I will be the first one to admit that I am not prioritizing mobility as much as I should at the moment. Right now, I am really just using it as a tool to get loose for the upcoming training session rather than overall body health. I will also be the first one to say that prioritizing mobility does show really good benefits. It doesn’t only benefit your training sessions but your daily life as well (we’ll touch on this more in a second). Making mobility sessions a habit is easier than most people think. You only need 15 minutes or less to get some work in. You can do it in front of the TV. And you have loads of apps that take all the guessing and thinking work out of it. There’s really no excuse right now to not make mobility a daily habit. If this hasn’t convinced you yet, let’s talk about the top 5 benefits of doing your daily mobility sessions

Before we dive into it, let’s first define the difference between stretching and mobility. The 2 are looked at as the same but they’re completely different in a way. Stretching means holding static positions. The purpose of stretching is to lengthen the muscle group you’re targeting. Mobility can mean active positions while trying to loosen up the targeted muscle groups. Simple difference: stretching = static , mobility = active.

Better at performing movements inside and outside the gym

We have already touched on this so let’s start here. This is the number one reason I stretch and do mobility. I am not gifted with a body that is super mobile without doing any work for it. In order to get into a good squat or into a good overhead position I need to spend time working on my mobility. Usually it’s tightness, not strength that keeps people from doing a certain lift or movement.

Less chance of injuries

The looser your muscles are the less chance of injuries. Having said that, if you’re just focused on mobility rather than building or maintaining muscle mass, you will still get injured quite easily.

The tightness in a muscle or area of the body can start to pull on the surrounding parts of the body to over compensate. Not only will this cause imbalances but injuries too. If your muscles are loose and relaxed, they won’t be pulling on the surrounding body parts.

Your body will feel better

After the majority of the mobility sessions your body will feel much better because it is able to move through a bigger range of motion than before. I can’t describe it any better than this but your body simply enjoys being capable of moving through its biggest range of motion possible. On top of this, the less tight your muscles are, the less pulling on surrounding body parts, the less discomfort you will feel.

Decrease in muscle soreness

Especially for people who workout regularly, stretching helps improve blood circulation. Blood circulation is used to bring oxygen and nutrients to all the muscles in your body. And what does your body need to recover better? The right nutrients and oxygen.

Better posture

As I am writing this blog on my laptop, I am being aware of the tightness in my shoulders because they’re getting pulled forward by the tension I have in the front part of my shoulders and chest. Being aware of it and sitting upright is great, but it’s not a long-term fix. Once I am done writing this I will get up and do some mobility to actually fix this problem.

This doesn’t just happen with the shoulders either. This can happen with any part of your body. And as we have seen already, if one body part is tight it will start to pull on the surrounding areas. Which means they will start to hurt too.

There are definitely more benefits out there but I think these 5 cover what most people would think of as ”worthy” benefits to make mobility part of their daily routine. If you’re not doing it now, 6 months from now you will wish you started now.

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