To Mobilize or To Stabilize

With all the craze of today to mobilize, mobilize, mobilize every joint in your body, what if that is not what you need?    Are you constantly mobilizing or stretching, but never making any gains and changing the feeling of your squat, dead lift, or press?  Maybe mobility is not your problem, perhaps stability is what you need in order to get deeper into that squat or get that lockout in your press.

Mobility - The ability to move a joint freely through a full range of motion before being restricted by surrounding tissues ( muscles,bones,ligaments)

Stability - The ability to maintain or control normal joint movement  by coordinating surrounding tissues and the neuromuscular system.

Proximal stability typically leads to distal mobility.  Having the ability to generate stiffness in the hip and core musculature leads to distal mobility and improved generation of power in the extremities.  If you're someone that is constantly stretching your hamstrings and never getting any gains, its not hamstring length but a motor control problem.  If you're someone who is stretching your hips and only sees temporary change, you probably have a motor control issue of your lumbopelvic region.  The human body is very good at protecting itself and creating what looks to be stiffness through regulating muscle tone.  This can be disguised as a mobility problem, but if you clear up the stability factor, the mobility will increase.

The following are 3 exercises that will help to stabilize the lumbopelvic musculature and allow for more mobility.  

Stability-

Picture 1. Banded Glute bridges with active abduction.  Place band around knees.  While actively pressing the band out, raise hips off floor squeezing the glutes.

Picture 2.  Quadruped.  While maintaining a flat back and neutral spine, raise one arm and the opposite leg and hold for 15 seconds

Picture 3  Side Bridge- Bridge up onto arm and hold for 30 seconds.  Keep a neutral flat spine and do not let the hips start to sag toward the ground.