MOBILITY TRAINING
A program that emphasizes the importance of having the understanding and ability to display full range of motion around a joint - with CONTROL.
WHY FOCUS ON MOBILITY?
Mobility Matters. We all need to work on maintaining or improving our mobility. The strains and stresses of life adds up. Imagine athletes playing their sport. Their repetitive motions puts uneven stress on their body and it adapts. Same as anyone else: life either puts us on a forward flexion, extension or a combination of both. When our movement patterns starts to affect our alignment, our bodies adapt, and we learn to compensate. As we age, it’s even more important to move better with awareness and intention so we can bring our bodies back to balance and good alignment.
Mobility allows us to move as efficiently as possible. That means better performance and less risk of injury. In the end, it’s not a question of mobility vs flexibility, but how you are going to maintain or improve them.
Whether you are a competitive athlete or a recreational gym-goer; sport, exercise and many other daily physical practices can reduce your range of motion in many joints. Heavy bench press and bicep curls, for example, cause massive damage to muscle tissue, which is indeed needed to cause hypertrophy (increase in muscle mass) however without adequate stretching and mobility work the tissue will shorten and the ability to move the respective joint through it range of motion under control will be compromised. In regards of more daily activities, sitting at a desk while hunched over a computer will cause a plethora of imbalances and continual pain, from hunched shoulders and a curved thoracic spine (kyphosis), to shortened hamstrings and hip flexors.
These shortened tissues will reduce mobility, and our capacity to control our bodies the way we need to in order to perform exercise with correct technique.
Let’s take the squat, one of the most popular lifts across the board. Now, how many of you either wear weight-lifting shoes, or have plate under your heels, raising them slightly when you squat? Ever asked why? As you reach the bottom of your squat, your ankle and/or hip mobility is preventing you from getting into the “hole” with correct technique. Your knees may be move forwards, shifting your weight onto your toes. This forces additional muscles to activate and pick up the slack of those with poor mobility putting them unde
““Whenever possible, we must separate movement dysfunction from fitness and performance. Aggressive physical training cannot change fundamental mobility and stability problems at an effective rate without also introducing a degree of compensation and increased risk of injury.””
Mobility is a term and concept that encompasses a range of factors affecting your movement including:
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Being mobile is a crucial aspect of being healthy. If a person is not able to move a joint freely through its full range of motion, then they are already putting themselves at an increased risk of injury before even attempting to pick up a weight and load that range of motion.
Joint mobility is defined as an individual’s ability to control their limbs through their full range of motion. The key difference here, CONTROL. Mobility is based on voluntary movements while flexibility involves static hold with assistance (e.g. gravity, a wall, or maybe your trainer.)
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If you are trying to stretch a muscle over a joint that has a mobility restriction you are going to get nowhere fast. The muscle will never be able to lengthen to its full extent as the joint won’t allow it to move far enough.
Mobility training is more effective than traditional “stretching” because it is based on movement and motor control. Your central nervous system will limit your mobility based on how much control you have as a way to keep your body safe. You could spend all day stretching to achieve a flat split, but if you can’t actively get into that position, consider your split only temporary. Muscles require strength and stability in order to maintain this new found range of motion.
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The nervous system is the most under rated tool to improve mobility. The nervous system’s role is to protect the body from excessive stress. If it perceives something as threatening, it will protect the body either via pain, stiffness, rigidity, or weakness.
Stress, suboptimal breathing patterns or a combination of both, are perceived as threat by the nervous system. This sends the nervous system into protection mode. So long as the nervous system is in protection mode, your efforts to improve or increase mobility via musculoskeletal methods alone will remain mitigated.
While efforts to improve mobility are often focused on mobilizing the musculoskeletal system, breathing can help mobilize the nervous system, a critical factor for optimal mobility.
The Full Circle Method utilizes breathing as a tool to increase mobility. This allows the nervous system to relax to allow more movement. Breathing helps increase the function of the scapula, shoulder girdle, core stability.
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Neuromuscular control is defined as the unconscious trained response of a muscle to a signal regarding dynamic joint stability. This is important because it increases the body’s ability to activate muscles and control movement through a full range of motion. This is even more important for individuals who had injuries because injuries causes altered sensory afferent feedback to the central nervous system. This alters neuromuscular control, which can lead to tissue overload and further injury.
““Being a meathead for so many years, my thoracic rotation was so bad, and the first time I started to do thoracic movements, I was like, oh I need this. This is amazing!”
Why Stick Mobility?
This system is based on the scientific principles of leverage, stability, feedback, irradiation, isometrics, and coordination. The exercises use custom-designed Training Sticks as tools to improve range of motion, muscle activation, coordination, and body awareness to build a strong foundation for better movement.
I found stick mobility in 2019 and got my certified in 2020. I fell inlove with this modality because of the impact it had in my own body. The Full Circle program utilizes the sticks and exercises to spread more body awareness using feedback and leverage from the sticks. It’s both a primer and a recovery modality but used by itself is a great overall full body workout!
Contact us.
fullcirclepilatesnj@gmail.com
617-777-0612
Studios in Morris, Sussex, and Bergen County