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Mobility Vs Stability The Foundations of Athletic Development

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Hey, Ive been want ing t o writ e about t his for ages, as so many At hlet es and Coaches seem a lit t le vague when it comes t he areas of mobilit y and st abilit y, as far as what we are really t alking about , how import ant and essent ial t hey are and how best t o develop t hose at hlet ic qualit ies.

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Are your 2014 Goals SM ARTER? Two best Goal planning exercises for 2014 Goal set t ing for 2014 M obilit y Vs St abilit y The Foundat ions of At hlet ic Development 10 Tips for Veget arians on Nut rit ion for At hlet ic Performance

M uch of t his art icle has been sit t ing t here for a while now, but as a new season approaches and Off/Wint er season is about t o commence for my at hlet es, t here is no t ime like t he present t o get t his out t here, shared and discussed. Part one discusses t he key concept s and considerat ions, so here goes!

What is Mobility?
Ok, so Ive present ed on t his st uff a few t imes now and I always open up t o t he floor what are t he keywords/buzzwords t hat spring t o mind when t his t erm mobilit y is used; t he first st ep is always clarifying what we are t alking about , t o ensure we are on t he same wave lengt h! These were what I wrot e down in my last t alk from t he at t endees t hat were a mix of at hlet es and coaches: Available Flexibilit y * Range of M ot ion or ROM M ovement and Posit ioning around a joint or collect ive group of joint s

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Ok, so t he Flexibilit y response is a common one and Ill admit , it does frust rat e me a bit ! I need t o break t his down t o anot her level, just t o be clear on t his point , as it s a value dist inct ion t o know t he difference bet ween flexibilit y and mobilit y! Flexibilit y Vs Mobilit y The t erms flexibilit y and mobilit y are oft en used int erchangeably by t he general populat ion, somet imes even coaches, physios and ot her Professionals refer t o t he same t hing. WRONG! Flexibilit y and mobilit y are relat ed, but t hey are different . This is an import ant concept t o comprehend, because it s unusual for many at hlet es t o consist ent ly work on t heir flexibilit y (bar gymnast s and mart ial art ist s), but usually always overlook t he issue of joint mobilit y. Every week I must get asked Why are my calves so t ight ? or, How come I cant get my hamst rings t o loosen up? As a coach I work wit h many high level at hlet es and hear t hese quest ions frequent ly. So, alt hough t here may not be one simple answer t o t hose t ypes of quest ions, one of t he first t hings I will assess is t he joint mobilit y of t he ankles, hips, and spine.
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What was I talking abo ut again? Erm.

Common Definit ions It is import ant t o underst and t he difference bet ween flexibilit y and mobilit y. Flexibilit y refers t o t he abilit y of a muscle and ot her soft t issues t o lengt hen. Essent ially, it is t he lengt h of a muscle or muscle group. Mobilit y , or joint mobilit y, refers t o t he degree of movement occurring at a specific joint . There is a significant relat ionship bet ween t he t wo. Simply put , if joint mobilit y is rest rict ed, t hen t he flexibilit y of t he muscle t issue around t he joint will also be limit ed. This is because muscles are not smart , and if t hey are cont inually held in a short ened range, t hen nat urally t hey become short er. The following Definit ion is one I like t o use (it s mine!), as it looks at M obilit y holist ically, as far as it s relat ionship wit h what surrounds it ! Inst agram
Fa ce b o o k s o ci a l p l u g i n

My Definition T he ability of a Joint/articulation (where two bones meet) to move before becoming restricted by surrounding tissues, such as ligaments, tendons, muscle and fascia (connective tissues). Stability
Ok, so t he kinds of Keywords t hat I got for St abilit y were: Balance unilat eral holds, et c. Cont rol St rengt h Videos

St abilit y is not balance. Balance is balance different syst ems are at play. They may influence one anot her, just like mobilit y and st abilit y have t o co-exist . You may be able t o use cert ain unilat eral (1 leg) balances t o develop st abilit y, by t his is more about being able t o keep cert ain part s of your body st able, so t hat ot her part s can be mobile. It relies on t iming every joint t han has a st abilit y focussed role t o plan in t he kinet ic chain will also have mobilit y present and vice versa, t he same as your t horacic spine should predominant ly be mobile, it also needs t o be st able t o a degree and at t imes, more st able t han mobile! It s about joint s having t he right qualit ies t o work holist ically t oget her.

My Definition of Stability T he ability to maintain or control the position and the movement of joints. T he Joint By Joint Approach
As we work our way up t he body, youll see t hat our joint s pret t y much have an alt ernat e focus of St abilit y and M obilit y each will have a degree of bot h required, however t he key focus of t hem wit hin t he kinet ic chain is t o predominant ly be mobile or give st abilit y. Some are design more for St abilit y t han M obilit y and vice versa. STABILITY Foot Knee Sacral/Lumbar Scapular Elbow 0
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My Definition T he development of an ideal degree of articulation through all ranges of joint movement in conjunction with the ability to stabilise and control this available motion. Joint Centration
It s import ant t hat we underst and what I mean by joint cent rat ion as it s key t o our movement and what we are gaining from our mobilit y and st abilit y t raining. Each joint has an opt imal posit ion and relies upon t he right mobilit y and st abilit y t o give us t he abilit y t o hold t he post ure required whilst performing, whet her st at ic or dynamic what ever is required on demand.

