Mobility work is essential for athletes who are looking to continue to train and improve there physical ability. Those who train often skip mobility work due to the fact that the benefits of mobility is not often seen. Many people skip doing mobility work because they dont feel any immediate benefit from it.
However, joint range of motion and joint control are essential for athletes to have good overall body function. If one part of the body is tight, the body may compensate for it in another area, which may eventually cause more problems than the initial tightness of that joint. The chart display six different joints that are important for athletes to have mobility in.
Daily Joint Mobility for Athletes
For each joint, the chart displays the target range for that joint and the mobility exercises that should be performed to target that joint. It is important for athletes to understand that many mobility exercises may target the wrong tissues in the body, or may not provide any strength to the joints that are targeted. Passive mobility and active mobility are two different category of mobility that athletes should understand, especially when attempting to master exercises like a deep squat.
The hip joint is one of the most common joint to have limitations in strength or range of motion for athletes. A lack of mobility in the hip joint can impact the movement of other parts of the body. Prolonged sitting will shorten the front of the hip joint, but it will also weaken the back of the joint.
These exercises, the 90/90 stretch and controlled hip circle specifically work to strengthen and lengthen the end ranges of motion of the joint. Many static mobility exercises are not sufficient to fix the issue of tight hips; thus, athletes need to work to increase the range of motion of the joint. Shoulder joints are also common to experience limitation.
However, the issue with the shoulder joint is often the tightness of the mid-back joint. The shoulder joint has a great range of motion, but the tightness of the back can limit the movement of that joint. Losing range of motion in the mid-back can cause the shoulders to compensate for that lost range.
This compensation can lead to issues in the shoulder joint, such as impingement or lack of strength in pressing exercises. The exercises included for this joint are wall slides and band dislocates which work to get the shoulder blade into the proper position prior to moving the arm. Ankle dorsiflexion is another limitation that is common among athletes.
If the ankle is limited in its ability to bend, the knee joint will not be able to bend forward, and the hips may compensate for the inability of the knee to continue moving forward in relation to the hips. These compensations can have an impact on the movement of the knee and lower back. The inclusion of the wall ankle stretch in the mobility program specifically target the angle of the ankle that is needed to perform squat exercises.
It is essential for athletes to understand the difference between mobility, flexibility, and stability. Flexibility is the passive range of motion of the joint. Mobility is the active range of motion of the joint.
Stability is the strength of the joint to resist unwanted movement. An athlete may have great flexibility and mobility, but not have the strength of the joint to use that mobility. The reason that these three concept are separated on the map is because athletes often focus on one while ignoring the others.
When they begin to perform mobility exercises for one joint, their range of motion may dissapears when they begin to load that joint with a barbell. Because the limitations of each joint are different, the frequency with which athletes should perform each mobility exercise is also different. The thoracic spine should be mobilized daily due to the effects of prolonged sitting.
The hips should be mobilized near-daily due to there restriction from sitting and training. Shoulders dont need to be mobilized as often, but athletes should mobilize them prior to training sessions with the upper body. The most common joint limitations for athletes are tight hip flexors, rounded shoulders, stiff ankles, and limited extension of the wrist.
These limitations are the result of the static postures that are required of athletes during the day. While the mobility exercises listed are simple to perform with no tools, success will be earned only with consistency in performing these exercises. Performing five minutes of mobility exercises daily will have a more greater effect on athletes than one hour of performing mobility exercises once per week.
The mobility exercises that should be performed in the morning will take approximately fifteen minutes to complete. These exercises will target the joints that become stiff during sleep. Performing these exercises in the morning will allow athletes to begin the day with there joints in their proper range of motion.
This doesnt have to be painful for athletes to perform these exercises. The goal of performing these exercises in the morning will be to allow the athletes to move there joints through their available range of motion rather than fight against the range of motion that their bodies have. The improvements that athletes gain from performing these mobility exercises will be seen in small ways before the athletes gain large improvements in there range of motion.
For instance, an athlete may find that their squat depth has increased without forcing there range of motion; their ability to perform overhead movements may have increased; and the aches that they feel in their joints after training may have become less frequent. These improvements are due to the nervous system no longer guarding the joint from moving into its range of motion. A map of the joints and mobility exercises for each joint will allow athletes to master there range of motion; however, the body must regularly perform the exercises to no longer view movement as a threat to the body.
