Weightlifting is about how you move. The better your movement, the more you can lift. The two main lifts used in Olympic weightlifting (the snatch and the clean & jerk) are not just your average gym exercises. In order to lift weights effectively, you must be able to move your bodyparts freely and widely, from your neck all the way down to your ankles. This range of motion is part of what makes weightlifting challenging.
This means that mobility refers to the ability to move joints and muscles without pain or stiffness. You use your mobility through dynamic, controlled muscle actions. Mobility for weightlifting goes beyond just being generally flexible. In order to participate in the sport, one must be able to perform specific positions such as the deep squat, front rack hold, and start positions. These positions each require their own unique mobilization drills.
You need to start with just your body weight before you add the weight of the barbell. Although you may gain more experience, it is still important to do mobility work. This article lists the five best mobility exercises for weightlifters to perform either in their warm-up or cool-down.
Cat/Cow
Your back is the frame that supports your power. While squatting or pulling, your back supports the weight as you shift positions. Before you attempt to lift something, it is recommended that you first stretch your back muscles by moving through the hollow and arched positions. This will help to prevent injury and strengthen the muscles that control this movement.
The cat/cow cycle is an exercise that many athletes use to warm up and cool down. TheText explains how the spine is used to protect the body against heavy weights. By moving the spine through its full range of motion, the body is better able to brace against any weight that is applied.
Benefits of the Cat/Cow
- The movement warms your whole body such as your neck, shoulders, hips, etc.
- It engages your core through dynamic movement.
- It stretches and lengthens your back muscles.
How to Do the Cat/Cow
Start on all fours. To set up, place your shoulders above your wrists with straight arms. Keeping your ankles released, place the tops of your feet on the floor. Put your chin to your chest and push the floor away from your shoulders to create a rounded back. Tuck your hips at the same time.
Begin by lifting your chin and pulling your belly button down. Arch your back as hard as possible, keeping your arms straight. Hold each pose several seconds. Try flowing through the movements several times while observing how your back is feeling.
Note: Match your breathing to the movement by inhaling on the “cow” portion, and exhaling on the “cat”.
World's Greatest Stretch (30 Seconds Per Side)
The “World's Greatest Stretch” is the next stretch exercise and will be the most effective way to hit all the key problem areas at once.
This stretch has 3 parts to it:
- Lunge
- Drop
- Reach
The first part focuses on your hips and ankles:
- Get into a plank position with your hands under your shoulders and feet together
- From here, lunge forward by brining your right foot up as high as you can (ideally next to where your right hand is). You should feel a deep stretch in your groin muscles of your front leg and the hip flexors of your back leg as you do this.
- Next, take your right hand and place it on your knee
- Push your knee out and back – and then forward and back a few times to loosen up the hips and ankles
We'll go deeper into the stretch in the second part. To do a shoulder press, start by dropping your right elbow towards the ground and rotating your upper body down.
As you do this, try to keep your right knee pushed out to the side rather than letting it collapse inwards.
After the lower back is taken care of, we'll focus on the mid and upper back. To do so, turn your entire upper body up and to the right and reach your right arm as far overhead as you can. Keep your back leg as straight as possible. After completing one set on one side, reach back down and complete the set on the other side.
Asian Squat (30 Seconds Hold, 30 Seconds Rock Side To Side)
We are now going to squat like many Asians do. But with a few modifications to really open up the hips and ankles:
- First, get a rolled-up towel and place your heels on it
- From here, using a squat stance that's typically just outside shoulder-width, squat down into however deep is comfortable for you. Keep your chest up and try to keep your heels down. If your heels do come up, you can roll up the towel to make it even thicker. Otherwise, it's fine if you have to keep your heels up.
- From here, place your arms on the inside of your legs. Use your elbows to push your knees out.
- Sit in this position for 30 seconds. You should feel a deep stretch in your groin and in the muscles around your ankles.
In a rush to get to work? Don't worry. You can have breakfast while you’re at it.
For the next 30 seconds, stretch out each ankle one at a time by moving side to side.
When squatting, keep your knees from collapsing inward, and point your feet slightly outward. Doing these takes the stretch away from the ankles.
Try to keep your feet angled out at a maximum of about 30-45 degrees. Make sure that your knees are in line with your toes when you walk or run.
How To Progress The Exercise
There are a few ways to improve this stretching routine.
If you have ankle mobility issues, you may need to elevate your heels to comfortably squat deeply. Over time, try to elevate your heels less and less. Try to see if you can get to the point where you don't need any elevation.
At the bottom position of the squat, you can open your hips more by pushing your knees out with your arms straight ahead. After you feel comfortable holding your hands together, try placing them in a prayer position. Once you become comfortable with that, place your hands together into fists. The further apart you place your elbows, the greater the range of motion in your hips.
