New Year, New You! Practice Makes Perfect! Consistency is Key!

We hear these all year long and especially around January 1st, but what if we stepped back and listened to what our body was actually telling us instead of forcing it into what we want it to be? Enter in Mobility talk. Kelly Starnett from San Francisco Crossfit is leading the way in starting this conversation. He describes mobilization as “a movement-based integration full-body approach that addresses all the elements that limit movement and performance including short and tight muscles, soft tissue restrictions, joint capsule restriction, motor control problems, joint range of motion dysfunctional and neural dynamic issues. In short, mobilization is a tool to globally address movement and performance problems.” Now that’s all a mouthful and sounds real smart, but what is he getting at? Yes we know athletes need to warm up and stretch, but it’s so much more than that. It’s building stability and control with every movement we make. This pertains to every single one of us, not just competing athletes. Postural control is one of the biggest components we will be working on in our Empowered Mobility class. Sitting at a desk, driving, phones and sedentary lifestyle has left us with headaches, aching backs and decreased range of movement. You can improve your posture and make it through a work day comfortably with knowledge and consistent mobility work. It is recommended we all devote 5-10 minutes every day to improve our mobilty. Kelly also talks of decreased movement and performance with a lack in mobilty. That is like nails on a chalkboard to a coach, athlete or employer. How can we decrease risk of injury or improve our daily movements? Through self mysofascial release, core work, motor control, patterned movement,  and corrective dynamic movement; Mobilty Work! Together, we will focus on increasing your functional movement, decrease aching and soreness with training, targeted strengthening and alignment throughout with a primary focus on building stability. Learning how to listen to your body, how to care for it and integrating this knowledge into your daily life will change your whole outlook on self care. You wouldn’t keep driving your car with imbalanced wheels, clogged filters and no oil would you? The same goes for your body.

Whether your goal is to make it through a work day without aching shoulders, increase your  stride or leasen knee pain with running, stand up from a chair easier, PR your squat or simply feel better, mobility work should be on the top of your priority list.