Can Mobility Training Save Time and Prevent Injuries for People Who Play Sports?

“If finding time to run is already difficult… finding time for strength work or mobility training is even harder.”

That was probably your first thought when you read the title of this article. However, I am going to explain how this type of training can actually “save” pain, injuries, and time for people who do sports, including running.

For anyone who has never heard of it, mobility training, simply explained, is a type of training that helps us improve range of motion in the joints and muscles and helps reduce the risk of pain or injury as much as possible, especially when combined with strength training.

So, how can mobility help?

Nowadays, our lifestyle is based on sitting down to go to work, sitting down at work, sitting down on the way home, and then resting after a long day of work while sitting down again. However, our bodies were made to move. When that does not happen, our muscles gradually begin to “forget” their function and stop doing what they are supposed to do.

Then, when those muscles are asked to perform the job they are meant to do, they can no longer do it properly, which means another muscle has to compensate and do the work of both.

Our body is very intelligent and can keep doing this for a while, until one day it starts sending warning signs, the well-known pain in the hips, back, or knees, until it can no longer cope and injury appears. Of course, this is a very simple and quick way of explaining it.

That is why the ACSM recommends at least 30 minutes of daily activity and two strength training sessions per week.

So, if within those 30 minutes you can include 5 minutes of mobility work before your training session, whatever that may be, you will probably be able to progress faster in your training and reduce the likelihood of pain and injury.

That said, it is important to mention that joint mobility exercises are not the same as passive flexibility exercises, like the ones we are used to seeing in stretching routines. They are different and need to follow a logical sequence to produce the expected results.

Now that you know what you should do before your workouts, do not forget to put it into practice.

If you have any questions, just ask.

Happy training and see you soon!