KEYS TO LONG-TERM MOBILITY TRAINING. PART 1:  INTENT.

I’m all about going through the motions. Consistency may be the only worthwhile thing to talk about. When it becomes habitual, it has become repeatable, and those adaptations are for good. Just find something you can do, over and over. It’s comfortable to do the same things over and over. This may be the most powerful contributor to our movement quality and behaviour. Slow down and take a moment to lay out your intent. 

This requires patience and attention to how you are performing the task. It’s not just about moving from point A to point B. Think of the muscles you’re feeling versus the ones you’re supposed to be feeling. You become what you do, over and over. It’s worth unpacking the qualitative aspects of your mobility training. 

Consider drills like CARs (controlled articular rotations). They can be profoundly different when the intent is misguided or distracted from. I’ve been there, chatting away through a set, swinging through the range of motion, enjoying the moment with another human. There’s nothing wrong with a good shoulder circle, but coaching a group through a 30+ plus second shoulder controlled articular rotation with pauses, is a bit different. Even for one set, just visualize the muscle contractions that take place, the stretches, and what you’re feeling. Our intention is to stimulate mechanoreceptors at the cellular level, in the outer edges of motion. This is done actively through pressure or force, and it helps preserve the strength in that range of motion.

After a few weeks of regular inputs, you will literally have a new joint, a new shoulder, with newly adapted parts. Or maybe you’ll have a beat-up shoulder, or perhaps just the same old shoulder. What do you intend to do?

- Coach Chesty