Mobility training the phrase itself is still new to mainstream fitness enthusiasts. However, this form of training is just as important as your leg day or upper body workouts. Why? Because it is what helps with muscles staying more elastic over time.
By keeping your muscles more elastic you’re less likely to experience major injury such as muscle tears or other soft tissue injuries.
What is Mobility Training?
Mobility training is exactly what it sounds like. It is exercises that are added into your typical workout routine which increase range of motion. These exercises may consist of flexibility, balance, and strength training varieties. With the goal to be the reduction of injury.
Something to bear in mind is that mobility training has many adaptations and can be incorporated fluidly into your typical routine. That can be everything from pre-workout exercises focusing on mobility, or a full yoga session with the local instructor.
Either way, one thing you’ll most definitely want to do when it comes to mobility training is listen fully to your body. If something doesn’t feel right, then stop what you’re doing. In the case of mobility training, slow and steady wins the race. Meaning, incorporate it slowly into your established routine for best results.
The Difference Between Flexibility & Mobility Training
By definition, mobility is our own perception and awareness of how our body is positioned or the various movements we make. In the sense of mobility training, the exercises in question focus most on muscle control and the ability to increase motion in joints.
As for flexibility, it is the stretching and lengthening of our muscles. Both flexibility and mobility do go hand in hand and that is because of an increase in length of muscle tissue primarily. By increasing the stretch and length of connective tissues, you’re aiding in an increase in motion which then translates into your mobility training.
All in all, mobility training is a preventative measure that is able to prevent things like tight or immobile muscles.
Benefits Surrounding Mobility Training
In many cases, the less mobility you have the more you’re likely to overcompensate. This means you’d end up using other muscles and joints excessively causing injury. One of the benefits of mobility training is the training of your joints and muscles to bear loads while in what would be considered vulnerable or extreme positions or postures.
Other benefits of mobility training can include the following:
- Improved posture
- Prevention of injury
- Tension relief do to a sedentary lifestyle
- Improved fitness performance
- Improved range of motion
- Reduction of joint deterioration
- Helps to build stronger muscles and joints
Easy at Home Mobility Training
The nice thing about mobility training is that you don’t even need a gym membership to add them into your routine. They can be incorporated into your at home workout with ease. Below are some examples of different mobility training exercises that you can add into your workouts.
Cat-Cow: If you’re noticing a lack of mobility in your spine, then the cat-cow stretch is for you. That is because it assists in the mobility of the thoracic region of your spine. Not only that, when going through the motions of the cat-cow stretch, you’re experiencing more benefits than just mobility improvements.
How To: To do the cat-cow stretch, you’ll want to come into a table top position. This means that you’ll be on your hands and knees with your knees directly under your hip points and your hands aligned with your shoulders. Be sure not to scrunch your shoulders. You’ll also want to tuck your tailbone slightly down towards the floor.
Once you get into the tabletop position you’ll then breath in slowly releasing your stomach down while lifting your sight towards the ceiling. Then, from this position you’ll curl inwards exhaling. Raising your spine from the tailbone forward, arching your back. You’ll also be tucking your head towards your head. Repeat this several times for best results.
Downward Dog: While the Cat-Cow stretch works for aiding the mobility of the spine, downward dog worlds to stretch and widen the hamstrings, calves, and achilles tendon. An added benefit to this position is that there is an inversion that improves blood flow through the body. This is due to your head being lower than your heart. That, and this specific pose allows for the relief of tension in the neck and back.
How To: In order to perform the downward dog position, you’ll need to stand with your feet hip width apart. You’ll then bend forward at the hips. If it’s uncomfortable or tight, you’ll want to allow for a slight bend in your knees. This is because you’re going to need to reach the floor.
Once you’ve bent your knees and your hands are on the floor, you’ll want to walk them forward being mindful of the feeling in your legs. Once you’re in a triangular shape, you can either stay there in a static stretch or you can pedal it out alternating stretching and relaxing your legs.
Healing Soft Tissue Injuries with Peptides
While mobility training can reduce the possibility of injury, there are still other ways that you can cause soft tissue injuries. Not only that, if you don’t adopt mobility training or if you don’t stretch in general before each workout properly, then you’re also at high risk of injury as well.
The good news is that if an injury does occur there are synthetic peptides for them. Two of the more commonly used peptides for injury include both BPC-157 as well as TB-500. Both of which are available on our site. You can head to the peptide product page by clicking here. Or if you’d like to learn more about the products through our blog page, you can read up on BPC-157 here or TB-500 here.