Quick Tip: Go Mobile

Today I'm going to write about one of the most fundamental pillars of any good training routine: mobility! Like it or not, mobility has become one of the big 'hot topics' in the 'fitosphere' with a variety different opinions on when, how, and why it should be completed/worked on. However, the biggest misconception out there and the one I want to address first is this:

Mobility = Flexibility

Not to discriminate, but there have been too many times to count that 'macho' guys have told me that they aren't interested in stretching or going to yoga to work on their mobility. The good news for these guys (and everyone else) is as follows

MOBILITY IS NOT THE SAME AS FLEXIBILITY, NOR IS IT IMPROVED STRICTLY THROUGH STATIC STRETCHING

Phew! Now that we got that part out of the way, we can move on to more informative and practical information. 

So, if mobility and flexibility are not the same, what exactly is the difference? Tony Gentilcore  (one of the masterminds I follow on the interwebs) said it best in a recent post on his blog:

"Mobility: How a JOINT moves."

"Flexibility: The length of a MUSCLE."

I also like a recent quote from Men's Health to help explain why being flexible doesn't imply being optimally mobile (yes, I know...unbelievable. And as far as I know, hell has not frozen over):

"A person with great MOBILITY is able to perform functional movements with no restriction in the range of motion of that movement. A flexible person may or may not have the core strength, balance or coordination to perform the same functional movements as a person with great mobility."

If you check in regularly, you have heard (read) me rant about range of motion, compensatory movements, and risk of injury many (many) times in the past. This is exactly where having optimal mobility (and thus including mobility work in your training routine) becomes essential. Our bodies are awesome and they like to do exactly what our brains tell them to. This sounds great but the issue is as follows - our bodies focus on reaching the 'finished' product through the path of least resistance, which may in fact result in suboptimal positioning and injury. One really common example is the air squat. A full, ass-to-grass air squat requires a certain degree of mobility in the ankles, knees, hips and spine; lacking range in one of these joints often leads to compensations up or down the chain. One common 'flaw' seen in the air squat is the 'butt wink': the low back rounds out (and reverses curvature) and the bum tucks under the torso in the bottom position of the squat. Yes, you get your ass to the grass, but you do so at risk of straining a back muscle or injuring a disc. Believe it or not, this 'movement flaw' is often a consequence of inadequate mobility in the ankles or hips. Mind. Blown.... I know.

So Now What?

Scanning the web quickly as I put my thoughts together for this piece, I came across a couple great tips from other bloggers and trainers! The first came from Calvin Sun at CrossFit Invictus:

Mobility Should be a PROACTIVE approach, NOT a REACTIVE one

I absolutely love this. One of the reasons I chose to become a trainer and to go to Chiropractic school was to help people AVOID INJURY! Not only are injuries painful, they are time suckers, and often rob our bodies of their full capacity through tissue damage and scar tissue formation. Wouldn't it be great to avoid 6-8 weeks of rehabilitation work (and physio/chiro costs) altogether? You can do so for the low price of FREE in 5 minutes per day!

Video yourself doing an ass-to-grass air squat, bending over to touch your toes, completing a wall slide and attempting a bodyweight one-legged deadlift. If your form is less than perfect, you probably need to add (more) mobility work into your routine. The easy how-to: Include 5 minutes of mobility work in your warm-up and/or cool down each day. Don't wait until you have back pain, sore ankles or a torn hamstring to start working on your mobility. *NOTE* This applies to both multi-directional (such as basketball players) and uni-directional (such as runners) athletes!

The next tip came once again from Tony Gentilcore:

MOTION is needed to fix a MOBILITY Issue

Yes, tight muscles can restrict movement...but the jury is still out on whether static stretching has a positive, negative, or absolutely no effect on muscle length. What we do know is that REGARDLESS of muscle length, lack of range of motion in JOINT will DEFINITELY restrict your movement and potentially lead to injury. The solution: GET MOVING. The perfect place to do it: your DYNAMIC WARM-UP.

As an example, on squat day, you might include knee to wall drills and ankle walks in your warm-up if you're lacking dorsiflexion range, or finding that your ankles lock up at the bottom of your squat. 

If it's not broke, don't fix it

Mobility is NOT a general trait. One single person could for example, have poor shoulder mobility, awesome thoracic mobility, good hip mobility and pathetic ankle mobility. When we're lacking sufficient/optimal mobility in a joint, we refer to that condition as 'HYPOmobility'. This is bad and increases your risk of injury. However, Hypomobility's evil step-sister HYPER-mobility is also bad (unless you're in the circus), and can also increase your risk of injury. As humans, we really like to do what we're good at, so it's in our nature to keep practicing touching our toes to our nose if that's what we're good at. However, it is from these areas of 'excess' mobility that we are likely to 'steal range' when we're lacking it somewhere else. Too much range/lack of stabilization in a joint, for example the ability to hyperextend the knees or elbows, changes the way force distributes up and down our 'chains' and may also allow increased contact between bony joint surfaces -- both of these are potential mechanisms of injury, particularly in chronic or repetitive stress situations. So, if you can already touch your toes to your nose and hit a perfect straddle split it's time to shift your focus to maintenance (vs increasing) mobility in your lower body and to meet mobility's soul mate...

Mobility + Stability = The Ultimate 2-man Wolfpack

When you hear the word 'Stability' the first images that probably come to your mind are standing on Bosu Ball or holding a plank. While these are definitely exercises to promote 'core' stability, they aren't necessarily specific to a given joint. When we talk about joint stability, we're referring to the ability to properly coordinate your muscular recruitment to move a segment through the full range of motion of the joint while maintaining optimal alignment and relationship between joint segments. For example, being able to complete a full shoulder pass without having the head of your humerus (upper arm) slip forward, up or back in a pathological manner, OR having 'hijacking' muscles taking over the movement (e.g. upper traps turning on and shrugging the shoulders up to the ears because you're lacking in other areas). Together, mobility and stability ensure a full range of motion, optimal coordination and muscular recruitment, and a decreased risk of injury. 

