Mobility is a big buzz word in the health, fitness, and performance world. Open any fitness magazine or Instagram page and you can read about ways to improve mobility. While the information is abundant, there is still a lot of confusion as to what it is and how to add it into your everyday life.  So, let’s take a moment to define, validate, and incorporate mobility.

Mobility- What is it?

Though flexibility is a component of mobility, they are not the same thing!  Mobility primarily focuses on the body’s ability to self- control a joint though its full range of motion with the goal of establishing new and useable ranges. Flexibility, on the other hand, is the muscles ability to lengthen regardless of control or strength. For example, if you lie on your back and try to bring your leg straight up in the air, you may find that it stops well before that 90-degree angle you so desire. However, if you ask your Flow Personal Trainer to push your leg back as far as the muscle will allow, you may find that you can successfully get to 90 degrees (if not further). In this instance you have proven that you have the hamstrings flexibility to get to 90 degrees but lack the requisite strength and mobility (primarily in the hips) to get there yourself.

Mobility- What is it good for?

Now that we understand what mobility is (or isn’t). Let’s discuss how it can help you. For starters, mobility training keeps your joints healthy by continually ‘reminding’ them of what they are supposed to do (allow movement) and how they are supposed to do it (with control). Like most things, when un-challenged, the body will lose abilities it no longer thinks it needs. Further, by having healthy joints and strength at various ranges of motion, you may reduce the chance of injury (ankle roll, hamstring pull, etc.) because the joint has “been there before” and you have actively established resiliency.

Another great advantage is that improved mobility increases performance by allowing you to move into various positions (like a squat) while having the strength to control the weight without compensation.  Finally, improved mobility in areas like the ankles and hips take stress away from joints primarily meant for stability, like the knee and lower back. So, before you toss out your running shoes and take deadlifts out of your program, consider mobility. 

Mobility- How to do It?

For most of the population, you can never mobilize too much, and you should do mobility training every single day (2-3 times per day if you want to bullet proof your body). This does not have to be a marathon session lasting several hours as 15-30 minutes per day will do wonders.  Further, we recommended you mobilize first thing in the morning, after long periods of sitting, and prior to any physical activity.

While focusing on every single joint would be ideal, the areas we find most beneficial to focus on are the ankle, hip, thoracic spine (middle back), and shoulders.  Finally, mobility drills should be done in various positions such as standing, tall kneeling, seated, or lying (stomach and back) and with control (i.e. Slowly)

If you are looking for detailed instructions on how to properly mobilize and gain physical freedom, we strongly recommended attending one of our Kinstretch Classes in Fremont on Tues @ 6:30pm and Thurs @ 7:30am, as well as, our Personal Training, Strength Camp, and Team Conditioning sessions which include several mobility exercises throughout each workout.

Learn how to accurately gauge your level of intensity to ensure that you don’t fall short of your goals!

Has this happened to you ?
You’ve committed to going to the gym consistently and are completing your workouts and making progress. Occasionally, however, those dumbbells you used last week seem to be heavier and now feel like 100lbs versus the 35lbs that is clearly labeled.

What’s going on here ? Are you getting weaker ? If you have a well-designed program that prevents overtraining and plateaus, then the answer is most likely no! However, what may have changed in this scenario is your rating of perceived exertion (RPE).

What is RPE?
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) is a subjective measurement of how much work you are putting into a given movement or exercises. RPE takes into consideration feelings of effort, strain, discomfort, and/or fatigue which are then quantified on a scale of 6-10. If you train long enough, eventually you will have those days where high intensity feels like a warm-up and vice versa, which is totally normal. What the RPE scale allows you to do however, is have additional data points in which to track your workouts beyond the standard Sets, Reps, and Weights. RPE actually allows you to self-assess each movement and gives immediate feedback as to “how it felt”. This in-turn allows you to make necessary adjustments to ensure you progress. Further, you can proactively program your workouts based on RPE’s to distinguish between low, medium, and max intensity days versus randomly coming into the gym and saying “It’s going to be a light workout today”
While there are a myriad of factors including sleep and stress that can affect RPE, it is best to be honest with yourself and use how you feel in the moment to dictate your next move. If you underestimate your RPE and go too intense next set or round, you can potentially hurt yourself and/or hinder your progress.

The RPE Scale
RPE works on a scale of 6-10 and should be used before (how I want to feel during) and after (how I actually felt during) each exercise. As you improve your ability to evaluate your effort level, the two numbers should be identical.
RPE of 10 – Max Effort –“ Zero reps left in the tank”
RPE of 9 – Heavy lift – “One rep left in the tank”
RPE of 8 – Difficult lift – “Two reps left in the tank”
RPE of 7 – Moderately difficult lift – “Three to four reps left in the tank”
RPE of 6 – Minimally difficult lift – “four or more reps left in the tank”

As a general rule you want to feel stimulated, not annihilated after your workouts and should be at 7-8 RPE with the occasional 9-10 RPE days, which should be followed by several days at 6 RPE (Recovery/Deload).
Truth be told, a lot of us are not working as hard as we could be in the gym as effort can be difficult to accurately gauge. The RPE scale is a simple and effective way to properly monitor exercise to know if you are being properly challenged or if you need to work a little harder in order to reach your goals.

Written by, Flow Coach Mackennon Klink, B.S. CSCS, PN1