Mobility Training to Keep Your Body Youthful

Do you want to jump higher, run faster, and exercise without feeling pain? If you stay active and exercise regularly, the reason you may not be seeing results might not be a lack of activity, but a lack of mobility.

When we are younger, many people tend to focus on strength training and resistance training to build muscle. However, without realizing it, as we age, our bodies begin to:

• Lose some mobility and flexibility
• Develop stiffer muscles
• Have joints that become less flexible and less responsive

Focusing only on strength training, resistance training, and cardio can actually add to the problem. It can make the body less supple, causing movements to feel stiff, uncomfortable, and restricted.

If you want to overcome these issues and keep your body feeling young, start incorporating mobility training into your exercise routine.

Flexibility vs. Mobility

Although mobility is related to flexibility, they are not the same. Many people are familiar with flexibility, but fewer truly understand mobility. Mobility training is beneficial for many types of exercise, yet it is often overlooked. With better mobility, you are less likely to experience chronic injuries.

• Flexibility is the ability of muscles to stretch when needed without pain or stiffness.
• Mobility is the ability of a joint to actively move through its desired range of motion.

In other words, muscle flexibility is an important component of achieving strong and healthy joint mobility.

Benefits of Mobility Training

Mobility exercises, such as yoga, Pilates, or stretching, can improve performance in other types of physical activities you regularly do.

Some benefits of mobility training include:

• A calming effect that helps relieve stress
• Increased range of motion, helping prevent stiffness caused by muscle building and strength training
• Greater exercise variety, keeping you motivated
• Helping reduce visible signs of aging by keeping your body supple and flexible for longer
• Serving as an effective warm-up
• Preventing issues such as back pain, knee pain, and other joint problems

It is never too late to start mobility training to improve flexibility and keep your body fit and healthy for the long term.