A few thoughts on Stretching and Mobility
Epreuve synthèse à l’École nationale de cirque de Montréal
This is kind of a hot topic at the moment, which is good. But as a coach I see a lot of errors in how people approach it.
Coming from a martial arts background, stretching and mobility work is nothing new to me, it was just part of the practice. But that doesn’t mean the practice was always well thought out or good for us!
So here’s a few thoughts that come to mind when I consider the subject or answer client questions:
No, you can’d do too much mobility work but you can do the the wrong mobility work and make sure you limited time is well managed and your overall training is well balanced.
Mobility means being able to control your full range of motion. So yes, developing flexibility and strength are vital for the development of good mobility
End range is a place to visit from time to time, but not all the time. Over development of a joints range of motion can prove harmful over time, especially if that is uncontrolled range
The difference between Active Range and Passive Range correlates with the chance of injury. The bigger the difference between the range of motion you can acheive and the range of motion you can control, the bigger your risk of damage. Work on building active range.
Tightness may be there for a reason. It may be the only thing holding you together. So if a joint refuses to mobilise or a muscle refuses to stretch, take note and see a professional.
Mobilisation works best with movement, particularly joint circles.
You cannot force the body to offer up new ranges of motion, you must ask it for permission.
Foam Rolling IS NOT mobility work, but it can help with developing mobility
If you haven’t heard my “Blue Tack” speech, you’re life is incomplete This isn’t it, but it contains the point of the speech: http://wg-fit.com/wp/blog/how-blu-tack-helps-us-to-understand-stretching/
Not developing strength is the biggest mistake I see flexible people make.
Not practising mobility is the biggest mistake hard working athletes make
I haven’t run a mobility workshop in aaages, hands up if you’d be into attending one
No, put your hand down i can’t see you from here, drop an email instead…
There’s a lot more on this subject, if people are interested I can post more on it as time allows. Do search the blog for “Monday Mobility” posts that i used to write before Mondays got so busy.
Enjoy your weekend
Dave Hedges
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