. It is the practical side.
Here’s an example of flexibility vs. mobility:
Flexibility
Lay on your back with a strap, scarf, or belt. Take your right foot into the strap and extend your leg up towards the ceiling. Notice how straight you can get the leg and also how much you can pull it towards your face using the strap. The strap is your outside force bringing you into your flexibility in this scenario
Mobility
Do this same exercise using ONLY your leg. No strap – no hands. Can you get the leg to the same point that it was with the outside force? Probably not. You want this gap between your flexibility and mobility to be closed.
Why You Need to do Mobility Training:
Because use it or lose it is real.
In mobility classes you use your joints in every direction they’re supposed to move – which we as humans at desks typically don’t do every day. When you stop doing a movement, your brain makes room for things you actually use in your daily activities. So when you stop frequently bringing your arm behind you, your brain says “oh we don’t need to remember how to perform this well because we don’t do it often,” and then it makes space for the activities we do frequently.
Our bodies also want to feel strong. In order for your brain to allow you to access a particular range of motion, it has to feel safe going into that movement. If you can create strength at your joints, it signals to your brain that it’s safe to move them.
Mobility training moves your joints in every direction and then strengthens them so your body knows it’s safe to bring them into bigger ranges of motion.
Tightness is your brain’s way of telling you something is off. It could be because of an older injury that your body doesn’t want you to move in a particular direction. It could also be a lack of stability and strength. So when we do mobility work we’re telling our body that it can release that tightness because we’re strong in the range of motion we’re trying to put our body into.
Who Is Mobility Training For?
Literally everyone. For our joints to be healthy they have to move. And they have to be strong. Mobility training is for anyone who wants to maintain a healthy and strong body. Age doesn’t matter and neither does your starting flexibility.
Got Questions? Drop me a comment below or shoot me an email kateformanyoga@gmail.com. If you want to take your first mobility class, head to the link below to sign up!