Half-Kneeling Thoracic Rotations (30 Seconds)
The next step is to focus on moving the upper back with rotation and opening the chest. Here's how to do this stretch exercise:
- Get into a half-kneeling position with your right leg bent as close to the wall as you can get it, and your lefft leg planted forward in a lunge position
- Place both arms directly in front of you with your right arm making contact with the wall
- From here, push your right hand into the wall as you rotate your upper body to the left, trying to reach your left arm to the other side of the wall. As you do this, avoid rotating at your hips and try to rotate only the upper body.
- Return to the starting position and then repeat for 30 seconds before switching sides.
To make it easier when starting out, try moving your planted leg further away from the wall and just try to rotate as far as you can while keeping your hips straight.
Improving leg rotations can be done by moving your leg closer to the wall and trying to rotate further.
When you have mastered holding the plank position, you can move on to making it more challenging by placing one hand on the wall and moving it in a half-moon shape.
Wall Slides (60 Seconds)
We have now taken measures to loosen your upper back, which will allow us to better activate and strengthen some of the smaller, weaker muscles in the back. If you strengthen the muscles that were affected by the injury, you will be able to keep the mobility improvements for a longer period of time.
We are going to use wall slides as our exercise to improve our posture.
To perform it:
- Stand with your back against a wall and contract your abs to flatten your lower back on the wall
- Then, slide your arms up and down the wall
To make it easier to do this stretch when you're just starting out, put your feet further away from the wall. First, position yourself with your back flat against the wall and your feet about a foot away from the wall. Over time, slowly move your feet closer to the wall while maintaining the position of your back against the wall.
When done properly, you should feel your mid-back muscles light up as you raise your arms up.
Don't worry if you can't keep your arms in contact with the wall right away. Is it difficult for you to lift your arms up high? That’s all perfectly fine.
Just focus on improving this over time.
Benefits of Mobility Drills for Weightlifting
Mobility work goes a long way in your training. Knowing the importance of exercise will keep you motivated to make time for it.
Deeper Ranges of Motion
You can only move as far as your range of motion allows. Your flexibility changes depending on how frequently you use a particular range of motion.
If you don't move your joints through their full range of motion regularly, you're not getting the full benefit of the exercise and you may be further damaging your joints. You should train mobility regularly to maintain and increase the depths of your movements, such as your deep squat or overhead reach.
Better Coordination
Bodily control goes hand-in-hand with unrestricted movement. Further, practicing with no weight can help you get familiar with how you should be working during the lifts. If you want to feel comfortable with heavy weight, you need to practice without any weight first.
More Muscle Activation
The best way to activate your body's potential is through mobility work. If you're not working out, your muscles will likely become shorter and tighter, making it harder for them to contract. Make sure you warm up your muscles before lifting.
Moving your body is a great way to warm your muscles and get your blood flowing to the ones that have to work. For example, your glutes work harder when you lift something than they do during regular daily activities. If you want to get the most out of your squats, make sure to engage your glutes by mobilizing your hips.
Who Should Use Mobility Drills
Most people would benefit from improving their mobility, but the type of person who lifting weights would see different benefits.
Beginners
Weightlifting positions are very specific, so beginners have to work on their mobility. If you haven't practiced other strength sports beforehand, the extreme positions of weightlifting probably feel quite odd.
Mobility work helps people who are new to weightlifting get into the positions they need to be in so they can start building a foundation of good technique.
Advanced Lifters
Even the best weightlifters prioritize their mobility. If you want to stay in good shape, you need to balance out your heavy lifting with recovery-focused mobility work. This will help your body recover from the strain of the lifting.
Improving your mobility is not easy and takes plenty of time, but all high-level weightlifters make time for it in both their warm-up and cool-down.
Those Returning to Sport
If you're not currently lifting weights regularly, it's likely that you don't have the same level of joint mobility that you did when you were lifting weights all the time.
Luckily, you can improve your movement quality much quicker than it took you to develop it in the first place. To rediscover your flexibility, all you need to do is prioritize active stretching and other drills more than usual to help yourself find your groove again.
Mobility Tips and Tricks
Not all mobility work is created equal. There are a few things you can do to make your time on the mats more effective.
Set Goals
Your mobility work should have a purpose, just like your heavy training. Different people have different levels of ability when it comes to moving around. Once you are aware of your own goals, set targets that are relevant to your training goals.
If you want to be able to overhead squat comfortably, you should work on your shoulder and ankle mobility. You should have a plan for how and when you will do your mobility work so that you can make the most of your time and improve your mobility.
Stay Consistent
Improvements in your mobility are made little by little. To improve the range of motion in a particular area, you need to spend a significant amount of time focusing on that area, and do it more than a few times in a row. To achieve your goals faster, it is important to stay consistent with the same exercises or drills.
Make Time
There is not enough time to do everything you want to do on busy training days. If you're short on time, you may have to give up some of your mobility.
If you make a habit of skipping your stretch or warm-up, you will probably see a lower quality of movement in your workout. Even if you REALLY want to skip your warm-up or cool-down, you should still take the time to do it.
