6/4 Mobility Monday

Noah works on her mobility and her flexibility. 
Flexibility is one of the 10 General Physical Skills we seek to develop through our strength and conditioning training. However, everyday in class we devote a section of time to developing our mobility. What is the difference between flexibility and mobility?
Flexibility is the ability to maximize the range of motion of a joint and/or muscles. Mobility is the ability to move through a functional range of motion while maintaining balance, strength, alignment.
Functional movement uses more than one joint and muscle group and is movement we do "naturally." Squatting, overhead pressing, pulling, pushing. throwing, running, walking, rowing, are all movements we naturally do. In fact, we start off in life with the ability to squat below parallel, raise our hands overhead, and do all manner of movements uninhibited. As we age we stop playing, stop moving, and develop movement limitations that prevent us from doing all the things we were born to do. 
We spend 8-10 minutes at the beginning of every class working on mobility and flexibility. We stretch our muscles to improve flexibility, and use bands to change our joint position to improve mobility. At the end of class we use foam rollers, lacrosse balls and other implements to work on the physical structure of our muscles to improve our mobility. We do this work on our tissues after we workout because that is when they're warm and are best able to be physically
changed post-workout.
Flexibility is a physical trait that is improved through regular training. While, we regularly train to improve our flexibility in class, to truly improve flexibility it takes daily training. A few minutes in the morning, a short mid morning stretch, a post lunch flexibility session, and pre-bed calming stretches can improve your flexibility. Want to touch your toes, which is normal range of motion, you need to work at it daily. 
Mobility can also be improved through regular training and practice. Sometimes it just takes focus and concentration to improve your position and alignment. Spend the time improving your functional movement and watch the rest of your sports, e.g golf, skiing, climbing, etc. improve.

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