When I was younger, I never stretched. And I pay for that now.. Now I am doing lots of yoga and stretching, but its hard work to regain mobility. But I am with you about the deep stretches.. And the combination sounds interesting.. Also, when you see old people in the street, they are often stiff and show signs of not being very mobile. I am putting in a good effort to avoid getting stiff in my old age. Stay flexible and mobile :)
That sounds like a good plan to me. I think it’s easy to underestimate the role of mobility for healthspan purposes while focusing on strength, muscle mass, and endurance (though, I think all of those are important as well). I am definitely guilty of this but working to improve.
Both for me too! I love the compound exercises that have mobility and flexibility elements. For example, I do a lot of rocket push ups (some like to call these Mike Tyson push ups, and I still have not idea why because I've not seen evidence of him doing them), which are really great for stretching the upper back and training lower body mobility. I can add resistance with a weighted vest, or do a dumbbell rocket launcher press, which is a combination of the rocket push up and a devils press. When I do kettlebell training, I am always focusing on rotational movements. Being able to stay limber will hopefully allow me to continue doing the type of training I love in my ripe old age of (soon to be) 40...
I think you're setting yourself up for success down the line by thinking of both strength and mobility/flexibility now, Adam. Speaking of compound movements, I have been focusing on the deep stretch at the bottom of my back squats to improve my hip mobility for almost a year now and am happy with the results--I've been able to seemingly increase my strength, muscle mass, and mobility somewhat in tandem. As I write this, I am actually feeling some soreness from yesterday's back squats. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
That's awesome to hear you're squats have had such a profound and tangible impact. I can relate. I had bad posture, but squatting fixed it! Thank you for your post, Aidan. I am enjoying learning about the science and analytic aspects of exercise from your writings.
When I was younger, I never stretched. And I pay for that now.. Now I am doing lots of yoga and stretching, but its hard work to regain mobility. But I am with you about the deep stretches.. And the combination sounds interesting.. Also, when you see old people in the street, they are often stiff and show signs of not being very mobile. I am putting in a good effort to avoid getting stiff in my old age. Stay flexible and mobile :)
That sounds like a good plan to me. I think it’s easy to underestimate the role of mobility for healthspan purposes while focusing on strength, muscle mass, and endurance (though, I think all of those are important as well). I am definitely guilty of this but working to improve.
Both for me too! I love the compound exercises that have mobility and flexibility elements. For example, I do a lot of rocket push ups (some like to call these Mike Tyson push ups, and I still have not idea why because I've not seen evidence of him doing them), which are really great for stretching the upper back and training lower body mobility. I can add resistance with a weighted vest, or do a dumbbell rocket launcher press, which is a combination of the rocket push up and a devils press. When I do kettlebell training, I am always focusing on rotational movements. Being able to stay limber will hopefully allow me to continue doing the type of training I love in my ripe old age of (soon to be) 40...
I think you're setting yourself up for success down the line by thinking of both strength and mobility/flexibility now, Adam. Speaking of compound movements, I have been focusing on the deep stretch at the bottom of my back squats to improve my hip mobility for almost a year now and am happy with the results--I've been able to seemingly increase my strength, muscle mass, and mobility somewhat in tandem. As I write this, I am actually feeling some soreness from yesterday's back squats. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
That's awesome to hear you're squats have had such a profound and tangible impact. I can relate. I had bad posture, but squatting fixed it! Thank you for your post, Aidan. I am enjoying learning about the science and analytic aspects of exercise from your writings.