The best Mobility Programs help keep your joints and muscles supple and flexible while simultaneously building strength. Mobility Exercises can help improve your overall health and also help prevent injuries. Weight loss and Calisthenics, bodybuilding, and other sports go hand-in-hand. However, there are many sham programs. Fitness fads become popular because of their excellent marketing, but they are not effective. Most mobility programs are ineffective or created by inexperienced individuals who provide incorrect instructions. While some programs may not be specifically harmful to your joints and muscles, they can still be counterproductive to your overall goal. Additionally, some programs may even be dangerous if not done correctly. We've compiled a list of the best mobility programs to help you make a wiser choice.
What is Mobility Exercise?
Mobility exercises help improve your range of motion and flexibility, as well as the strength of your muscles and the number of times you can repeat the exercises. If you have a good mobility program, you can become more agile and flexible while also creating lean muscle mass. The most successful Mobility Programs usually start with a short warm-up to get the muscles going, followed by a combination of new and old movements taught in a specific order. The transitions between exercises in this routine are fluid and natural, working your entire body in the process. Mobility programs usually last a few weeks to a few months, but people often see an improvement in their joint mobility soon after they start the program.
Are Mobility and Flexibility the Same?
While mobility and flexibility are both important for physical activity, they are not exactly the same. Mobility refers to the range of motion in a joint, while flexibility refers to the range of motion in a muscle. Flexibility and mobility are both about increasing the range of motion of your muscles and joints. Flexibility involves stretching the muscles and mobility involves strengthening the muscles and joints. Mobility focuses on being able to repeat the same motion freely and comfortably, while flexibility may even focus on doing one move only once and then easing out of it. Both flexibility and mobility training can be useful, depending on what you want to achieve.
Although men are often more physically strong than women, women are more flexible and can achieve greater flexibility through stretching exercises. Whereas mobility programs are most beneficial for men, strengthening their joints and the muscles around them. Although these are sweeping statements, women can also improve their mobility by completing a Mobility Program in addition to their calisthenics routine.
Reasons Why You Should Train Your Mobility
A good range of motion is beneficial for several health reasons, as well as being helpful for strength and movement-oriented sports. Proper stretching is important for preventing joint and muscle injury while performing sports and also simply due to your body aging. Here are three compelling reasons why you should be following one of the best Mobility Programs.
Fight Obesity, Activate Your Body
If you are struggling with obesity, many of the training exercises, for example a Calisthenics Program, may be difficult for you to do. The programs may not be good for your health and you may not be able to do them. The perfect way to compliment a healthy diet for weight loss is to start burning calories with a mobility program. This will help strengthen muscles and ligaments that have been unused and prepare them for future calisthenics exercises. Starting off is the most difficult part and you'll notice that it's a struggle. A good Mobility Program can make it easier to reach the summit.
Prevent Injury, Increase Gains
A mobility program can help prevent injuries for people who participate in Calisthenics, bodybuilding, or other sports. The program focuses on improving flexibility in the core and limbs. If you have better agility than your opponent, you will be able to win. It can help you make better progress in things like weight or number of repetitions. Once the internal gears of your machines are well-oiled and maintained, you’ll find that improving your strength comes more quickly and easily.
Stay Healthy, Promote Longevity
We've become used to sitting and doing nothing because we don't have a lot of opportunities for physical activity in our daily lives. There are benefits to this, such as being able to use our joints for longer and aging more slowly overall. Sedentary lifestyles have increased our life expectancy by decades compared to people in the past who had to do physical labor. Some people are now barely moving during their day, which is the opposite extreme. Therefore, we must accept as natural consequences of our age, something we should not be surprised by. Since a majority of people suffer from obesity, stiffness, and atrophy of muscles and ligaments, we should not be surprised when these conditions develop as a result of aging. Heart disease and coronary heart disease are now the leading cause of death, and this is due to our sedentary lifestyle.
Equipment to Train Your Mobility
Not all mobility programs will require calisthenics equipment, especially not in the beginning. All you need to do some Yoga flows is a towel, some comfortable clothes, and sports shoes as well as enough space. More advanced Mobility Programs can help you become agile if you use the right equipment.
- Gymnastic Rings: These allow you to do many basic hangs, like the German Hang.
- Foam Roller: These rollers are versatile tools to get more out of your stretches and mobility exercises.
- Massage guns: to target any knots in your muscles without having to foot a masseuse bill, you use a quality massage gun. Although not a complete sports massage, they are effective in spot treating any sore spots and knots.
- Stretch Out Strap: A strap that can help you stretch long muscles, like calves and hamstrings, much deeper and more effectively.
- Yoga Wheel: A Yoga Wheel is used to practice many core stretching exercises to greater effect. The wheels are comfortable to use and often feature a non-slip, rubberized surface for added traction.
- Multi-Level Back Stretcher: A Back Stretcher (not to be confused with a back scratcher), is used to stretch your back more easily but also to help you deepen the stretch over time.
Best Mobility Exercises
As you age and grow bigger, you start to lose your mobility. Fortunately, mobility responds well to training. You lose the ability to do something if you don't practice it. Here are seven mobility-focused movements to help improve your training. These exercises will help improve your range of motion and flexibility.