Quality Movement Fundamentals

This is delving int o a very subject ive t opic, by in my opinion it s all about being able t o move in an opt imal range of mot ion for your sport in a coordinat ed way, under cont rol. If I can get you as close t o t his as possible, t hen Im happy it s all about assessing t o underst and where t here may be some gaps and t hen working on t he right areas t o become more rounded for your sport generally where possible, I want you t o be a well rounded human, rat her t han just from an at hlet e viewpoint so I want you t o be able t o most t hings you could ever want t o, wit hout avoidable dysfunct ion causing limit at ions.

We should all be able t o push, pull, hinge, squat , roll, play and so much more. These are neurological pat t erns nobody had t o cue t he kid above int o t hat posit ion: Head up. Sit down bet ween t he feet .. They just do it , like being able t o get up off t he floor it s a nat ural movement ! The kinds of t hings t hat can prevent individuals from moving well are (t his isnt a definit ive list ): The wrong Pat t erns M ovement is neurological we are t raining t he nervous syst em and loading it up wit h informat ion. It can be wrong t hrough doing it wrong over t ime, or may may not know how t o do it , as weve not t ried before! Lack of Mobilit y cannot get ourselves in t he right posit ion Lack of St abilit y Cannot st abilise our joint s, so t he body locks up as a safet y mechanism which t hen hampers mobilit y Lack of Skill -Somet imes we just havent given ourselves enough t ime t o mast er more complex movement s. We are capable of so much, but our minds will t ry t o discourage us well before our bodies are unable! Too Impat ient you are young Jedi!

The Challenge Mobilit y does not speak t o mot or cont rol!

Unfort unat ely st abilit y and mobilit y wont have a meet ing wit hout you t o co-ordinat e, so you need t o make sure you develop bot h, at t he right t ime t here must always be a lit t le of one present wit h t he ot her, so complet e isolat ion is impossible. It s all down t o t he st ruct uring and inclusion of t he right drills at t he right t ime t o get a synergist ic result .

How often do we really target Mobility and Stability?

Opt imal, or at t he very least sat isfact ory movement should be t he foundat ion of everyt hing we do, but how oft en do we consider t he fundament als and remain t here in our t raining unt il we qualify for

t he next st age? Im a firm believer in hierarchy If you t rain wit h me, you have t o nail t he level 1 st uff and prove t o me t hat you deserve t o go t o level 2, ot herwise youll at best not achieve t he desired out come and at worst could injure yourself. Generally, you should work on t he mobilit y first so t hat you have t he range needed t o perform opt imally, t hen you shift t he focus ont o building st abilit y in t he mobilit y you have. Our init ial focus should be on t hose, t o creat e st rong foundat ions for everyt hing else t o layer ont o of course t here will be except ions. This is where a confident and experienced coach can work wit h at hlet es t o ensure t he right areas are being focussed on. Ive seen at hlet es t hat clearly have mobilit y AND st abilit y issues t rying t o Clean and Snat ch many t imes! It s also not uncommon t o see coaches get t ing hyper mobile at hlet es t o work on mobilit y in warm up, when t hey have limit ed t ime and st abilit y really shouldve been t he focus.

Id s ay this Athlete might be better to fo c us o n s tability during warm up.

Ive also seen lit erally dozens of coaches and at hlet es t hat focus on mobilit y (albeit not wit h any consist ency) where t he real issue is St abilit y. In t odays int ernet age so many people have been reached by Kelly St arret t s M obilit y WOD, which was and st ill is fant ast ic and has raised mobilit y awareness t o a new level. However, so oft en I see people t rying t o mobilise and st ret ch t ight joint s and t issues wit h no result s. Well, Ill let you int o a lit t le secret If joint mob and soft t issue st uff doesnt give you a pret t y acut e response, it s probably never going t o work! I always say, if it doesnt make a change wit hin a minut e or t wo, it probably never will! Also you will never keep t he mobilit y long t erm unless you et ch t he new mot or pat t erns int o your memory and you must t hen work t o progress up t o loading t he movement in t his new range, This way t heyll last , as we are t hen developing our st abilit y and st rengt h and can t herefore keep it . M obilit y wit hout st abilit y cant work t hey always have t o co-exist . We need t o focus on one a lit t le more t han t he ot her, but like wit h concurrent periodizat ion, qualit ies are being developed t oget her, t hat s how our bodies work! If we spend t ime JUST on mobilit y and t hen give no focus t o st abilit y in our new found range, next t ime, our bodies wit h look up t o prot ect us, t hey wont give us t hat range, as t hey feel t he lack of st abilit y and sense danger! Oft en (not always), t he issue is t hat t he mobilit y is possible, but our bodies wont let us access it under load focus on t he st abilit y and all of a sudden, t he mobilit y appears as if by magic!

