ESC : 003 Mobility
Mobility tends to be a dirty word. It is rarely used in the positive sense and most often is in reference to something that you don’t have or are extremely limited in and may be the cause of injury or inability. But mobility to us is training. It is looking at your range of motion in each specific joint and assessing how we can increase not just the range but also the control. And this is what leads to real-world strength: control.
We will repeat ourselves because we notice how frequently people go through the motions of mobility but they lack intention in it. Pay as close attention to your joints, your movement, and the sensations during mobility training as you can. Use a mirror often to see what you look like when you isolate a joint like the hip or shoulder. Is your joint moving or is the rest of your body compensating? Mobility improves as quickly as any other attribute if you pay attention to it and treat it like training. It may take a while to start “feeling it” but when you do it has the highest crossover to injury mitigation than any other practice.
Work:
3x5 Shoulder CARs on each side (taking at least 30 seconds for each rep.
3x5 Hip CARs
3x10m of each:
10 minutes of Third world squat
Every 30sec move to a crouching squat for 10sec (full-depth squat but elevate your heels).
PAIL/RAIL Internal rotation of the hip
Flow:
Start with 5 shoulder CARs (controlled articular rotations) first easy with no strain. Then each set ramp up the intensity of trying to increase the range of motion in each CAR. It should take 30sec minimum for each repetition. Slowing it down gives you time to become aware of how your body can compensate in order to mask a limited range of motion. Repeat this process for the hips, paying close attention to isolating the femur and controlling it.
Then move into the dynamic work. If you are new to training keep each one of these movements separate, lunging, kicking, and SLDL. If you are advanced and want more of a flowing sensation start with a lunge into an alternating kick straight into a single-leg deadlift. Rest as needed.
Start a timer and assume the bottom of a squat. Our priority is that the feet are flat first, which may cause the spine to round in folks that lack some ankle or hip range. Every 30-sec slowly move into a crouched squatting position by elevating the heel. Hold this for up to 10 seconds and then return to a third-world squat. Repeat this unbroken (if you can) for 10min.
The PAIL and RAIL are iso-dynamic stretches and activations. It starts with finding the end range for the internal rotation of your hip. Follow the demo video for details. PAIL/RAILs are some of the most potent work we do. They start with a passive stretch for 2min then a 10sec ramp up to a maximal contraction in the joint you are stretching (PAIL) then a 10sec high percentage contraction in the exact opposite direction (RAIL) for 10-sec. These take a while to learn and get used to but they add 10-15% more range with just one session. Done repeatedly you will find yourself not just more mobile but also having greater strength in that new range.
