Flexibility and mobility go hand in hand. The more flexible you are, the greater mobility you can achieve. For that reason, it is important to train for flexibility to increase mobility and achieve a greater overall range of motion in your workouts. You may ask, “What is the difference between flexibility and mobility?” What differentiates flexibility from mobility is that flexibility focuses on the ability of the muscle to stretch as far as possible. Mobility is restricted by limited muscle flexibility, which prevents complete joint articulation.

There are numerous reasons why it’s important to stretch and work on range of motion. According to an article by the Mayo Clinic, better flexibility may “Improve your performance in physical activities, decrease your risk of injuries, help your joints move through their full range of motion, increase muscle blood flow, enable your muscles to work most effectively, and improve your ability to do daily activities.” These components can also heavily affect more experienced athletes and lifters. For athletes and experienced lifters, it allows them to be injury-free so long as there is no external component affecting the injury. In addition, a study from the National Library of Medicine reported that when you get older the lack of flexibility can be both a cause and a consequence of postural imbalance, movement limitations, and alteration in spatiotemporal parameters during locomotion. (La Grace 1)

Based on this evidence, we can conclude that flexibility and mobility can be beneficial to body functionality. Isn’t it vital to stay healthy as we progress through our lives, so why not include stretching in our daily routines? Increasing your flexibility allows your muscles to stretch further causing your muscles to be able to reach full growth potential today!

References

• La Greca, Stefano et al. “Acute and Chronic Effects of Supervised Flexibility Training in Older Adults: A Comparison of Two Different Conditioning Programs.” International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 19,24 16974. 17 Dec. 2022, doi:10.3390/ijerph192416974
• “Stretching Is Not a Warm up! Find out Why.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 18 Nov. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/stretching/art-20047931.