Why Mobility Beats Flexibility Every Time

The thumbnail’s a little misleading; she stopped passive stretching and did mobility drills (active stretching) instead, but the important part is it gets much better results in much less time:

Let’s get active!

Five ways to do it:

1. Deep squat to forward fold: sink into a deep squat with your hands on the floor, slowly straighten your legs into a forward fold, then lower yourself back into the squat, using yoga blocks under your palms if needed, to improve mobility in your ankles, knees, hips, and lower back while actively lengthening your calves, hamstrings, and glutes, and strengthening your legs and core.
2. 90/90 hip mobility: sit with both knees bent at 90°, fold your torso forwards over your front shin, pause briefly, then return upright before repeating on both sides, to develop active control of hip internal and external rotation by strengthening your muscles throughout the range of motion.
3. World’s greatest stretch: begin in a deep lunge with the opposite hand on the floor, rotate your torso to reach your front arm towards the ceiling, then return to the starting position, keeping your back knee down if needed, or lifted for a greater challenge, to improve mobility and strength through your hip flexors, groin, upper back, chest, and shoulders while integrating them into one coordinated movement.
4. Inchworm to cobra: hinge forwards to place your hands on the floor, walk them into a high plank, lower your hips into cobra, then walk your hands back to standing in one continuous, controlled sequence, bending your knees if necessary, to mobilize your hamstrings, calves, ankles, spine, hip flexors, abs, chest, and shoulders, thus training your body as one connected system.
5. Adductor stretch to side bend: kneel with one leg extended to the side, drive your bent knee forwards until you feel a stretch through your inner thigh and hip, return to the start, then reach your upper arm overhead and bend sideways towards your extended foot, to improve mobility in your adductors, hips, hamstrings, ankles, shoulder, and side body while strengthening your lateral chain from your foot to your fingertips.

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Take care!