Resistance Training and the Importance of Mobility

As a personal trainer, I have come across many individuals and clients who have major reservations about starting a resistance training program. There are several reasons for their reservations, but one of the most common ones is the thought that weight-lifting is bad for joints or doing so will hurt. My first thought is wondering how much mobility he/she lacks causing extreme discomfort. Most individual’s perception of weight-lifting is someone putting 300 pounds on their back and doing a squat. However, there is a very small percentage of the population who participates in that type of weight-lifting and those people have been training for years and years.

The biggest reason for discomfort while doing resistance training is the lack of mobility in joints. If a joint isn’t mobile enough, it makes it extremely difficult to get into proper position when performing a certain movement. Is it bad for knees to perform a squat? Absolutely not, but if you aren’t mobile enough in your hips to squat properly, pain may be felt because other areas of the body need to compensate. Doing so puts unnecessary force on the knee joint. Attached at the end of this blog is the link to a great article about the balance between mobility and stability.

When someone first starts a resistance training program, many times they haven’t done anything active for a lengthy period of time. When first performing any new movement, you have to spend time working on the mobility of certain joints in order to hold proper position. Most people aren’t willing to take the time to do this because of the modern expectation of instant results. For example, if a person has been inactive and/or had a poor diet for several years, that habit isn’t going to be remedied quickly. It takes hard work and persistence to get lasting results.

Whenever starting a new workout program involving resistance training it is a process. Think of it this way: Would you go into a new profession expecting to learn everything in a couple weeks? Of course not. In the same way, your body needs time to “learn” how to move correctly. Even if you were able to squat heavy weight back in high school, if you get out of that routine – especially if it’s been several years – it will take a certain amount of time to retrain your body. Don’t be discouraged though – it can, and will happen with a little dedication and practice. It’s never too late to start (or start again). The end results of remobilizing your joints will not only improve form and technique in all areas of exercise, but it can help decrease pain on a daily basis while doing everyday activities.

The majority of the American population suffers from low back pain because of desk jobs or a sedentary lifestyle. In turn, most back pain is caused from having ridiculously immobile hips. Unless there is something structurally wrong with your spine or hips, your chronic back pain is most likely due to a lack of mobility and a continually sedentary lifestyle.

If you are interested in learning more about this, contact Milwaukee area-based Fitness Professional Josh Zuback and set up a free 30-minute personal training consultation. For more information, read the following article about the balance between mobility and stability: https://www.t-nation.com/training/mobility-stability-continuum. If you have chronic pain and you don’t know what to do to start relieving it, visit Franklin Rehabilitation – we have three convenient physical therapy locations near you in the Milwaukee area.