Movement Screening
Screens give us a visual of how an at hlet e moves, so t hat we can see if it s adequat e which is great , however it doesnt t ell us why t hey move like t hat !

Ho w do they mo ve when lo aded?

This is where we must Assess we need t o underst and why t hings are happening by invest igat ing furt her. Take an overhead squat for example wit h gravit y and a bar overhead (even a broomst ick), if it looks great , t hen we can load you up and move on! If it s not a pass level in our eyes, well need t o look t o see if t hings change when we unload t he overhead squat ; t his will let us see whet her range of mot ion is t he culprit . We can get t hem t o lie on t heir back, or give t hem some assist ance wit h a band, et c. This way we can see if by removing or reducing t he need for st abilit y, t he movement improves. This can be used in t raining like bike st abilizers, so we can gradually reduce t he need for assist ance.

Onc e yo u take away the s tability do es the mo bility no w s eem better?

We need t o be prescribing t he right medicine and t he correct dosage so t he at hlet e can get bet t er! TIP: St ret ching is a useful t ool, but just because a muscle feels t ight , it doesnt necessarily need st ret ching! As ment ioned earlier, t here are many reasons as t o WHY first st ep is knowing it needs work and t hen discovering where t o t arget your effort s!

DO NOT JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS! IT CAN WASTE VALUABLE TIME BETTER SPENT ELSEWHERE!

Ability to Dissociate
It s an import ant part of t he screening process and t he coaching process when t rying t o develop or maint ain bot h mobilit y and st abilit y t hat we help at hlet es t o be able t o dissociat e movement . A great example of t his is someone t rying t o t ouch t heir t oes t o t est hamst ring flexibilit y if you do not set st andards and give t he right cues t hey will just t ry t o get t here t he easiest way and use t heir lumbar spine and let t heir shoulders drop out of posit ion t o gain reach! This is not working or t est ing t heir hamst rings. Get t hem t o maint ain a neut ral spine and keep t he shoulders in place and youll see somet hing very different in movement , more akin t o a RDL, more hinge t hat fold! They need t o learn how t o move using t he joint s and muscles in t he right way t his is where joint cent rat ion, mobilit y, st abilit y, and coaching cues set t he st andard and raise t he bar. This is t he abilit y t o dissociat e t hat is such a valuable benefit t o incorporat ing t his work int o your sessions. It makes life easy a year down t he line when t hey are doing heavy deadlift s and you st op t hem because t heir form is going, just when all t heir friends were cheering t hem on t owards a new PR at t empt ! They dont get mad at you for st opping t hem, t hey get mad t hat t heir movement qualit y broke down and underst and why you had t o st op t hem, as t hey know what t he st andards are. That s really valuable for safet y and creat ing a cult ure where t hey are all st riving for qualit y over quant it y. So t o summarise, here are a few t ake away point s t hat I feel you really should consider can you

afford to not follow these?

ALWAYS ENSURE THERE IS APPROPRIATE M OBILITY AND STABILITY BEFORE YOU PROGRESS TO LOADED M OVEM ENTS IN YOUR HIERARCHY USE SOM E BASIC SCREENS AND ASSESSM ENTS FIRST ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSSING ON NEVER ASSUM E! M AKE TIM E FOR SOM E M OBILITY AND STABILITY IN EVERY SESSION WHETHER DEVELOPM ENTAL OR M AINTENANCE ENSURE THE ABILITY TO DISSOCIATE IS THERE M AKE SURE THE STABILITY AND M OBILITY COM ES FROM THE RIGHT PLACE OWN THE M OVEM ENT! BE IN CONTROL AT ALL TIM ES, WITH A SM OOTH STEADY TEM PO AND ENSURE YOU CAN BREATH THROUGHOUT IT! M AKE SURE THE RIGHT CUES ARE USED I.E STRETCH THE HAM STRING, NOT TOUCH YOUR TOES IT WILL COM E FROM LUM BAR FLEXION AND THE SHOULDERS! SET THE STANDARDS ATHLETES AND COACHES M UST KNOW WHAT GOOD LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE!

ENSURE THAT WORK IS INDIVIDUALISED ATHLETES CAN WORK IN GROUPS DEPENDANT UPON SIM ILAR REQUIRED FOCUS DONT OVER COM PLICATE STATIC > DYNAM IC, SIM PLE > COM PLEX. JUST A FEW KEY FOCUSES AT A TIM E YOU DONT NEED 6 M ONTHS FOR THIS STUFF! IT CAN PROGRESS FAIRLY RAPIDLY IS YOU LOOK FOR QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

Some of t hese are more around t he ways t o coach and program t hem int o your cycles, which Ill be focussing on in my next art icle t o follow. Hopefully t hat has given you some food for t hought and you feel you now have a fresh perspect ive on t hese t wo fundament al qualit ies. Thanks so much for t aking t he t ime t o read it s a vast subject and one where I felt I had t o lay down t he basics here, t o avoid a running series of hundreds of art icles ensuing! Speak soon, Daz

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