Flexibility & Mobility
In this article we’re going to take a look at flexibility and mobility. We will give you a look at what defines flexibility and mobility (since they differ slightly), some background on why we want to target these two things, different types of flexibility, tips, techniques, and protcols to get yourself started. There are many different techniques when it comes to these two things, so instead of teaching you about all of them, I’m going to give you some easy and effective ways to start incorporating them into your own life. These are things that I have incorporated myself and have found to be great additions.
Whats the difference?
Are flexibility and mobility the same thing? No, they are not the same thing when you look closer. With flexibility we are looking at targeting the muscle, trying to change its length, generally while performing some type of a static hold (holding in place). Think of static stretching, where you hold a position to increase the length of a certain muscle (for example, a hamstring stretch with your leg elevated on box). With mobility, we are targeting the joint instead of the muscle, using gentle motion to help increase range of motion (ROM). Think of something like cat cows, where you are actively trying to increase the range of motion of the thoracic spine.
Different types of flexibility
When it comes to flexibility, there are many different methods. Static, dynamic, ballisitic, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching are some that come to mind. The main technique that we will talk about today will be static stretching. A static stretch is one where you find a position to target a specific muscle or muscle group and hold that position for a specific amount of time, or in this case a specific number of breaths. Static stretching has been an interesting topic when it comes to preparing for exercise. When I was young, stretching was always mandatory before practices and games. Then research came out saying that static stretching decreased the rate at which we are able to produce force or power (an essential and arguably the most imporant quality in sport). Quickly after, static stretching before exercise became taboo and the the dynamic warm-up was born. The dynamic warm-up, also known as an active warm-up or dyamic flexibility, is a great way to prepare for exercise. It differs from a static stretch, because instead of holding the position of a stretch, the stretch is now movement based. In order to stretch a certain muscle group (for example, the hamstrings), we will use the opposing muscle group to stretch that muscle (for example, using the hip flexor muscles to stretch the hamstrings during a straight leg kick). Dynamic flexibility can also mean holding positions that cause a stretch but for a much shorter amount of time (maybe 1 or 2 seconds).
use dynamic or static stretching?
Use both before your exercise session. This will be a hot take for many who still believe static stretching shouldn’t be used before exercise, due to what I mentioned above about decreasing the ability to produce force or power afterwards. I was of the same mindset until I read Mike Boyle’s New Functional Training For Sports 2nd Edition. Mike Boyle notes that “static stretching is a poor way to warm-up for exercise, but it is still necessary for long-term injury prevention…dynamic flexibility work, or an active warm-up, is superior before exercise” (Boyle, 2016, p. 46). So why am I recommending that we use both before exercise if one is better? Because although a dynamic warm-up is a better way to prepare for an exercise session and it is the best way to prevent acute injury, a lack of flexibility seems to play a prominent role in the type of injuries that slowly show up over time and wreak havoc on today’s athletes. Things like patellofemoral syndrome, shoulder pain, and low back pain seem to strongly correlate to long-term tissue changes that don’t respond much to dynamic stretching. Can’t we just static stretch after exercising then? This is a great question and a method that many people have implemented since learning about the negative effect of static stretching on force output. The truth is, many leading soft tissue experts recommend that muscles be stretched “cold”, without any warm-up beforehand. The idea being that a muscle that is already warm will easily get longer but then go back to its original length. A muscle that is stretched while “cold” may undergo some structural changes and change its length without returning to its original length. This information points to personal trainers and coaches needing to think about static stretching and muscle length changes for long-term injury and dynamic warm-up for short-term injury prevention. Furthermore, a study by Chaabene et al., 2019, stated that “More recent evidence suggests that when performed as a single-mode treatment or when integrated within a full warm-up routine including aerobic activity, dynamic stretching, and sport specific activities, short duration static stretching (≤ 60 sec per muscle group) trivially impairs subsequent strength and power activities…Moreover recent evidence suggests that when included in a full warm up routine, short duration static stretching may even contribute to lower the risk of sustaining musculotendinous injuries, especially with high-intensity activities.” This information suggests that we may need to change our previous understanding of the effects of static stretching on strength and power activities is static stretching is done before a proper dynamic warm-up. If you are still strongly opposed to static stretching before you lift, that’s okay. Im not saying that you have to do this by any means. You could also do some static stretching on your off days if you prefer. I recommend doing it for the reasons mentioned above and because you are already at the gym at this point and more likely to do it than if it’s your off day. If you are a coach, it is also nice to include before a lift because it’s doubtful that most of your clients or athletes will do it on their own.
