Improving Mobility: What is it? Why is it important? And how much of it do we really need?

Mobility is defined as the ability to move our body freely throughout a full range of motion. In order to do this, we need to have a combination of enough strength, flexibility, and coordination. Why is mobility important? Any movement that you make requires a degree of mobility. Without any, we could not move. So, a certain level of mobility is essential for all of us. How much mobility do we really need? Do we really need access to our body’s full ranges of motion? In part, the answer is quite subjective. What you want and need your body to be able to do may be different than what I want and need my body to be able to do. But, I think most everyone can agree upon wanting a baseline level of mobility such that we can perform all physical tasks that allow us to remain independent for most of, if not all of, our lives. We want to be able to go about our day-to-day routines without physical limitations. For example, we likely all want the ability to sit down, lay down, stand up, walk forwards, step to the side, reach forwards and overhead, as well as bend down and pick things up. This is not an exhaustive list of movements you use day-to-day, but you get the idea. In addition to maintaining the physical ability to perform common movements used in day-to-day life that allow us to remain independent, I want you to consider what I believe to be one of the most crucial reasons for training to increase our mobility. That reason is what I call: unexpected movement demands. Unexpected movement demands require that we move our body move in a direction, at a certain speed, under a certain load, in a certain stance, or for a certain duration, that we are not familiar with. Unexpected movement demands put us at higher risk of injury. Imagine walking across a crosswalk. Halfway through, you notice a car not slowing down as it approaches the red light. Do you have the ability to go from a walk to a jog, to a fast run to leaping forwards, to get out of the way? Can you do this without getting injured? Imagine you have a grandchild who asks you to throw the football with them. Are you able to toss the football for 10 minutes without causing a shoulder impingement? As illustrated in the previous two examples, unexpected movement demands are sometimes caused by accidents, but not always. They do usually require from us a greater degree of mobility than we use in our day-to-day lives. How can we prepare for unexpected movement demands especially when we don’t know what movements could be required of us? It is worth emphasizing that we can never truly be prepared for all unexpected movement demands. There are some things our body will be unable to handle without injury regardless of preparation. That said, I advocate we try to obtain and maintain access to as much of our body’s full ranges of motion because, in doing so, we can increase our resiliency to a greater number of possible unexpected movement demands. 

How do we increase our mobility? Well, we know that mobility is comprised of a combination of 3 elements: strength, flexibility, and coordination to express full ranges of motion at any given joint. Chances are we all have room to improve, to varying degrees, our strength, our flexibility, and our coordination at any of our joints. Fortunately, resistance training (e.g. lifting weights, calisthenics) with good technique improves all three elements! Resistance training can increase both our muscle mass and the number of contractile elements in our muscle fibers, making us stronger. Resistance training also improves our coordination in the movement patterns used, which often mimic every day movements. For example, a shoulder overhead press is nearly identical to reaching up to grab something off the shelf. A Romanian Deadlift is similar to bending to pick something up, off the floor. Last but not least, resistance training increases our flexibility, especially when we focus on allowing the weight to stretch and lengthen our muscles.

Learning and practicing quality exercise technique is essential to maximize improvement in strength, flexibility, and coordination while minimizing risk of injury. I strongly consider those unfamiliar with resistance training to hire a strength coach to help them learn proper form. If you have made it this far, my hope is that you have a better understanding of mobility, why it is important, and how you can go about improving it!