Mobile Muscle

A Matter Of Flexibility Often Overlooked

- Werner Beukes

FLEXIBILITY AND MOBILITY HAS AN UNCOMFORTABLE CROSSFIT-RING TO IT, DOESN’T IT?

If you agree to this statement you must be one of the those people who have gotten the first half of the memo about the importance of strength in the gym, but the part that explains what you need to do to get proper results got deleted. Flexibility and mobility is the other half of the memo.

In both sporting disciplines of power lifting (lifting maximum weights for one rep in bench press, squat and deadlift) and Olympic weightlifting (overhead snatch and the clean-and jerk) stretching and the development of flexibility and mobility are generally thought to improve performance by facilitating the use of technique and strength.

Flexibility is the range of motion around a joint and regarded as vital to exert force over greater distances and longer periods of time. Rugby and football coaches know that an increase in flexibility will allow muscles to produce greater forces on the field of play. Range of motion can be limited by both inflexibility and by poor mobility.

Despite this, the significance of flexibility is still often overlooked, especially in the world of bodybuilding, where the ultimate goal is to boost muscular hypertrophy and definition, muscle symmetry and the reduction of body fat.

Flexibility is often the last consideration and the main reason many competitive bodybuilders have exceptional levels of muscular development, but only modest levels of flexibility. Exercise scientists have found people with excessively developed muscles tend to exhibit higher general flexibility and ligament issues with muscles limiting the range of motion in some joint movements.