Mobility
Hi Guys! Coach Jodi here with a fun post about mobility! I am pretty excited about this blog post. I don’t often get the opportunity to talk with all of you as much as I would like about mobility, so I really appreciate this opportunity. In this post, we will visit a few topics. First, what is mobility, and why should I focus on it. Second, how should I execute it? What is safe to do before a WOD? After a WOD? Can I do mobility work on a rest day? And thirdly, how do I know what to do? Mobility can be a pretty vague and overwhelming topic. My goal with this post is to demystify it a bit and show you how attainable it actually is!
So, first off, what is mobility, actually? Mobility is your ACTIVE range of motion, as opposed to flexibility, which is your PASSIVE range of motion. The driving factor in mobility is motor control, which is your nervous system’s ability to USE available range of motion. What does that mean? Well, you know how when you keep loading, say, a back squat, and as it gets heavier it gets harder to get all the way to parallel? That is your nervous system guarding your joints from too much load. How about the fabulous snatch position or overhead squat position you can get into with a PVC, but not with a loaded bar? Same thing. See, as the load gets heavier, your nervous system is constantly monitoring it’s ability to keep you safe via muscular contraction. So, when the load gets too heavy the nervous system says “nope” and you can’t go beyond that. The take away here is that the nervous system is king. It is always in charge. This is super important when approaching mobility work. If we know that the nervous system is king, we can know that we need to engage it when working toward building new mobile ranges of motion.
This brings us right into topic number two, how should I execute mobility work? Well, we already know that the nervous system is king, so we can guess that active work will be best, right? Exactly! So now I want to get into a few different types of mobility work that are common in the gym and when it is best to do them.
1. Active movement. This is where an athlete is focusing on a movement they want to work on by executing that movement, and gradually loading it. Think inchworm to banded good morning to deadlift. This is a great progression! Wait, you mean the warm up is really about mobility? Yup, it is! One of the most effective ways to improve a position is to spend time in it, move through it and gradually load it. It is graded exposure for the nervous system and works like a charm! We can find progressions for all of the movements that we do! Not sure what that might be? Ask a coach!
2. Self Myofascial Release (SMFR). Huh? That is all the stuff we get after with a foam roller, a lacrosse ball, and other fancy mobility tools. We can go after this two ways. Either passively, like rolling around on the foam roller. Or actively, like using the foam roller to tack and floss your tissue (ex: instead of rolling your quads you put your quad on the roller, add your bodyweight then bend and straighten your knee and rotate your hip back and forth). Executing SMFR actively is always going to get you better results, since you are engaging your nervous system, but passive SMFR can be helpful as well. The thing about SMFR is that it doesn’t actually change tissue length, but it does make you feel better. So then why is it, you ask, that when I spend time foam rolling and smashing my tissues with a lacrosse ball, I can get deeper into a squat, or get a better lock out with my arms? The answer is, again, your nervous system. Unfortunately, squashing the tissues for longer than 60 seconds turns off some pretty important components of your nervous system that are responsible for where your body is in space. So, it isn’t that you’ve squashed your tissues into submission; it’s that you have decreased your nervous system’s ability to communicate with the tissues you are engaging. Sounds dangerous, huh? It is. Loading tissues after SMFR isn’t the best idea; it actually increases your risk of injury under load. Save this work for after the WOD, or to help decrease soreness, or do it on a rest day. Active SMFR is a great tool and can help you build more usable mobility!
3. Passive stretching. This is a long, passive hold performed with or without a band. This is great for cool downs, and aids in recovery for sure. But it isn’t a great choice for before a workout. Why? Back to the nervous system. Long holds (greater than 60 seconds) actually exhaust a pretty important reflex, called the stretch reflex, which helps keep us safe through ranges of motion and also aids in explosive power. Say what?! Yup, you read that right. Passive stretching for greater than 60 seconds prior to a WOD can actually decrease your explosive power. No bueno. Save the passive work for cool downs; and to help with post WOD soreness.
That is a ton of information, right? To wrap it all up, we can focus on these things: Keep preWOD work active, avoid passive stretches, foam rolling and any SMFR work that IS GREATER THAN 60 SECONDS. Yup, you can do those before a workout, just not for more than a minute. That minute will increase blood flow and tissue pliability without interfering with the nervous system. BUT, you get the same results with the added benefit of position if you just stick with active movement pre-WOD! Post-WOD work can include passive stretching, SMFR, or more advanced mobility work. And yes, mobility can be done on a rest day. Some forms of mobility work (the ones that are the most effective) are pretty intense and can actually replace a WOD, in which case it would not be a rest day activity. If you want to learn more advanced mobility techniques and drills I encourage you to try out a mobility class! I program advanced work and do my best to provide education around what we are doing so that you walk away with a skill set that you can employ on your own! If you ever have any questions about how to address a mobility issue you have, how to achieve a better position in a WOD, or how to recover better, please ask a coach! Have fun mobilizing!