So how Do I do it?

As I mentioned earlier, your dynamic warm-up and cool down represent ideal places to work mobility into your training routine. If you're a little lost on exactly HOW you should go about increasing your mobility in a certain area, there are various reputable online resources such as MobilityWod and Agatsu to help you along the way. HOWEVER, nothing beats hands on, supervised experience! With that piece of information, I'm excited to announce that I'm teaming up with my girl Paluna Sanatamaria to offer a SPECIAL mobility class this Saturday October 1st from 12:30-2 pm at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts: Mobility and Stability for Running and Athletics: Foot and Ankle Mobility to Optimize Performance and Avoid Injury #startedfromthebottom! Join us for an informative and active class (for $10!) that will help get your race and sport season off to an awesome start! Grab your spot here!

Small But Mighty Movement Minutes Episode 2: This is Your Spine on Squats

Have you ever heard the term 'Neutral Spine'? Have you ever wondered what the heck it means? Therapists and trainers often throw this term around, but I think we sometimes forget to explain the concept!  Last week we discussed the differences between the appendicular and axial skeleton as it applied to core-to-extremity recruitment. This week we'll break down neutral spine positioning as it applies to the squat! Check it out below! 

Small But Mighty Movement Minutes Are Here!

I started this website and blog with one major goal in mind: Empowerment through movement, fitness and training. It occurred to me recently that what I have shared with you thus far has been lacking one critical element to reach this goal. Why? Because when it comes to empowering someone through movement, simply prescribing exercises or training routines is NOT enough. Rather, a deeper level of understanding is required, such that one can make educated, evidenced based decisions, regarding exercise choice, optimal positioning and progressions. Having access to all of this information truly enables someone to take their health and fitness into their own hands, and to design an individualized training routine to meet their OWN needs and goals. 

Enter Movement Minutes

A weekly video blog post (I think the techy kids call it a vlog lol) where I provide you with key concepts and recent research in the fields of Strength and Conditioning as well as Exercise Physiology. Through thousands of hours of post-secondary education, certifications, self-directed learning, and my own training, I have learned a tonne of information and critical concepts that have changed the way I train myself, my clients, and the way I teach classes. I cannot wait share this information with you in the form of weekly tips and small tidbits of information that you can apply to your own training in order to make it as safe, efficient, and productive as possible. After all...

"Knowledge is power... and with great power, comes great responsibility."

It's time to train your brain, and cultivate your mind-body connection. Building solid movement patterns, establishing good movement habits, and selecting the right exercises will enable you to optimize your training and performance to keep you healthy, happy and strong. 

With all this said, check out the first Movement Minutes Post:

Bone Up on Skeletal Anatomy and Core to Extremity Recruitment

Inverted Rows

Inverted Rows are a great exercise to build upper back strength and endurance! Training your back is unbelievably important, especially if you spend a significant part of your day sitting at a desk or driving. Because we live in a 'forward dominant' society, many of us tend to have forward-rounded shoulders, tight chests, and head-forward postures. This can lead to headaches, tired and sore neck muscles, and even limited shoulder mobility. Training your back, and particularly your upper back can help balance out strength imbalances between your chest and your back and to mitigate many of the above issues. 

Inverted rows are easily adaptable and can be done using rings, a TRX apparatus, or even a barbell on a squat rack. Here are a few tips you will want to keep in mind to make sure this exercise as efficient and effective as possible:

1. Wrap your hands around the rings; with your arms straight, you'll want your shoulder blades directly under the straps of the rings. 
2. Imagine you are doing an inverted plank. Squeeze your bum, tighten your abs, and lock your pelvis to your ribcage. You want to move your whole body as one unit.
3. Start this movement by pinching your shoulder blades together, back and down towards your pelvis. You'll want to 'double-chin' yourself to keep your spine long, with your shoulders away from your ears.
4. Once your back is engaged, start pulling with your arms, slowly and smoothly until your chest is at the level of the rings/TRX/Barbell. Try to avoid curling your chest up at the top - rather, pull your whole body up as one unit.
5. Reverse this movement on the way down. Remember to stay tight at the bottom; don't let your bum droop towards the floor.

In terms of difficulty, the closer you get to standing, the less of your bodyweight you'll be supporting and the easier the exercise will be. On the other hand, the closer you get to the floor, the harder the exercise will be. I usually program these in sets of 5-15, with the progression and reps dependent on the fitness level of my client. 

Give this exercise a try, and see how it feels! Happy pulling friends!

j

The Burpee

Who doesn't love burpees? They're a great calisthenic exercise for strength and power development, as well as for conditioning. There are many different ways to do burpees; I like to streamline this movement into a 'controlled fall' to make it as efficient as possible. Here are the movement cues I use when doing or teaching the burpee:

• Keep your core tight, stay compact, drop towards the floor, catching yourself in the bottom of a push up position.

• Press your chest up off the floor (similar to an updog)

• Pike your hips up towards the ceiling, keeping your legs relatively straight (but not locked)
• Pull your legs in, jump and clap (don't forget the clap, it the most important part! ;)

In order to keep your heart rate from skyrocketing, focus on the rhythm of your movement and breathing. When you're practicing, you may even want to use a metronome. (I use the MetroTimer app for iPhone).

Another quick tip: If you're required to touch a target a certain distance above your head, keep your legs and feet as close together as possible as you pull them in; this will minimize the distance between your hands and the target. If you are not required to touch a target, keep your feet a little further apart, as this will minimize the distance you have to drop to the floor.