When people gain mobility and they have this freedom of motion and they can just get into the squat they suddenly have this whole reserve of energy to direct into the actual movement and into whatever they’re lifting as opposed to just trying to get into the shape.” Does Stretching Help with Mobility? “ The best example is that person who’s trying to do an overhead squat and they’re just struggling to squat down.That’s energy that’s being used just to fight against their own body. Here’s why that matters as explained by C Shante Cofield, Doctor of Physical Therapy. Symptoms of poor mobility include stiffness, restrictions, and sometimes even pain. Only then can we operate properly, producing smooth coordinated action and evenly distributing forces throughout the body. It’s regarded as the foundational tenant of athleticism.Īs runners and athletes, we must have adequate ranges of motion, strength throughout our ranges, and full control over our individual joints in order to achieve our performance. Mobility is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but you might not know what it means.Įssentially, mobility relates to the body’s useful range of motion. Hip Abduction and Adduction: This involves moving the leg out to the side, and in towards the other leg.Hip Flexion and Extension: This involves moving the leg forward and backward.Hip Rotation: This involves moving the foot left and right, as well as moving the straightened leg towards the toes.
To understand what hip mobility is and what hip mobility exercises to do, we need to first understand how the hip works and the movements it helps us make: In this article, you’ll learn what mobility exactly means, why it’s important for runners and the 6 best hip mobility drills that will help improve your running performance.
If you’re curious to know what the best hip mobility exercises are, and why hip mobility matters in the first place, you’re in the right place! In fact, i f you lack hip mobility, you will likely have tight muscles in the hip flexors, lower back, and front of the hips which can lead to injuries and pain around the body. Hip mobility is incredibly important for runners. Dynamic stretching, static stretching, warm up, cool down, cross train, strength train…now I’m telling you to add in hip mobility work too?!ĭon’t worry, I’m watching your clock! These quick moves take just seconds to do and you can use them as part of your dynamic warm up or your cool down.