When to static stretch
Static stretching should be one of the first things you do because of the reasons mentioned above. It is recommended that you start with some foam rolling, static stretching, mobility & activation, and finally a dynamic warm-up before getting started with your lift. The dynamic warm-up is purposely done after the static stretching in order to negate the force and power decreasing aspects of static stretching and potentiate for your upcoming lift.
Important Static Stretching Points
· Position is very important.
· If you are stretching properly, it will be uncomfortable, but it should not hurt. Think of a 6/10, 10 feeling like pain or your muscle might tear.
· Try out different types of stretching (active, static, PNF) and see how you like them.
· Try using bodyweight to help you stretch. It can make you more inclined to do it if it’s easier to do, due to the added bodyweight.
· Stretch all areas. Include one stretch for each of the following areas:
o Adductors (inner thigh)
o Hip flexors (front of the hip)
o Hamstrings (back of the thigh)
o Hip rotators (glutes)
Additional flexibility tips & protocols
Breathe during your stretches! It matters and it matters a lot. When you hold your breath, you create tension and don’t let your body relax and therefore don’t benfit as much from the stretching. Instead of stretching for a specific amount of time, think about stretching for a specific number of breaths. The recommendation is a 1:2 ratio. The first number being the inhale (through your nose) and the second number being the exhale (through your mouth). I like to breathe in through my nose for 4 seconds and out through my mouth, using pursed lips, for 8 seconds. For each stretch, do 3 breaths (4 seconds in, 8 seconds out), 3 times then switch sides. Just one time through every stretch should be enough if you’re doing this before every workout.
Mobility & the joint-by-joint approach
Mobility has made huge leaps and bounds in the last 10 years and has now become an addition to almost every warm-up (if it’s not in yours, it should be). In order to understand mobility and how to target it properly, I want to introduce a concept called the “Joint-by-Joint Approach”. This concept was introduced by physical therapist, Gray Cook and strength and conditioning coach, Mike Boyle. It looks at the body from a joint-by-joint view from the feet up. Stating that each joint has specific training needs. Cook and Boyle note that each joint from the ankles up to the neck or out to the wrists alternates between mobile and stable joints. For example, the ankle is a mobile joint, the knee is a stable joint, the hip is a mobile joint, the lumbar spine is a stable joint, the thoracic spine is a mobile joint, the cervical spine is a stable joint, the shoulder is a mobile joint, and so on. A mobile joint is one that can move through a large range of motion. The hip joint is a great example of this. A stable joint is one that can restrict movement. The knee is a great example of this since it can restrict motion in certain planes to create a more stable situation for something like strength training. The joint-by-joint approach is an easy concept and a simple one to remember as it just alternates from joint-to-joint. How do we apply this to mobility and warm-ups? Well, the joint-by-joint approach gives us a good framework of how to plan the first part of our warm-up. First, think about which joints your session will be targeting. Whatever mobile joints are going to be used during that session, these should be targeted during your warm-up through mobility work. The stable joints will be addressed during the strength or weightlifting portion of your lift. Injuries often are related to improper joint function, so using this knowledge can be of great use when it comes to injury prevention.
how to incorporate mobility
It is important that when you decide to incorporate mobilty work, you do it only for the joints that are mobile (ankle, hip, thoracic spine, shoulders, and wrists). This means that the knee, lumbar spine, cervical spine, and elbows will be the ones targeted through strength work and not mobility work. You don’t want to gain more range of motion in the stable joints, as you want them to be stable, like their name suggests. Instead, you want to build strength around stable joints, improving their stability. Next, you want to start with mobility work closest to the center of your body, working further away from your midline as you proceed to the next mobile joint. Meaning we will start with thoracic spine mobility, then work on hip mobility, before finally finishing with ankle mobility work. For each mobile joint, we can do one or two rounds of 5-15 reps of gentle motion, slowly trying to gain a bit more range of motion each rep.
in conclusion
You should now have a good idea of why we want to target flexibility and mobility and the reasons to do it the way it is mentioned above. Although there are many more techniques and protocols, the approach in this article should give you a firm foundation of knowledge and easy to apply methods for flexibility and mobility. This way you can immediately add these to your routine and start benefiting from them. It is important to mention that these things are important to include but should not take a huge amount of time. All together, you should try to keep your warm-up around 15 minutes, give or take about five minutes. Get in, foam roll, stretch, do some mobility work, do a quick dynamic warm-up and get to your lift feeling good and prepared.
References:
Boyle, M. (2016). New Functional Training For Sports (2nd ed., pp. 45-56). Human Kinetics.
Chaabene, H., Behm, D. G., Negra, Y., & Granacher, U. (2019). Acute Effects of Static Stretching on Muscle Strength and Power: An Attempt to Clarify Previous Caveats. Frontiers In Physiology, 10(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.01468
