For so long we talked about strength, cardio and flexibility as the three components of a fitness program. Strength and cardio seem to be the two pieces that “get credit” whereas flexibility (ie. Stretching) seem to get added randomly or rushed through at the end or often left out completely. What about this piece that makes it harder to do consistently?
For many years, we taught flexibility to increase range of motion, yet many people did not find it felt like stretching really amounted to anything. Let’s take a deeper look at the muscular/skeletal system in terms of range of motion. Range of motion of muscles and joints comes into play with all movement whether it be walking, dancing, running or weightlifting.
Stretching only addresses range of motion when it becomes limited. People can also experience too much range of motion. You know that person you see who can fold themselves in half? They very well may experience too much range of motion. So what’s the big deal?
Too much mobility in an area of the body can cause instability, joint and muscular issues just as not enough movement. From now on, we will make the third component of fitness mobility instead of flexibility to allow for variations in different bodies.
That nagging pain that seems to come and go, working on mobility more consistency may be the answer. Struggle with proper form with walking, running and/or certain exercises? Working on mobility may be the answer. Sitting for hours a day puts the body into a less then optimal position. In a perfect world, we want to undo the impact of sitting on a daily basis.
When planning your movement (fitness) program, include mobility work as often as the other components. Pay attention to your body and create space for flexibility within the framework for your movement plan.
by Lisa Martin, owner and personal trainer at Salvere Health and Fitness. To contact, email lisa@SalvereHealthandFitness.com or call 410.707.0055.
We welcome your thoughts and ideas! Thank you for reading and taking the steps to become a healthier YOU.
