When people think of ‘stretching,’ they often think of static stretches like Child’s pose or a Pec stretch off the corner of a squat rack – which is great! “I feel like any static stretching is good,” but is it the best option? Is it enough?
Why? Because passively ‘bending’ yourself into a position doesn’t have a lot of benefit outside the ability to be bent into THAT position. If you can’t actively achieve that range on your own, you don’t physically own that range of motion. In other words, it’s useless. Our body returns to the prior range within 15-20 mins if that newly achieved range (if any) is unused.
Let’s break this down a little bit more.
There are two kinds of mobility: active and passive.
Active mobility: The ability to move
Active mobility is the ability to move, which is even what the word mobility represents (Mo: move bility: ability). If you can’t move in or out of a certain range of motion, you don’t possess the ability to move into that range of motion. It’s that simple. If you possess this ability, you have the freedom to move passively & actively within that range, which is crucial if you’re looking to mitigate your chances of injury.
Passive mobility: The ability to be moved
Passive mobility is the ability to be moved into a certain range of motion. This is necessary, but it’s only half the battle. if you can only achieve ranges passively by being physically pushed into those ranges, your body’s capability to withstand forces drops dramatically, increasing the risk for non-contact injuries.
For example, you’re a football player and the opposite team has the ball. The player with the ball is coming straight at you, and you put up your arm to stop this two hundred-something-pound athlete running full speed in your direction. He hits your arm full speed. Would your shoulder be able to take that? If you never achieved that range of motion independently, he would have ripped your arm out of its socket. On the other hand, if you trained in that range of motion and could even produce and absorb force in that range, the chances you would have walked away with just a sore shoulder are much higher.
The issue here with passive mobility is that it gives you no support or assistance when you need it most. Many people tend to hit a few static stretch pre-workout, but those stretches aren’t supporting the movements like they think they are.
Think of it this way: Do you want to be ‘lowered’ down into your squat by the weight? Or, do you want to lower the weight down into your squat?
Passively stretching your calves into max dorsiflexion without being able to control anything while in that position isn’t doing you any favors when you’ve got your body weight on top of you at the bottom of your squat; you need to be able to stabilize and produce force while in that position.
You can introduce more active stretching or mobility by practicing the movements you plan on performing after you’ve finished static stretching.
Want to warm up properly for squats? Bust out some bodyweight squats and pay attention to your form.
Want to practice a great deadlift? Practice your hip hinge.
You can introduce active mobility in a few different ways!
Less difficult – Introducing force (isometrics): think of pushing into the passive object you’re using to achieve your passive stretch.
Moderate – Positional isometrics: find your passive range of motion, remove the passive force and hold yourself in that range without any compensation.
Hard – Passive range lift-offs: find your passive range of motion then pull back about 10 degrees. Without any sort of compensation actively achieve your most passive range on your own.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the input you provide to your body that’s going to inhibit the change you wish to see. If you just mindlessly bend yourself in and out of a few positions for 10 minutes, you’re not making any physical changes to those tissues, only temporary ones.
A mobile body is a capable body.
I don’t think anyone should have to go at this alone. If you feel like you could use some help, please send me a message and I’ll help you the best I can.
