04/07/2022
Mobility and warming up
Inspired by a dm question.
I don't do much specific mobility work, and am fairly stiff, but this is not necessarily a disadvantage in a pure strength sport. This will differ based on your sport, but for maximal strength, being tight isn't a bad thing, if you are too loose then you will be prone to injury.
I like working mobility and range of motion through strength work, as this is going to be safe and usable mobility, and pushing weight through rom is in turn going to improve mobility.
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The majority of my mobility work comes through my warmups. This takes a 3 phase stage, in order:
Myofascial release
Stretching
Activation
Myofascial release is the act of using pressure and compression to release the muscles, improve blood flow, break up knots and open up mobility. My preferred methods are foam rolling and using a lacrosse ball, but fingers and tools in certain areas are also very useful.
You all know what stretching is, I prefer to use dynamic stretching warming up, and will limit this exclusively to problem areas where I am unable to hit the rom I need in a lift.
Activation is the process of using light weight specific isolation exercises, intended to improve neurological firing of muscles during compound lifts. There are several ways of doing this, and a few movements I use often.
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For me, this typically ends up looking like:
Lower body day:
Myofascial release: foam rolling quads, it bands and piriformis, if needed light massage of traps as well.
Stretching: couch stretch and kossack squats to open up my hips better. Squat holds to loosen up my calves and achillese tendons.
Activation: hip flexor crunches, hamstring curls or quad extensions depending on the main movement, mcgill big 3 for the core. If I'm preforming something that requires explosion and speed, I'll also chuck in a few sets of box jumps or sandbag toss.
Upper body:
Foam roll quads(strongman incorporates push pressing and a lot more hip in pressing), lacrosse ball pecs and delts.
Pec, ulnar nerve and lat stretches, shoulder dislocations with a broom handle.
Tricep extensions with a band, external rotations with a cable, lat pulldowns.
Following these, I will work up from the empty bar to working weight on all compound movements. This improves rom, l***s up the joints and activates prime movers in each lift.
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These are some generic examples, but a lot of athletes tend to struggle with the same tightnesses and weaknesses, so if you are unsure where to start, this can be a good place.
Over time, your specific issues will change, and the way you target them will as well, as you learn your body you will learn to tailor this as needed, simply by following the 3 phases.
