Optimal Mobility & Flexibility is Achievable- Here's How

Take a moment to think about your top fitness goals — did improved quality of movement come to mind? When we discuss fitness goals with our students at Stark, most people don’t think of adding improved quality of movement to their goals because it’s often forgotten about. Our chiropractors advocate for doing mobility sessions to improve your functional range of motion, but you don’t just have to take their word on it- and Rolandas Mensikovas, the mastermind behind the training programs at Stark, also emphasizes the importance of prioritizing mobility and flexibility in addition to strength training before it is too late.

Improved Movement Should Be Prioritized

You can’t have optimal health without incorporating movement and a proper diet. Rolandas Mensikovas says, “Movement is something we’re fundamentally meant to do. We are designed to move. In the 21st century, we move less and more linearly in a very structured manner, in terms of programming.”

Think about it: you go to the gym a few days a week for approximately an hour before spending the rest of your week sitting down. Whether sitting in a chair at work, on your couch, at the dining room table, or in your car — your movement repertoire doesn’t expand during day-to-day life unless you prioritize improved movement.

What is the Difference Between Flexibility and Mobility? 

If someone is assisting you with stretching your leg while you’re lying down, would you agree your leg is more likely to get into a straight position than if you tried to do the splits yourself? That’s the difference between flexibility and mobility.

Flexibility is passive, while mobility is active. Having good mobility means being capable of moving in and out of positions with control versus inactively being put into stretches. The body will only allow you to get into positions if it believes it’s safe to be there and if you have the strength to get in and out of that position. Mobility is the combination of flexibility and stability.

Flexibility and Mobility Issues Aren’t Structural

Rolandas Mensikovas says, “Flexibility and mobility issues are almost never structural. They’re not because your hamstrings are tight. It’s almost always a nervous system protective mechanism that comes from structures talking to the nervous system. For example, the joint capsule will talk to the brain first. And if the capsule is tight, it doesn't matter how much you stretch superficial tissues: quads, hamstrings, whatever. If the joint capsule is tight and doesn’t have good movement ability, the brain will say, ‘my joint is tight so I will tighten up the tissues.’ Otherwise, the joint is vulnerable. It’s a protective mechanism.”

How to Optimize Your Training for Healthy Movement

1. Assessment: Determine your starting point with an orthopedic assessment. Knowing your current mobility, flexibility, and strength levels is crucial. This can help factor in elements like sex, age, past injuries, and other aspects that may influence your healthy movement.
2. Importance of Healthy Movement: Aim to improve your overall flexibility and strength with a focus on healthy movement. Tightness accumulated over time can limit your mobility - counteracting this should be your goal.
3. Introductory Exercise: Start with long, steady stretches. These not only increase your mobility but also begin to develop your strength. Your tissues need this unwinding phase after prolonged tightening, and your brain will begin to understand that this lengthening is not a threat, but desired.
4. Breath Control: Practice incorporating your breath during these stretches. If you're not focusing on your breathing, you're not fully stretching. Breathing is a core element of both mobility and strength training.
5. Go for walks: When done mindfully, walks can assist in connecting your breath with your movements. This can significantly increase your joint health and overall mobility.
6. Loading the Stretches: Once your body is regularly stretched and ready, begin integrating movement in your workouts. This can involve controlling contractions against yourself, a training method known as loading the stretches. 
7. Mind-Body Connection: After loading the stretches, hold the position. This trains your brain to get stronger in these poses, enhancing your strength and flexibility. Remember, healthy movement is all about the connection between your mind and body.

Mobility is Connected to Connective Tissue Health

Mobility is connected to connective tissue health — connective tissue health is connected directly to your state of health, breathing, state of hydration, and exposure to specific demands for that connective tissue. If you're not doing anything that causes specific adaptation to that connective tissue, you can’t expect to get stronger tissue over time. From a connective health point of view, it takes anywhere between 18-24 months to have a complete turnover.

Please take your time when working to improve your connective tissue health. While no one workout will ever make a difference, every workout will cause some adaption. The process should be slow, long, and frequent. You’ll notice a difference in mobility and flexibility over time if you continue to repetitively stretch, incorporate a healthy diet, and do workouts that cause the joints to change over time due to continuous demands (repetition over a period of time). If you need help or want more personalized guidance when it comes to improving your mobility, consider mobility sessions with Stark’s orthopedic team!