01/31/2019
I used to believe that the harder I worked on my own mobility.. the more impressive I could make my own photos- the more respected I would be.
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The problem was that I was treating my body like an EXTREME experiment. Constantly pushing the boundary. Constantly trying to make the next bendy photo more impressive.
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Did it get attention? You better believe it did.
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It also led to a problem. People started trying to hire me to make them better at extreme ROM. But when I would ask that one important question...
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“Why?”
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Nobody could answer. I would have a yogi in terrible pain in front me baffled by my question. A handstander who couldn’t move their wrist without pain begging for loaded wrist exercises.
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“I’ll ask again. Why? Why do you want more range of motion? Why do you want to bend further, when you can’t even control the range you have?”
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MORE RANGE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF MORE RANGE IS NOT BETTER.
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You have to assess the individual. Then you compare what their body can do, and what their actual goals are, and then train to close that gap.
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But if someone, like a yogi (just an easy example, don’t get mad)- that has a ton of passive ROM already- and their active ROM has a HUGE discrepancy (super common).... the last thing that person should hire a mobility specialist for is more ROM.
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Their body is screaming already trying to navigate a world where they can’t even control the range they have.
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But due to the pressures of social media, I believe many are confused as to what’s “enough.”
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You have to imagine that if I trained any of my pro athletes to accomplish the kind of extreme seen in this photo- not only would I waste hundreds of hours- but we would waste those hours with a potential zero crossover to their actual sport.
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Or- Worst case scenario- too much range can hinder their performance as a professional athlete.
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Please- get assessed. Compare what your body currently CAN do from a range and capacity standpoint. Then have a serious discussion with said specialist about your goals. And be ready to answer the “why.”
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First- Earn the range that your sport requires.
Then- become a MONSTER in that range.
Then- conquer.
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