Kettlebell Arm Bar
The kettlebell arm bar is an exercise that improves both stability and mobility. While the exercise may look easy, it is actually quite difficult and provides a great workout for the entire shoulder girdle, rotator cuff, and thoracic spine.
If the T-Spine lacks mobility, the lower back will have to do more work, which is not ideal when squatting or deadlifting.
Benefits of the Kettlebell Arm Bar
- Improves shoulder stability and mobility.
- Improves your ability to get overhead with less compensation from the lower back.
- A great injury prevention exercise.
How to Do the Kettlebell Arm Bar
Roll onto your left side while keeping your knees bent at a 90 degree angle. Use two hands to grab the kettlebell and roll to your right. Keeping your abs engaged, use your right hand to press the kettlebell up. When your arm is parallel to the ground, release your left hand and let the kettlebell swing back down to your side. Raise your right leg and move it over to the left side of your body, keeping your right arm still. Bend your right knee at a 90 degree angle and place your head on your left arm in a neutral position. Raise your left arm above your head. As you drive your hips deeper into the ground, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Then lengthen and reach with your right arm.
Lateral Lunge
Performing lateral lunges can help you become stronger, more stable, and more balanced in the way your body moves from side to side. Being able to move quickly without slowing down can help you avoid opponents when playing sports.
This exercise also has the added benefits of improving your adductor mobility and strength, which can help prevent groin injuries, and improving your overall hip mobility.
Benefits of the Lateral Lunge
- Strengthens and lengthens your adductors, which improves hip mobility and prevents groin strains.
- Improves your side-to-side movement and your agility.
- Strengthens and mobilizes the entire hip region.
How to Do the Lateral Lunge
Stand up straight with your feet together, pointing forwards, and take a large step to the side with your left leg. Step back with your left leg, keeping your right leg straight and your toes pointed forward. You should feel your right adductors lengthening. Step 1: Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, left foot slightly in front of the right. Step 2: Keeping your weight in your heels, push your left foot into the ground and straighten your legs, returning to the starting position. Repeat on both sides.
Half-Kneeling Arm Rotation
One of the more mobile joints in the body is your shoulder joint. because of the ball and socket design, it can rotate up to 180 degrees It’s also one of the more vulnerable joints.
This move, done with a band around your arms just above the elbow, works your shoulder through its full range of motion with some added resistance. The result of this is that you improve your mobility and make it stronger at the same time.
Benefits of the Half-Kneeling Elastic Arm Rotation
- The kneeling position also helps with your hip and thoracic mobility.
- Strengthens your upper back and stretches your chest, helping to improve posture.
- A great pre-rehab exercise when coming back from a shoulder injury.
How to Do the Half-Kneeling Elastic Arm Rotation
Get down on one knee with the other leg bent in front of you. Hold the band with the hand that is farthest away from the resistance. To do the move, keep your elbow straight and try to take your arm straight up as you rotate it up and behind you. As you move your arms out to form a T, rotate your hips to the side. Return to the starting position when your arms are back in.
Walking Spiderman with Hip Lift and Overhead Reach
This is one of the best value mobility exercises you can do. This exercise routine involves many different exercises, so you're effectively warming up and engaging your entire body.
This exercise targets the muscles used for walking, hip movement, flexibility in the hamstrings, strength in the hip flexors, and mobility in the thoracic spine. If you're short on time, this is the move you should do to warm up.
Benefits of the Walking Spiderman with Hip Lift and Overhead Reach
- This exercise is referred to as the ‘microwave’ because it warms you up in a hurry. Doing just five reps on each side will have you ready to go.
- Targets ankle, hip, shoulder, and thoracic mobility.
- It can de be done with no equipment and with minimal space, making it perfect for those who own a home gym.
How to Do the Walking Spiderman with Hip Lift and Overhead Reach
Assuming a forward lunge position, bring both hands down inside the forward leg. After you complete the movement by straightening your legs while your hands remain on the ground, return to a deep lunge position. Extend your arm out to the side and rotate it until your eyes follow your hands. Put your hand back on the ground and stand up. Step through to the other side of your hand and repeat the process.
Three-Way Ankle Mobilization
Your ankles are the joints that connect your feet to the rest of your body. The ankle stabilizes the body every time a person squats, runs, or jumps. The muscles that stabilize the ankles are the gastrocnemius, soleus, posterior tibialis, flexor hallucis longus, and peroneal longis and brevis.
You should help these muscles to become more active to improve your ankle's range of motion. This mobility exercise involves flexing your knee forward and over your ankle in order to work the joint in three directions.
Benefits of the Three-Way Ankle Mobilization
- Restores mobility to stiff ankles.
- Improved dorsiflexion leads to a deeper squat and a better position in the deadlift.
- Improving ankle movement helps prevent ankle injuries.
How to Do the Three-Way Ankle Mobilization
Start by kneeling on one knee with the other leg bent in front of you. Hold a stick in front of you to help with balance. To complete the move, drive your knee forward in each direction without allowing your heel to come off the ground. Make sure to do this slowly and with control.
