Short on time and not sure where to start with your mobility?
Yoga instructor, Crossfit coach and movement specialist Georgina Gabriel shares her top tips when working to improve your range of motion…Essentially when you break it down, mobility is simply about being able to easily move without aid or assistance to perform day to day tasks.
How we move is determined by our motor abilities such as strength, flexibility, coordination, agility, endurance and speed. When we want to improve the way we move for a specific task, we need to take this into consideration.
Improving flexibility allows us to build more strength and opens up a huge amount of movement potential. What do you need to be more flexible for? Are you currently stuck learning a new skill or struggling with basic tasks at home because you are limited by your range of motion?
In this blog series over the next 7 weeks I want to help you overcome some of your limiting beliefs when wanting to improve your movement capacity.
Does any of this sound familiar?...
You don't feel like you have enough time to work on improving your flexibility.
You don't know where to start when improving your flexibility.
You don't prioritize it because you don't really know why you are doing it.
It feels really uncomfortable so you try, but then give up.
You feel like you are too old to start and you label yourself as 'just not flexible'.
You have a really hectic life with kids, work etc so don't know when or how to fit it in.
My MVMT Library offers you the ability to work on your flexibility whether you have 5 minutes or 60 minutes spare. There are lots of flows to help you move better from full body flows or specific body part flows. The key to success is to be consistent each week. Check it out for 7 days free below!..
Week 3, Tip #3 - Why Prioritize Your Mobility?
Life is pretty full on, you're busy with work, family life and always rushing to get through your to do list, maybe you just about manage to squeeze the gym in, or maybe you don't. Ask yourself a really important question though...How much do you actually move each day?
Make a note of what you do day to day and have a think about how many of those movements are linear? Maybe walking, running, picking something up and putting it down again, being sat in one position for hours hunched over? Sound familiar?
How much do you rotate, bend or extend your body?
Do you ever struggle with joint pain, struggle to recover from training, maybe you are fed up of hitting plateaus or constantly feeling tight?
'Our bodies are designed to move, don't let yourself become stuck. We need to explore.'
Not doing your mobility work is going to show up at some point, whether thats an injury, feeling tight and sore all the time, not being able to do day to day functional tasks, or perhaps feeling unable to advance your current skill level in the gym. I see mobility work as a tool allowing me to do what I love for longer.
By looking after your joints and working on your flexibility you will actually get stronger! You will be able to access tissue more easily to be able to move through a wider range of motion.
Here are some examples of why better flexibility means more efficiency in the gym...
'By improving the range of motion in my squat and squatting ass to grass, I now have a stronger, safer and improved catch position in my squat clean and snatch.'
'By improving the range of motion in my spine, hips and hamstrings, I can hinge better and pull more off the floor in my deadlift.'
'By improving the range of motion in my scapular, I have better awareness, strength and control to perform muscle ups, dips, pull ups and handstands.'
These are just some examples of how working through full range of motion and improving flexibility can impact the gym, but there are many more.
When it comes to everyday life it might be that you feel less discomfort or tightness when you wake up, you can get in and out of a chair or the car more easily, you don't feel pain in your knees going up and down the stairs, you can reach that top cupboard in the kitchen, and you can pick up that awkward object without throwing your back out.
Waiting to be ready to make time for your flexibility so you can move better and feel better is like joining a gym membership, but never showing up and not understanding why you still aren't fitter than when you joined. Better flexibility = increased movement potential.
Prioritize moving better and counteracting the poor habitual patterns we get stuck in day to day, because life in general, not just training will become easier mentally and physically.
Here are some examples that will improve your quality of life if you start now...
- Morning movement 5-10 minutes, something dynamic rather than holding stretches which can tend to make you feel more tired.
- Dynamic flexibility warm ups prior to a dynamic training session. Dynamic flexibility work improves dynamic flexibility just as static flexibility work improves static flexibility....Kind of obvious. Make it relative to your sport/training session.
- Train through a full range of motion in the gym. No bro reps here! Squat full depth, and if you can't then use a platform so that you can, such as a heel elevation to strengthen a deeper range. Do your pull ups from arms extended until you get your chest all the way to the bar as high as you possibly can. Elevate yourself on P-bars for your push ups to train deep shoulder extension...These are just some examples, so have a think about how this might apply to your training.
- Desk breaks from work even if you only do a movement for a minute, doing this consistently adds up. Pick a movement such as a reverse table top reach or a full squat, or a deep lunge...Whatever it is pick one and then the next break, pick another
- Post training stretching to increase blood flow, aid in recovery and leave you feeling more mentally relaxed too.
None of these movement sessions need to be long. You are better doing little and often rather than trying to schedule in an hour that then doesn't happen.
For more help in your movement and mobility check out how I can help you below:
