Benefits of Mobility Training
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Increases range of motion
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Strengthens joints
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Prevents Injury
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Reduces pain
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Enhances body control
As humans, we are
meant to move.
But in our modern society, the majority of us are moving our bodies in a limited way throughout the day. Anything from to driving to and from work, to sitting at a desk, typing on a computer, searching on our phones, to sitting on our couches and from there, getting into bed to do it all again the next day, the movements are minimal. This isn’t enough and in fact, is detrimental to our health and our ability to move well over time.
We all have different goals for our health but the common denominator is that we all want to feel good in our bodies. However, oftentimes, we want to blame age, time, and circumstances for our loss of abilities. We hear people say things like, “I lost that movement in my shoulder years ago”, “I have bad hips” or “I just can’t move like I used to”. When it comes down to it, the realization that we have lost movement doesn’t actually happen until after it's gone and more often than not, we tend to accept it as it is and compensate with other areas of our body, hurting us even more in the long run.
But, here’s the
good news.
Mobility is not lost due to age, mobility gets lost when your body doesn’t get the chance to move in all the ways that it can and should. Simply put, you lose it by not using it. Being mobile in your body is a crucial aspect of being healthy; it gives you the freedom to move with more accessibility, in a safe and efficient way, no matter the age. Think about mobility training as the prerequisites for everything else you do with your body. By training your joints on a regular basis, moving joints through their full range of motion and taking it a step further to challenge the joints to expand their range of motion, you are ensuring and increasing joint health. By doing this, you are helping your body move in the most optimal way and increasing your body’s capability to move better.
No matter the task at hand, whether your job is physically demanding or maybe not physically demanding enough, whether you want to be able to get up off the floor from playing with your kids or grandkids, or be able to reach for something off a shelf; maybe you want to improve upon a lifetime sport that you’ve always loved to do but haven’t done recently due to your bad “fill in the blank”; the activities are endless and the mobility of your joints is required in order to do them safely and effectively. But, just like anything, change doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t expect to see a bicep form by going to the gym one time, it takes strategic planning, commitment and hard work to see and feel the change. And mobility training is no different.