It’s All About Mobility, People
Just a reminder that we will continue to focus on the importance of mobility here at Modig Fitness and its ability to reduce the propensity for injury and nagging aches and pains. We’ve talked a lot about MobilityWOD.com and Kelly Starrett – today’s post talks about ‘range of motion.’ Don’t forget to get out and buy 3 lacrosse balls and athletic tape, people…
*******************************************************************************************************************
How Much ROM Do You Need, Really?
Hey Mwodies,
Today’s episode is a little homage to misplaced precision. The question is, how much range of motion should you have? Well it turns out this is a pretty simple question to answer. Can you perform the movements of a normal human being? You see, range of motion by itself really doesn’t mean anything. Really, I mean it, just ask any of those hyper mobile athletes out there and they will tell you that prioritizing motor-control all the time is a drag (can’t a guy just be a piece of meat once in a while? sheesh.) Seriously though, you need full range of motion. Period. But full range of motion as expressed with quality motor control (read: can you move full a full range of motion, and generate stability and power there too?) You’ve been evolving for 2.5 million years. Normal ankle range of motion for example, pretty much covers ANYTHING that a human being can do. Weird huh? Full dorsiflexion ironically looks very similar to squatting butt to ankles with your feet close together. And this is the point. You already KNOW how much range you need. You have spend your life moving and training like an athlete. You should be able to hold something against your stomach without compromising your shoulder positioning (this is the high hang position btw.) You should be able to keep you back flat and reach down and pick something up at shin height (like a deadlift, weird). ROM needs context. ROM needs application. Otherwise, range of motion is just a correlate for the real thing. You don’t need passive or active range. You need to be able to speak the language of being a human. Fortunately for us, that formal language sounds an awful lot like the movements of strength and conditioning (convenient, effective, oh, and also the truth).
Go directly to this website to see the full video – couldn’t access the youtube link for some reason, but going directly to the site should work.
http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/04/how-much-rom-do-you-need-really.html
*******************************************************************************************************************
(Source: MobilityWod.com, Kelly Starrett)