Difference Between Flexibility & Mobility: Why Both Matter for Performance

Hello Ziddis! When it comes to physical performance and fitness, flexibility and mobility make a world of a difference in upgrading your fitness. These are often used interchangeably but they are both of their own type and benefit you in different ways.

How to Boost Flexibility

Flexibility is the metric to measure the ability of your muscle to stretch and lengthen which allows a wider range of motion to your joints. By improving flexibility, you can prevent injuries, reduce muscle tightness and improve your rate of recovery. Some ways to boost your flexibility are:

• Stretches as a part of a warm-up and cool down before and after working out
• Hip flexors and lunging as well as inch worms.
• Stretching your spine through a variety of exercises to relieve tension in back muscles.

By consistently practising flexibility exercises, you tend to improve your posture and reduce the risk of straining your muscles.

Difference Between Mobility and Flexibility Workouts

While flexibility is about your muscles’ ability to stretch, mobility is your joints’ ability to move in their full range of motion. Mobility depends on flexibility and not the other way around.

Here are a few key differences between mobility and flexibility workouts:

• Flexibility workouts focus on passive stretching like touching your toes
• Mobility workouts involve active movements like squats, burpees or yoga which require a proper form.

Neither can be ignored and both are supposed to be involved in your workouts to reduce the risk of injuring yourself.

Read Also: Flexibility and mobility: The Often Overlooked Components of Fitness

Mobility Exercises

Mobility exercises help in improving the range of motion of your joints. Not only that, mobility exercises also combine strength with movement to help you get fitter in a more sustainable manner.

Some of the mobility exercises are:

• World’s greatest stretch: this stretch targets multiple muscle groups and improves the movement of your hips, spine and shoulder.
• Hip circles: These help release the tensions in your hip joints and improve the range of motion while freeing you from any hip joint pain.
• Shoulder pass-through: By using a resistance band, you can help improve your shoulder’s range of motion and mobility while also strengthening your arm muscles by adding resistance to this movement.

Flexibility Exercises

If you are looking for ways you can improve your flexibility, you should start adding flexibility exercises to your workout routine. Such as:

• Forward fold
• Upside down dog
• Side stretch
• Reaching for your hamstrings
• Spinal twists
• Suryanamaskar

Activities like yoga and pilates are excellent ways to improve your muscle flexibility.

Takeaway

Both flexibility and mobility exercises are a crucial part of your workout training. While flexibility is the core, mobility is the range. A balanced routine could help you get the most out of these two. You can add some BCAA or other pre workout supplements to support your muscle recovery to make sure that you are equipping your workouts well.

Remember to invest and lay a rock-solid foundation for your workout by improving your flexibility and mobility to make your body stronger and more resilient.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/joint-mobility-exercises

https://www.self.com/gallery/essential-stretches-slideshow

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a40059106/mobility-exercises