More often than not, those who are under 50 years old often come to us with performance and aesthetic goals. More specifically, common goals include gaining strength, losing fat, getting toned, improving muscle endurance, and improving flexibility and posture. Unfortunately, unless it is a weakness they are aware of, it’s rare for us to hear that their number one fitness goal is to improve or maintain mobility.
But it should be! Or at the very least, you should include mobility exercises in your warm-up or cool-down routine — more on this in a bit.)
Sometimes our clients come to us unsure about what the differences are between mobility and flexibility. So, let’s get this part out of the way first.
Flexibility refers to the lengthening abilities of a muscle. Mobility involves the ability of a joint to move through its full range of motion. And mobility can include aspects of flexibility. For instance, if the hamstring muscle is too tight, this can impact hip mobility. The good news is that you can improve both flexibility and mobility. In fact, functional exercises are a great place to start.