Unlocking Your Flexibility: Essential Movements for All Ages
Written on
Understanding the Decline in Mobility
As we age, it's common for adults to neglect stretching and physical activity. Often, personal responsibilities like family, finances, and work take precedence, leading to a concerning lack of exercise. This inactivity can result in several issues:
- Decrease in VO2 max
- Weight gain
- Increased tightness in muscles and joints
While not everyone may be concerned about VO2 max, the latter two issues are critical and can easily be addressed. Notably, research shows a significant decline in mobility as we get older. For instance, the shoulder's contribution to the Flexindex (FLX) for men drops dramatically from 13.9% at age 28 to just 5.2% by age 85.
In everyday activities—playing with children, lifting heavy objects, or reaching overhead—many of us experience tightness. This decline in mobility isn't limited to just one area; it extends to our ankles, knees, hips, and elbows. As our bodies become stiffer, the likelihood of injuries increases. The answer lies in movement.
Although time is often limited, you can likely spare a couple of minutes for a quick stretch. I personally find that engaging in stretches after prolonged periods of sitting enhances my overall range of motion and helps prevent injuries.
Identifying Tight Areas
The first step in addressing any issue is recognizing it. Your body signals discomfort as a reminder to pay attention. For example, after sitting for over two hours, I often feel tightness in my hips and back. Prolonged sitting can even lead to pain, particularly from rounding my shoulders while typing.
Many can relate to these sensations. Once you're aware of them, it’s essential to take action.
Exploring Movement Solutions
When faced with tightness, my instinct is to perform passive stretches, such as a behind-the-back stretch, which can alleviate tension in the chest and shoulders. Pairing this with side-to-side stretches can help release tightness around the hips.
However, my recent exploration of animal movements has opened my eyes to a new approach that combines mobility and strength training. Initially, I found these movements amusing and doubted their efficacy. Yet, as I incorporated them into my routine, I discovered they were crucial for improving my range of motion.
These animal movements are instinctive actions that both animals and children perform. Unfortunately, as adults, we often neglect these natural movements, preferring to lounge on the couch instead.
For instance, one of my go-to movements is the crab walk with an arm reach. This not only stretches one side of the chest but also engages the hips and counters shoulder tightness. Other animal movements that can be beneficial include crawling, hopping, and climbing.
Incorporating these movements with bodyweight exercises—like transitioning from a crab walk to a back bend or from a bear crawl to a Spiderman push-up—can foster functional strength and enhance your overall control, unlocking ranges of motion you may not have realized you possessed.
Setting Progressive Goals
The key is to take gradual steps toward broader objectives—whether that’s dancing freely, playing sports, or running without the fear of injury. Some may even aspire to activities like Parkour, Capoeira, CrossFit, or gymnastics.
The goal is to achieve sufficient strength and flexibility to enjoy various activities without injury. While some may be satisfied with basic stretching goals—like performing a full range of motion squat, lifting arms overhead, or touching toes—others, like myself, aim to reach more advanced milestones:
- Pike: Palms touching the floor
- Pancake: Chest touching the ground
- Middle Split: Buttocks on the ground
- Front Split: Front calf and back knee on the ground
- Bridge: Hands and feet flat on the ground with straight knees and arms
Achieving these movements reflects a high level of mobility and strength across various body parts.
Embracing a Vibrant Life
Living a fulfilling life means being active and avoiding injuries as you age. Everyone deserves to feel healthy and strong every day. To achieve this, we must incorporate more movement into our lives.
I believe we can all find time for brief sessions of animal movements that enhance our well-being. Setting broader goals can also serve as motivation to remain active. Give it a try—your body will appreciate it!
The first video, A Case for Limited Range of Motion Strength Training, explores the significance of incorporating strength training to counteract limited mobility and its long-term benefits.
The second video, Exercise to Restore Shoulder External and Internal Rotation ROM, demonstrates specific exercises aimed at enhancing shoulder mobility and restoring range of motion.