Is There a Difference Between Flexibility & Mobility?
- amberlynwellbeing
- Nov 21, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 29
It seems that too often mobility and flexibility are used interchangeably. Often times they do go hand in hand, but they are not the same thing.
Flexibility is what you're reminded that you don’t have when you try to touch your toes and your fingers barely get past your knees (just me?). It’s how far your muscles can be passively stretched.
Mobility comes into play when you are trying to squat down to pick something up but you can’t get close or when you try to reach something on a high shelf but it feels like your arm can’t go that high. It’s how far a joint can move through a range of motion. Your range of motion is considered how far a joint should be able to move. The less mobility you have the smaller that range is.
You may consider yourself someone who just isn’t flexible and that’s just how it is. Unfortunately, that also means your mobility is limited. Your everyday life starts to be affected, the small movements you make throughout the day are harder than they should be or that they used to be. Lack of flexibility and in turn mobility will have an impact on posture, movement and can increase your risk of injury.
What impacts flexibility?
Genetics
Age
Injury
Hormones
Gender
What impacts stability?
Joint structure
Age
Soft tissue flexibility
Overall health
Fat/muscle mass
There's a term in the fitness world, the principle of specificity, it can be boiled down to ‘use it or lose it’. Age-related loss of mobility has been found to be joint specific. For example, the shoulder and trunk (chest, pelvis, abdomen & back) are found to be much less mobile in older populations than their elbows and knees.
So how do you improve your flexibility and stability?
Flexibility:
Static stretching. Holding and reaching.
Upper back stretch
Shoulder stretch
Hip Flexor Stretch
Hamstring Stretch
Foam rolling (SMR). Laying on top of a foam roller and you are able to target tight spots
Quads
Hip Flexors
Upper back
Lats (under your arm pit)
Mobility:
Dynamic stretching. Active stretching by going through the full range of motion. Balance training.
Lateral Lunges (Hips)
Neck Half Circles
Arm circles
Spinal Rotaations
If you want to start feeling more capable in your own body and to have faith in your body to do what it needs to do; mobility and flexibility training is a great place to start.
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