A Journey of Mobility

//A Habit to Train//

I previously spoke about the science of change and habit building. Building on this momentum, I decided to get into mobility training, otherwise known as stretching. Everybody knows what stretching is and will often do one sometimes before or after a workout. Range of motion is an area that I’ve been lacking over the years and it has developed into a daily bother that needed addressing. Training muscles without proper mobility can lead to a number of issues that affect posture, performance and general comfort in our daily lives. As much as my entries here like to venture into the scientific side of subjects, stretching is a matter that remains up to debate and further research.

//Stretch Safety//

I used to think that stretching would solve all of my issues, yet getting deeper into research of physiology has revealed stretching is a double edged sword that an sometimes identify weakness in our own bodies. Not everyone is the same and mobility develops along with our bodies, adapting to growth or destruction. There are many ways to stretch but no matter the size of muscle, mobility hinges on ligaments and otherwise delicate tissue that can be trained to realign our entire bodies. Between the various stretching routines, it became apparent that understanding my own body first was a requirement before following along to any stretching routine. Stretching can be a risky affair and explosive stretching such as ballistic stretches seem like a disaster waiting.

//Slow and Steady//

Dynamic and slow stretches have been a low risk training regime to follow and I decided to couple this with breathing techniques to bolster the effects of increased blood flow. Relaxed breathing, perhaps with a rhythm encourages circulation and travel of oxygen around the body. Breathing diaphragmatically involves air filling the abdomen as opposed to the chest and supplements the effects of stretching and flexibility training.

//Listening to the Body//

While stretching can help to train the body to have stability and better range of motion during exercise, stretching cannot ignore basic biology. Biomechanics is a crucial part of the human anatomy. Both direction and intensity of a stretch should carefully be considered, some parts of the body are simply not meant to be move in a certain direction. That’s just how the human body works and beyond this, everybody has their own body shape and biomechanics to consider. Trying to push intensely as one might do in a gym is a potentially dangerous way to pick up injuries, negating all intended effects of strengthening and balancing the fragile joints of our body.

Sources
https://www.painscience.com/articles/stretching.php
https://extension.psu.edu/balance-breathing-and-flexibility