Why Should I Work On My Mobility?

If you had asked a younger version of myself 5 years ago, I used to think that mobility was the most important aspect of a patient’s rehab program to integrate back to barbell sports… For example, if I improve someone’s freedom of movement to achieve full positions of a lift, they should have ease with returning to the movement pain-free, right? Well, that’s simply not true — and as a clinician who treats barbell athletes, I am so happy I learned that sooner rather than later.  

Let’s dive in. 

1.  If we’re looking at the concept of “Mobility” as simply “the availability of joint movement within full ranges”, this will be impacted by a few factors, including 1) Soft tissue/ muscles, 2) Caspular/ connective tissues and 3) structural joint/ anatomical factors. Here’s the thing — the first two can be improved upon with exercise, but the third one will not change. For example, if someone’s hips simply DO NOT have available internal rotation due to the structure of their acetabulum or femoral head, we can’t change that! We should only concern ourselves with helping that athlete move where they DO have range and find strength and comfort in those positions.  

2.  If we’re looking at the first two items on that list (soft tissue/ muscles, and capsular/connective tissues in the joints), these CAN be manipulated with mobilizations, stretches, etc… however, if we actually want to MAINTAIN true change, we shouldn’t rely on stretching alone. We have to LOAD the joints and tissues through these newfound ranges to create long-lasting tissue changes.  

3.  Someone may not need to have “full” range to achieve a functional squat, press, snatch, clean, etc. No one has “Bad” mobility, and no one needs to have “perfect” mobility/form before they can lift. They may just need to improve movement into a specific range, if available, then (RE-)TRAIN the movement with the movement you do have. I want my athletes to learn to self-organize their movement to find where is the most comfortable, as close to the ideal points of performance as possible for a lift, then load there.
4.  Most importantly… sometimes people do have adequate movement available, but they lack the LOADING capacity/tolerance, the coordination within phases of a movement, body awareness, and adequate strength to control their body through these movements as the load goes up. In this case, we’re incorporating “mobility work” not as STRETCHING, but as FULL-RANGE STRENGTHENING. 

So then… how would I know if I need to work on my mobility?

First of all, if it doesn’t cause a problem, it isn’t one. In other words, some athletes move less or more in certain positions, but it may just be how their body naturally moves, without creating any performance limitations.

However,

•  are you experiencing pain with your lifts?
•  Is this accompanied by stiffness and limitation through these movements?
•  Is there no pain — but difficulty achieving a full front rack, and therefore, insufficient front squat?
•  Do you have difficulty coordinating & controlling your movements? 
•  Is it otherwise impairing your performance?

If so, these aren’t bad things, there are many ways to improve it!

Overall, I am NOT suggesting that you should never work on mobility. (I work on mine literally ALL the time!!!). But, I am merely suggesting that your Mobility may not be the only factor related to your pain or performance limitations. It often can be related to muscular imbalances, coordination/control deficits, etc. Additionally, if you have PAIN with movement, sometimes we can identify an area where we can improve joint/tissue flexibility and follow that with strength training in order to improve your positional comfort and tolerance with progressing through your training. 

Ready to learn more? Have specific pain problems that are limiting your performance goals? Czarbell is here to help. Reach out at [email protected], or schedule an appointment with me through the main page of this website, to learn more!