What is Mobility?

Mobility is the degree of freedom to which a joint can move through its range of motion with control. This differs from flexibility in the sense that the movement must be done with control, not just in a stretch. If you are looking to perform sports or organic movements that require challenging positions you will require more than just flexibility, you will need mobility in order to move through the movements with the desired levels of control.

Why is Mobility Important?

Mobility is an essential component of physical health, one can be extremely strong, have a high VO2 max and yet not be able to perform organic movements or even day to day tasks with high degrees of accuracy.

Day to Day Life

We all need a certain amount of mobility to move through our day to day lives. From getting out of a car to picking something off a high shelf. All the movements we perform in our day to day are often taken for granted. Gains in mobility can make our day to day lives easier which can often make us more willing to take on more challenging physical activities.

Injury Prevention

The ability for a joint to be able to move through its full range of motion with control is very beneficial for preventing injury for athletes. Imagine a climber who has a shoulder which cannot reach full extension, she jumps and catches her weight on the shoulder in a position that she is not able to control, putting herself under a great deal more risk of injury than her counterpart who has mobility through the shoulders full range of motion.

Movement Capacity

Movement capacity is the summation of mobility and movement virtuosity. Movement capacity is the ability to try a new movement pattern, and have the physical capabilities to thrive while learning it. If you are flexible but have no movement virtuosity then you are not in ideal physical health. If you have high levels of movement virtuosity but low levels of mobility then you are also not reaching your physical health potential.

Imagine we take two individuals, one of whom is completely sedentary and the other who lifts weights three times a week and does bouldering twice per week and they both go surfing for the first time. Nine times out of ten the second individual will have far higher levels of movement capacity and will be able to learn surfing much faster. If you are striving for optimal physical health, you need to be able to move in organic ranges of motion with high levels of virtuosity and mobility. If you are strong and have a high VO2 max, but cannot perform a tennis serve or go bouldering because you lack mobility then you are missing a crucial part of your physical health.

How to Develop Mobility

Flexibility + Strength = Mobility

If flexibility and strength are what make up mobility we need to gain both in strength and in flexibility. Flexibility can be gain through static stretching and dynamic stretching and then strength can be built in these “new” ranges of motion, therefore creating more mobility in the joint.

Resistance Training is Mobility Training

Thankfully, resistance training is an excellent way to improve mobility when it is performed correctly. Meaning we do not need to spend hours developing our mobility if we follow a well structured strength training programme. When we perform resistance training we are essential stretching the muscle with load, if we do this in a continuous, consistent, progressive manner our bodies will become more mobile over time. Resistance training obviously doesn’t move through all the bodies movement variations and therefore some static and dynamic stretching will be required.

This is why using the warm up to build mobility is so crucial to long term mobility development. Imagine you are trying to build strong and mobile shoulders, performing two of the exercises below before your strength training session and opening up the shoulder joint, then performing a vertical press and moving through the full range of motion. This blend of mobility exercise then moving into strengthening the joint that you have just opened is the most effective way to develop mobility.

Try These 10 Shoulder Mobility Exercises To Open Up the Shoulder Joint

Swing Variations

These two swinging variations can be very beneficial for developing both control and mobility in the shoulders. These should be approached with caution and they are not for individuals with injured shoulder, just for those trying to improve the mobility of their shoulders. Try out different amplitudes of swings, start slow and controlled and progressively build to move aggressive swings.

Hang Variations

Hanging, both passive and active hangs with the hips in a variety of different positions can all be excellent ways to develop mobility in the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint should be able to hang in many positions and feel comfortable. Hanging should be in most individuals weekly training programme in some form. Ido Portal is a huge proponent of hanging and its importance for posture and shoulder health and I agree with him, though I don’t think it needs to be a daily activity, but certainly a weekly one.

If you are unable to take your body weight you can still use hanging to improve your shoulder mobility, this can be done by keeping the feet on the floor, while taking as much weight as you feel comfortable with in your hands

Scapula Rotations

Scapula rotations can help build both flexibility and control in the shoulder joint. The vast majority of individuals find scapula rotations very challenging, this is because it is rare that we isolate the scapular and are required to control the micro movements within the shoulder joint. This means that most of us, me included, have a lot of progress to make in performing scapula rotations. I try and perform these on a weekly basis in order to see progress in my shoulder mobility.

Joint Rotations

Floor facing angels and other forms of controlled articular rotations are very beneficial for developing shoulder mobility. When performing this exercises, try and ensure that the arms stay completely straight and you take the time to reach out aggressively overhead. If you perform these passively with little attention they will literally be of no benefit.

Animal Walks

Animal walks, including the bear crawl and the crab walk can be very effective way to gently open up the shoulder joint while controlling your body weight. Using these in warm ups and cool downs can be a very effective way to improve the mobility of your shoulders.

Ground Based Movement

The plank to thoracic bridge is a very challenging exercise that should only be performed by advanced trainees who have high degrees of mobility. It puts the shoulder in a very susceptible position and requires good levels of mobility. For those who already have high degrees of movement freedom in the shoulder joint this exercise can be a great way to add to that current mobility.

Strength Training Exercises

The half kneeling landmine press is my favourite vertical press movement for those who struggle with mobility in the shoulder joint. For my more senior clients or those who lack overhead mobility. This is a perfect first variations because it is easier to achieve a locked out position overhead even when an individual has restricted mobility.