I’m sure we can all think of at least one person who rolls their eyes or scoffs at the idea of mobility.
They’ll make out like it’s beneath them and that they shouldn’t be bothering with such menial things.
But that’s not usually the reason that they poke fun at the subject (or even the people that make time for it).
It’s most likely that those people have an underlying fear – it’s not actually a fear of the mobility work itself, but it’s the biggest obstacle to getting started…
…it’s the fear of stopping training.
This fear is so strong in some people that they’ll put up with pain for YEARS rather than going to see anyone about it.
Just yesterday, I was talking to a guy who thought he had the beginnings of Plantar Fasciitis (pain in his heel), yet when I asked the question “which is more important to you: training or dealing with your pain?”, he deliberated for a while and then said “training” as I knew he would.
It’s not that we’re addicted to exercise, or that we can’t physically cope without exercise – it’s just that for many of us, with our super busy lives, training is our stress reliever. It’s our “me” time. It helps to clear our minds.
And the thought of losing that – especially for an indefinite period of time, is more than many of us can handle.
THAT’S what stops us getting started with mobility or going to see someone about the pain we have – and that’s what keeps us in that horrible cycle of training poorly while we manage the pain that won’t budge.
But, the good news is that in most cases, we don’t need to STOP training at all!
In my very worst cases, I’ve recommended that people stop doing the activity that’s aggravating their pain for a few weeks, but it’s ALWAYS substituted with something else, and it’s introduced back in as soon as the body is more capable of tolerating that activity.
And the earlier we start dealing with issues, the less likely you are to have to modify your training.
It doesn’t matter how hard you try to ignore your body and keep your focus on your training – your body will ALWAYS win.
If you ignore your pain for long enough, you’ll end up with an injury that forces you to stop training and you’ll be out for months, making you miserable and plunging into the very thing you were afraid of.
By getting started with some mobility, it’s likely we can unwind the tightness in the body that’s creating the little issues, which prevents them from getting bigger and keeping you firmly involved in your training.
The winter is a perfect time to get involved in mobility because the cold weather means we need to spend longer warming up and it’s even more important than usual to go through a proper cool down to avoid the lactic acid getting trapped in our muscles when we go from hot to cold too quickly.
Using your warm up and cool down time to improve your joint movement is a great way to get the best out of your training performance and the least intrusive way to include mobility into your day.
Switch your warm up to my FREE Super 12 Warm Up video to break through the fear of not training and start improving your movement today! You can even do the exact same routine again after your training to help remove the lactic acid and improve your recovery!