Why you should stop doing mobility
*Gasp!* Blasphemy!!
Okay so maybe the title is a little clickbait-y.
But by the end of this article, I want you to understand the difference between what is popularly known as “mobility” and “mobility drills” versus exercise, and why you probably don’t need mobility, just clearer intentions and better exercise selection.
So what is mobility work?
Mobility movements are drills that we do to maintain or increase the ROM (Range Of Motion) of a joint. They've become very popular over the past decade as a way to "fix" movement patterns and prepare the body for other activities, but funny enough, that’s actually the purpose of exercise - it’s just a difference of semantics: mobility should be baked into exercise.
It’s a part of why we exercise: a well-selected exercise should maintain and/or increase the ROM of a joint in addition to all the other good stuff that happens when we exercise (getting stronger, adaptability, etc), all within the context of a movement that has relevance to our goals.
That doesn’t mean mobility drills are bad, they’re just not as valuable as actually doing relevant exercises.
It’s like practicing piano when you want to be a better singer: yeah, it’s kind of helpful - learning about notes, sight reading - basic principles of music that apply across the board. But if you want to get better at singing, at some point you’re going to have to sing.
It’s the same with movement: you can do mobility drills, but at some point you’re going to have to work on the actual skill you’re trying to improve. In fact, your time probably would be better spent focusing on the actual skill.
That doesn’t mean you have to want to get better at exercise. Exercise is primarily a tool to help you get better at other physical activities that you want to do. A common conflation in the exercise industry is that people need to do mobility drills to get better at doing exercises, when in reality people just need more appropriate exercise selections. They need exercises that are more appropriate for their current mobility and strength.
If the goal is for people to be able to do more things in life that they want to do, then why does it matter if they can’t do certain exercises if those exercises aren’t relevant to their life goals?
So yes, sometimes an appropriate exercise selection looks like a “mobility” drill, but at this point I’m arguing semantics with myself.
The point is this: a good exercise accomplishes the same thing as a mobility drill. It should stretch, take an exercise through available range of motion (ROM), and help strengthen that ROM over time. The key is in knowing what you’re WHY you’re doing that exercise and WHAT you want to get out of it. That determines HOW you’re going to do it. I think the WHO is pretty clear here 😜.
The major difference is that mobility drills are often low level, low stimulus movements, while good exercise choices allow us to increase load, intensity, and complexity.
So you probably don’t need all that extra mobility work, just a clear idea of what you’re trying to do and an appropriate exercise selection.