Spend any amount of time searching through Instagram fitness and you’re likely to come across a few different things.
- Fitness chicks posting pictures that amount to soft core porn.
- Fitness bros posting ab selfies and forgoing proper spelling of the word gains by using a z instead of an s.
- Some people talking about mobility and doing some crazy looking yoga shit. Usually also talking about Supple Leopards and Crossfit.
But what the hell is mobility and why does it matter to the lifting bro?
Mobility is the ability to move freely. Mobility and flexibility are often referred to in the same breath, though there is a slight difference. Flexibility is having a greater range of motion in a fixed position, while mobility is all about moving within a given range of motion. Moving freely, and moving with ease.
Why should a lifting bro care about mobility?
Mobility is one of the most overlooked aspects of fitness, especially for guys. Stretching or working on mobility isn’t sexy, and it doesn’t provide an immediate pay off like curls giving you a massive pump do. But incorporating more mobility can make you stronger, healthier, prevent injury, and might even make you better in bed.
How does mobility increase strength?
When you have more control over your body through a greater range of motion, you’ll wind up stronger overall. This is exactly where mobility comes into play. Doing crazy pretzel looking yoga moves in a fluid manner can train the body to maintain constant control through various positions. Specifically by focusing on the hips.
When it comes to pure strength nothing compares to the time you spend under the bar. That much we know for sure. But working on mobility can help you control the weight on the bar with much greater ease.
How does mobility prevent injury?
If you put in your time in the weight room, you’ll get injured at some point. It’s inevitable. To most serious lifters, racking up various injuries is almost like a badge of honor. A sign that you’ve put in the work.
The entire goal though is to try and prevent as many injuries as possible. Working on mobility can decrease your risk of injury. The shoulders and hips are two areas of the body that see the most damage over time. Thanks to the beating they take through various pressing movements, poor squatting technique, or muscular imbalances.
By keeping these joints fluid through constant mobility practice, they can stay healthier in the long run. When your shoulders aren’t stiff, bench pressing heavier weights becomes a far safer activity. You’re not at as great of an injury risk as you were previously.
Or if you’ve done sufficient mobility work on your hips, you can sink into the bottom of a squat with more weight, and come out of the hole with more power. Of course that’s assuming you’re one of the few bro’s who doesn’t find every excuse to skip leg day.
Mobility for sex?
Every guy out there has a deep desire to find the chick that can turn herself into a human pretzel in bed. I swear that’s the only reason we find yoga girls so hot, and even yoga pants. Aside from the wonderful ass showcasing, they hint that girl may do yoga, and she might be able to contort herself into all sorts of wild positions.
Every single guy who desires this girl also has a fear of what the hell they’re gonna do when they find her. No way in hell can you contort yourself the way she can, right?
You may not be able to get both of your legs behind your head, but paying attention to mobility daily can keep you from getting stiff as a board. Or at least your muscles, that is.
When you’ve got the ability to move through a greater range of motion, you can try out crazier and crazier positions with the freak in the sheets you picked up in the streets. Gone are the days of alternating between only two positions. It’s like you’ve unlocked a secret sex level in a video game.
When to work on mobility?
Mobility is usually best done as a warm up prior to lifting, and as a cool down. If you have zero mobility, you’ll definitely need to spend more time on it in the beginning. Maybe as much time as your currently spending in the weight room.
10-15 minutes of dynamic mobility work prior to a lifting session can usually suffice. Followed after a lifting session with about 5-10 minutes of slower, more controlled static stretching/mobility work.
A couple of quick, catch all mobility exercises you’ll find in the world are listed below. There’s an infinite amount of different mobility exercises someone can add to their program. These are just a couple of excellent mobility exercises that anyone can start incorporating.
Spiderman lunge
(Eric Cressey is the man. If you don’t know him, you should. He’s a training genius, and is best known for his work with professional baseball players. For example: Corey Kluber, a Cy Young Award Winner is a Cressey client.)
Butterfly flow
(Dean Somerset is another mobility genius. You can check out his website here to get the low down on all things lifting, mobility, and training.)