Mar 17, 2021Mobility Exercises to Stay in the Game
Range of motion, or mobility, during exercise varies depending on your goals and outlooks.
While bodybuilders may prefer a short range of motion — it can help increase time under tension and help up quicker — athletes prefer a much larger range of mobility, to be able to perform proper technique without pain over an extended period of time.
Range of motion can be described as how far the load moves on each rep. A barbell shrug has a far small range of motion than a barbell snatch — the former is moving the bar just a few inches while the latter begins from the floor and works upward through the athlete’s ankle, hip, and thoracic spine mobility.
A recent article on TampaStrength.com outlined four mobility exercises to help athletes increase their range of motion and dominate their sport and stay in the game longer.
Below is an excerpt from that article.
Hip Flexor
Our hip flexors are directly tied to our day-to-day functionality. Everyone, ranging from professional athletes to senior citizens, needs strong and healthy hip flexors to go about their daily tasks. To perform this exercise, kneel down on one knee with your torso upright. Now slightly lean forward till you feel a nice stretch right next to the groin, hold this for 2-4 seconds and repeat a minimum of 5 reps. As you advance you can elevate the rear leg to increase the intensity of the movement and strengthen the hip flexors.
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Groiners
To perform a groiner, get in the push-up position, which will be your starting position. Now, with your weight on your arms, jump forward so that your legs land right outside of your hands. Jump back into the pushup position to complete one rep.
Fire Hydrants
To perform fire hydrants, position yourself on both, your hands and your knees, facing down on the floor. Now, lift one knee off the floor and rotate them in circular motion, bring your knee up to your chest, and then back behind you. Perform the rotations and then switch directions and do another ten big rotations with the other leg.
Cossack Squat
stand with a wider than shoulder-width stance, now, turn one foot out towards the side with your toe off the floor. Make sure you keep your knee completely straight and then squat with your other leg. Make sure you keep both of your heels grounded and your spine completely straight. Now, return to the starting position and perform the movement with your other leg to complete one rep.
To read the full article from TampaStrength.com, click here.
