Mobility: a free gain of intelligent weight training, an elusive dream in yoga.
Any athlete and coach will tell you mobility matters. But what the best athletes and coaches will tell you is that mobility is a free gain and development from intelligently programmed weight training.
However, this fact is largely unknown or misunderstood by the general public, which allows less experienced coaches, and the yoga community to prescribe largely ridiculous methods to help clients improve their mobility. These ridiculous methods range from vibrating foam rollers and red rehab bands, to endless hip openers and pigeon poses, all in a futile attempt to address your mobility issues.
The reality is in fact that making mobility gains takes very little extra work, it just requires you to think slightly outside of the strength training box.
Within the context of training and performance, the only "mobility" that matters is that which has a direct transfer to what you do in the gym, on the field, or throughout daily life. Therefore, the vast amount of poses and positions that appear in your typical yoga class, are simply an utter waste of time if the goal is simply mobility and joint health.
Unfortunately, too many people out there believe that yoga is the be-all and end-all of mobility training, when in fact, it is probably the least useful form of training out there. It’s great for a few calming breathes and as an anxiety reducing aid, but as a form of fitness, it doesn’t make the cut.
The reality is, if you want to improve your mobility and overall function, strength training will always reign supreme. Without it, any changes or developments that you make will not ‘stick’ and become permanent.
Strength training and dynamic movements are superior to static stretching for improving mobility and flexibility.
Don't fall for the antiquated notion that strength training will make you stiff. The research is clear: stretching is not superior to lifting in terms of improving mobility and flexibility. A vast range of studies show that lifting heavy loads through a full range of motion (ROM) is more effective than any other modality for increasing "functional" ROM in the hips, shoulders, hamstrings, ankles, lats, pecs, etc. To examine this idea further, check out my article, ‘For the love of God, stop stretching’. However, to surmise similar points:
One study compared the effects of strength training to static stretching in relation to mobility/flexibility in the hamstrings, hips, shoulders, and knees. The researchers concluded that lifting exercises performed through a full range of motion "can improve flexibility as well as, or better than, typical static stretching regimes."
Another study conducted on a group of elite judo athletes looked at the effects of a 12-week strength training program on ROM. It concluded that lifting weights led to significant improvements in mobility/flexibility at the shoulders, trunk, and hips.
Greek researchers looked at a group of men who trained with loads at 40, 60, or 80% of their 1RM or one-rep max. The results showed that higher intensities were linked with greater improvements in mobility/flexibility. That is, the men who trained at 80% of their 1RM were the ones who saw the greatest improvements.
Strength training will improve your ability to stabilize and control newfound ranges of motion.
A dead man can do the splits. It is of no use to you in terms of athletic performance. Unless you consider bedroom antics as athletic performance. But that is a topic for another day. Flexibility isn't a physical limitation; it's a neuromuscular (mind to muscle) state that helps limit your movement in an attempt to prevent injury due to weakness at the end range of your mobility.
The feeling of being "tight" when you stretch doesn't necessarily mean you need to work on your flexibility. In reality, the "tightness" is a byproduct of your nervous system interpreting the position you are in as a weak spot and the stretch as a potential injury, thus shutting the muscle down.
When you perform loaded exercises through a full ROM, you're getting a functional stretch within a stable position alongside the added load of an external weight. At the bottom of a squat, for example, the muscles of the lower body are lengthened to their most optimal position while tension is maintained, and through the gradual increase in your depth of squat, you will successfully improve this range of motion.
Unlike static stretching, which is often performed with poor technique and compensatory movement patterns, a loaded exercise forces you to control the entire movement without allowing compensation through any joint, nor through your body's natural range of motion. When you increase passive flexibility via stretching without being able to stabilize or control that extra ROM, you're risking instability at the joints and increasing your likelihood of injury.
If a lack of mobility is to be considered problematic, hypermobility paired with instability and weakness is catastrophic. Individuals (cough yogis cough) with hypermobile joints are better off taking a jackhammer to their knees than they are getting under a heavy barbell.
Therefore, if you wish to increase joint mobility, you are better regularly squatting rather than working for hours on your pigeon poses and hip openers as you will get strength developments and mobility developments simultaneously. Weight training can therefore be considered a better return on investment than yoga or mindless mobility drills.
Stretching does not lengthen a muscle.
The mechanisms that improve mobility and flexibility as a result of strength training are vastly different than they are for stretching. The notion that stretching increases a muscle's length is completely untrue.
Stretching is akin to pulling on a rubber band. Sure, it lengthens when you apply tension, but it returns to its normal length when you let go. During a stretch, temporary improvements in flexibility occur primarily due to an increased stretch tolerance and a decreased pain signal associated with reaching a specific muscle length, however there is no improvements in mobility in the joints.
It's a neurological process. Nothing within the structure of the muscle actually changes. You're simply able to stretch the muscle "more" before associating it with pain, at which point your nervous system shuts the muscle down.
On the other hand, strength training increases a muscle's stretch potential by changing the actual structure of the muscle. Loaded exercises lengthen overly tight contractile tissues, enhance joint positioning and torque recruitment, and groove authentic movement patterns.
As a result, the body is able to use its newfound range of motion in the most effective way possible so that transient changes become permanent.
How to Improve Mobility and also get Big and Strong
The key to improving mobility and relieving overly tight contractile tissues is to perform the best bang-for-your-buck exercises with a slow, controlled tempo while using as much weight as you can safely handle.
To up the ante, you can add in a brief isometric hold in the bottom position. On top of forcing you to maintain tension while enhancing the stretch, paused reps can be beneficial for cleaning up technique, minimizing the stretch reflex, and developing strength out of the bottom of a lift.
The chronically tight areas that need to be addressed in the upper body include the pecs, lats, and thoracic spine. In the lower body, the hip flexors, hamstrings, and ankles are the usual suspects of dysfunction. These are the larger, more superficial muscles that shorten over time and place undue stress on the joints.
Below are my top 5 strength exercises for the general population/beginners/routine gym class attendees that will help get you strong and mobile simultaneously.
3 sets x 8 reps (x2)
5 sets x 6 reps
Click here for Technique and Box Heights for those who have trouble squatting.
5 sets x 4-6 reps
4 sets x 6-8 reps
Not for the faint hearted.
3 sets x 10-45 seconds
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