When lifting weights, the focus is on building muscle, losing fat, and getting sexy. But what if I told you there’s something that could help you do all that while keeping you rocking and rolling?
Spoiler alert: It’s mobility training, baby.
Mobility training isn’t just about stretching but enhancing your performance in and out of the gym, recovery, and staying stronger longer. So, to take your training to the next level, pay attention to how well you move, not just how much you can lift.
Here, I’ll dive into mobility, how it improves workouts, and easy ways to incorporate it into them. But why does this all matter?
What is Mobility Training, and Why Does It Matter?
The word mobility is thrown around, but what does it mean? Mobility is the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion without restriction. Some examples of mobile joints are the ankle, hips, and shoulders.
It’s different from flexibility, which is about how far you can stretch a muscle. Mobility is how well your joints can move and how far you can stay in good positions while moving them.
So, why does that matter?
If your joint movement is restricted, you’re not getting the most out of your exercise. Think about it: If your hip mobility is limited, your squat depth will suffer, and you leave leg gains on the table. Or if your shoulders are tight, your overhead press turns into a game of body compensation, where other muscles and joints step in to do the work.
And that’s a game most of us will end up losing.
That’s why mobility is essential: it allows you to lift with good form and get the most out of your workouts.
The Benefits of Incorporating Mobility Training
Let’s examine three benefits of incorporating mobility training in your strength workouts.
Improved Performance
With good mobility, your body can move through a full ROM, activating more muscle during every lift. Think of it like this: the deeper you can squat with good form, the harder your glutes and quads work. When your joints are not restricted, you’ll lift with better technique and through a full ROM, meaning more gains for you.
Reduce Injury
Mobility plays a huge role in reducing injury risk. When one joint isn’t moving as it should, other joints pick up the slack to do a job they are not meant for, which can lead to an Ouchy. For example, if your upper back and shoulders lack mobility, your lower back might round during deadlifts. Or if your hips are tight, your knees and lower back might flip you the bird during squats.
Improved Recovery
Moving your joints through their full ROM improves blood flow to the muscles, which helps flush out waste products from exercise like lactic acid. This reduces soreness and helps your muscles recover faster after tough training. When you combine mobility with strength training, you’re working on improving how your body moves while recovering between sets.
How to Incorporate Mobility Training
One of the best ways to incorporate mobility into your training is to use it as active recovery between sets. Instead of sitting around checking your Facebook feed, throw in a mobility drill. The examples below show how pairing a mobility drill with strength exercises serves as active recovery and enhances their performance.
Upper Body Triset: Push Strength with Shoulder Mobility.
1A. Overhead Press.
1B. One Arm Dumbbell Row
1C. Tall Kneeling Shoulder CARS (Controlled Articular Rotations)
How It Helps: Pairing the Overhead Press and one-arm dumbbell rows with Shoulder CARS improves shoulder mobility, allowing for smoother and safer pressing. This mobility drill prevents compensations from the lower back while pressing and ensures better form.
Lower Body Triset: Squat Strength with Hip Mobility
1A. Goblet Squat
1B. Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
1C. Prying Squat (Three reps with a 10-second hold at the bottom)
How It Helps: The Prying Squat enhances hip mobility, allowing greater depth and better squatting positioning. This mobility drill will open the hips and ensure your form stays on point for both exercises.
These trisets combine the best of both worlds: strength and mobility training. You’ll improve your form while boosting performance and improving recovery. Doing this ensures you’re not just lifting heavy but lifting smart.
Wrapping Up
Whether you want to lose fat, build muscle, improve your range of motion, or recover faster, mobility drills can take your strength workouts to the next level. By incorporating mobility into your strength workouts, you’re not just moving better— lifting smarter, staying injury-free, and ensuring long-term progress.
Ready to dive deeper? If you want a structured plan to help you unlock your full potential, check out my 14-Day Mobility Reset program. This customized program will improve your movement, reduce pain, and boost your performance—all in just two weeks. Whether new to mobility or looking to up your game, this program will set you up for long-term success.
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