Most of us…well…slack on our mobility work until we HAVE to include it.
We push through aches and pains…
We skip our warm ups to get to the “good stuff” when we’re short on time…
We rest injuries then jump right back into what we were doing…
We even make the excuse, “Well I’m getting older” as we move around like the tinman.
But our age isn’t to blame.
It’s our previous training practices and our lack of prehab work catching up with us.
The good news is, at any point we can make a change to address our compensations, imbalances and mobility restrictions to move and feel our best.
That’s why I want to share 5 golden rules to help you improve your mobility at any age.
Starting with Rule #1 which requires you to ditch the ego and…
Regress to progress!
No matter how advanced you are, you’re never above the basics.
And constantly returning to them is key.
We can always tweak and improve and the more we dial things back at times to perfect the fundamentals, the stronger we get.
Especially if you’re feeling aches and pains add up, pushing through only creates more build up.
So even though you may be able to lift a weight or have done a move in the past, doesn’t mean it matches what you need right now.
Sometimes modifying or backing off can help you build back stronger.
And modifying doesn’t mean making something easy. It means matching what you need right now.
Often when we do an advanced exercise we haven’t earned, we end up compensating and cheating to perform the move.
This can not only lead to overload and injury, but can also lead to us working really hard with less of a payoff.
If you do leg lowers and only feel your back working, doing this “harder move” won’t result in better ab strength.
Instead if you modified to a bent knee tuck, you may feel your abs more resulting in better core strength.
Because what we feel working, is what is benefiting from the move.
And sometimes we need to modify to make sure the correct muscles are working.
Sometimes modifying because it matches what we need can actually make the move harder and allow us to truly get stronger.
Every move is earned.
And sometimes we have to go back and re-earn!
It’s that step back to move forward.
This is why we also can’t believe we’re above doing that constant prehab work to strengthen our foundation.
Which is why Rule #2 is do the 3-Part Prehab Process every warm up.
Foam roll, stretch and activate.
This process improves our flexibility, mobility and stability and prepares our body to work optimally in our workouts.
It helps us use the correct muscles to the correct extents at the correct times.
This is what makes us able to do harder moves and lift more, cycle further and run faster.
Because strength is really about efficiency of movement.
And a strong foundation creates that efficiency.
So if you want to use every moment of your workouts to your full advantage stop rushing through your warm up to get to the important stuff.
Your warm up is the important stuff if you want your other hard work to truly pay off.
And warming up isn’t just about getting a little sweat going.
It is truly about prepping the muscles and joints you plan to work and use in your training so they can be used optimally in each exercise.
Especially if you sit hunched over technology all day or doing repetive movements that have caused aches and pains.
Your warm up is that time to reverse those posture issues and ready joints and muscles to perform the moves you want.
And the 3-steps done in that order optimize even just 5 minutes spent on prehab to give you the most bang for your buck.
Foam rolling relaxes overactive and tight muscles.
Dynamic stretching then mobilize joints while stretching short muscles.
And final activation improves your mind body connection, engaging underactive muscles so they will work correctly to drive those strong movements while improving your joint stability.
So don’t rush through your warm up or just walk on a treadmill.
Use your warm up to improve your mobility and strength so you get more out of your training sessions.
But then don’t just go into your lifting sessions and rush through either!
How you strength train can either build on the prehab work you’ve done or reverse it.
That’s why rule number #3 is to be intentional when you lift!
This ties back into regressing to progress…
Sometimes we need to modify a move to get more out of it.
As we add weights or try to progress exercises, sometimes we can not only see compensations pop up and imbalances rear their ugly heads, but we can also find ourselves slightly cheating ourselves out of a full range of motion.
We start to not lunge as deep or squat as low.
And when we find ourselves limiting the range of motion of an exercise, we then aren’t strengthening through the range of motion we can perform.
This fights against the mobility work we are doing.
Because in order to keep the mobility you’ve built, you need to work through that full range of motion.
So while sometimes we may do partial reps intentionally, we also need to be conscious that we don’t let ego in adding weight happen while sacrificing range of motion.
Sometimes lowering the weights to lunge deeper or even increase the range of motion further, like with a deficit split squat, can be better for our muscle gains as well as our mobility.
Use it or lose it!
So don’t just focus on adding loads at the expense of progressing the range of motion.
You also have to be conscious of what you feel working as you do the moves.
Because what you feel working is what is benefiting from the exercise. And if you keep overloading the wrong muscles, you’re going to keep perpetuating those aches and pains despite doing the “right moves.”
This is why being intentional and focused with your workouts over just trying to do more or rush through to feel worked is so key to moving your best and even seeing the best muscle and strength gains.
Our workouts can’t just be about the calories burned!
We have to be focused on the purpose of each move.
But we also have to be aware that proper form doesn’t always mean we’re using the correct muscles.
Rule #4 is great movement patterns don’t always equal perfect recruitment patterns.
Yup.
You can have great form and not be using the correct muscles.
And the more advanced you are as a lifter, the more you can cheat to mimic proper form.
This is what can lead to aches and pains and not only imbalances but mobility issues.
Think about a squat…
If you know you shift to one side, you may watch your form in the mirror and force yourself to sit back center.
So your form then looks good.
But ever notice how after you squat, your knees or back hurts?
This is because you’re forcing a movement but not necessarily using the correct muscles to perform it.
Our body will find a way to do the movement we ask of it but that doesn’t mean it will seek out movement or strength from the correct muscles.
It will use whatever it can.
That’s why our recruitment pattern may be wrong despite our movement being correct.
Our recruitment pattern is the muscles and joints actually being used to perform the movement.
So instead of just focusing on making a move LOOK pretty, we have to be intentional and focus on what we truly feel working.
That’s why one of the most important questions we need to ask ourselves as we progress moves is…
What do I feel working?
Only then can we modify or adjust the move to get the correct muscles working while using that 3-part prehab process to address the true underlying causes of our imbalances and compensations.
We may need to work on ankle mobility for our squat. Or even glute activation.
And sometimes we even need to address each side of our body in different ways.
Then rule #5…You can NEVER stop doing what made you better.
Use it or lose it.
Rehab becomes prehab.
So often we blame our age and get frustrated by injuries flaring back up…
But really it’s that we’ve gotten…well…a bit lazy with our mobility work.
But we can never stop doing the things that make us move well.
You can’t stop brushing your teeth just because your teeth are clean.
You can’t stop eating healthy foods just because you’re healthy.
We’ve got to put in that work consistently to maintain the results we’ve built.
And a little done consistently proactively really pays off.
It’s why keeping in that 3-part prehab process as part of your warm up is so key.
It helps you get more out of your training for your strength training to improve your mobility and strength and it can be that quick maintenance of your mobility to avoid aches and pains from having a chance to build up!
So if you’ve been feeling achy and like age is catching up with you, start focusing on meeting yourself where you are at and taking things back to basics.
Because you can move and feel your best at any and every age!
Want that prehab work included in EVERY workout?
0 Comments