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By Brendan Modini
If you’ve been struggling to wash your back in the shower, tie your hair up, or get a new personal best on that back squat, you’ll want to keep reading.
Dr Google defines mobility as a noun: the ability to move or be moved freely and easily.
But what does this really mean and why is it important? Don’t worry fam, we got you (and your messy bun)!
The dictionary definition seems straightforward, but let’s break it down a little more to better understand it and relate to it.
Mobility refers to how well we can move our bodies, joints, and muscles freely and easily through their full range of motion.
Think of a squat and your range of motion.
Good mobility: If you can bring your butt down to knee level or lower easily and freely, you’d be considered as having good mobility.
Poor mobility: If getting that range of motion is a challenge or struggle, you might be considered as having poor mobility – you can improve that!
Often confused and used interchangeably, these two words mean completely different things. We’ll explain and you can test the difference out on yourself right now.
Flexibility is passive. For example, flexibility is when you can pull your thumb back with your other hand, so it touches your wrist.
Mobility is dynamic or active. For example, mobility is the ability to get your thumb to that exact same spot on your wrist without the help of the other hand.
Both flexibility and mobility are super important in supporting our everyday lives.
However, good mobility is what will take your movement and training in the gym to the next level – I smell a personal best coming along!
Working on your mobility is best done before your workout.
Think of working on your mobility as a dynamic warmup for your body to prepare it for the workout ahead.
Legs swings are a great example of a dynamic movement to work on your mobility on leg day.
Leg swing – how to: standing on one leg, holding a wall for balance, swing the other leg front and back 10-12 times and repeat on the other side.
Arm circles are another great dynamic movement to do for mobility work on arm day.
Arm circle – how to: Swing both arms continuously overhead then forward, down, and backwards into a circle.
This will increase blood flow to the targeted muscles, increase your joint’s range of motion and maximise the ability of your body to activate those muscles for movement.
However, working on your flexibility is best done after your workout.
You can work on your flexibility with static stretches like holding a quad stretch for 5-10 breath cycles.
This will help relax and lengthen your muscles and speed up your recovery.
Now if you’ve tried some mobility work and you’re still struggling with it, you first need to understand what is causing your lack of mobility and what’s being affected by it.
There are so many factors affecting mobility, so it’s best to see a trained professional like a physio or qualified fitness professional to check it out and help you take your training to the next level.