How NOT to roll out...

How NOT to roll out…

We ALL need to do more mobility. We know we should do it but it often gets  overlooked by the more “fun” stuff at the box, like lifting heavy s&$t or doing muscle ups. Here are my top tips to making the most out of a mobility session!

  • Prioritize:  what areas of the body need the most attention? Hopefully you don’t say “all of it” 🙂 If you know that you have tight hips, spend most of your attention on working on loosening your hips. If your shoulders are always holding you back, spend most of your time on your shoulders. You get the idea.
  • Mobilize according to the WOD: hopefully you can access your workout the night before so you can spend some time doing some mobility then. If you see a workout that is mostly upper body, don’t spend unnecessary time mobilizing your ankles. The MobilizeMe app is a great tool for being able to pick mobility for a particular workout. Just choose the movements that are in the workout and a list of mobility exercises are listed all with photos and descriptions.
  • Link to App Store – https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/mobilizeme/id576108153?mt=8
  • Link to Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hongji&hl=en
  • Test and re-test: before and after mobilizing. For example, if you are doing mobility to improve your squat, then squat before, really paying attention to what “feels” tight/restricted. Then do your mobility, and make sure to re-test your squat. If it hasn’t changed…it hasn’t changed. If this is the case, you may need to tweak your mobility routine to find something that works better for you.
  • Mobilize with intent: we mobilize to achieve a result. This result takes effort . Flopping over a roller and lying there looking at Facebook probably isn’t the best way to improve your mobility. Have a plan in mind of what you want to do, how long you will spend doing it, and do it.
  • Mobilize with the same intensity you attack a WOD with: you should FEEL something when you are doing mobility if you are doing it correctly. You are attempting to attain new range of movement and this isn’t going to happen if you sandbag.
  • Be patient: you aren’t going to get more mobile instantly. Increase in tissue length takes time people! Doing mobility twice for 2 hours isn’t going to magically make you the most flexible person on the planet. Mobility shouldn’t be a race either. You need to spend time working on that sore, tight, restricted tissue. Rolling over it quickly or avoiding it because “it hurts too much” won’t get you results either. I often see people rolling out their muscles like they are rolling over a hot iron, slow it down!
  • Be consistent: spend 10-15 minutes of dedicated time to mobility on a daily basis and you WILL become more flexible2013-05-14 14.20.04.