Why Daily Stretching + Mobility Work are Important
You may often you find yourself chained to a desk, trapped there by time constraints and circumstances beyond your control. When time is short, and you can’t get to the gym, instead of forgoing all movement, instead consider squeezing in some mobility work.
It’s probably not new to most of you that mobility is important. You may already have a program of stretches to perform before your workout, or as homework from your trainer in your free time. However, we usually don’t prioritize mobility work until after an injury occurs.
Exercise is a stress to the body – it works to produce changes to the body by forcing it to adapt to the imposed demands. And there is a delicate balance to stressing the body effectively – too much stress or too little will not achieve the desired results. With the immense stress added during trying times, and the stressors we encounter on a daily basis, mobility work is an excellent alternative to intense resistance training or cardiovascular work.
How to Listen to Your Body and Prioritize Mobility
Consider those mornings when you wake up for your pre-dawn run and you just don’t feel like you can do it. Instead of pushing through, listen to your body and make that day a mobility day. Give your nervous system a break and go for the endorphin boost instead of the adrenalin boost. Pushing too hard can have deleterious effects both physically and psychologically. Mobility work also keeps your machine running smoothly.
It is important to keep in mind that everyone has a level of flexibility that is unique, and if you are hypermobile, certain stretches will be contraindicated or counterproductive, but for most of us, we can absolutely benefit from gentle mobility exercises.
When we apply tension to a muscle, a signal is sent to the brain that contracts the muscle against the pull, in an effort to prevent tearing. Once the brain realizes that the stretch is static, the muscles will relax a little more. This is why it is important to hold the position of a stretch ideally for at least 30 seconds. Add some deep slow breathing and feel the magic.
Create an Ergonomic Workstation
Many workstations are not set up with the proper ergonomics. The typical desk posture can lead to shortened pec muscles, tight upper trapezius muscles, a pronounced forward head tilt, and tight and short hip flexors. The length tension imbalances that occur as you curl forward over the table, along with the shallow breathing associated with stress, are recipe for headaches, fatigue and irritability, and some consistent bad posture habits.
I’m going to walk you through five, quick and easy mobility exercises you can mix in throughout your working day, and do right from your desk.
(quick demo of 5 “desk” mobility moves)
Side head tilt forward neck bend
Standing hip stretch w chair hamstring stretch
Pec stretch seated figure 4
Thanks for joining me on this segment in mobility. Remember to treat your body with the same care you would treat your car and find your mobility moments to keep your machine in good working order
Tracey Cooke
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Soul Training, the workshop designed to teach you that there is more to health and fitness, than just working out and eating right. Tracey leads an engaging workshop that discusses a holistic approach to fitness covering meditation, stress management, sleep, mobility and adherence.
Stress cannot be eliminated, but there are ways to cope with and decrease the negatives effects from it. Tracey discusses the wonders meditation will have on your physical and mental state, and even walks you through a quick, guided meditation.
Many of us have heard the importance of a good night’s sleep, but what benefits does it really have on our body, both physically and mentally? Tracey dives into why getting proper sleep and proper quality of sleep is critical to your health. She also discusses ways you can optimize your sleep to ensure the best quality.
Stretching and mobility work is inherent to our body’s functionality, but why do people only focus on it after an injury? Tracey examines why daily stretching is so important to our body’s wellbeing, and provides you with a few quick and easy exercises you can mix into your day.
Follow-Along Soul Training Stretches
Tracey explores the importance of staying consistent, and ways to adhere to your goals, even when life gets in the way.
Tracey wraps up Soul Training by reminding you of the four main topics we covered, how these are just as important to your physical and mental health as exercise, and how these areas will start you on the path to treating your body more holistically.