Stick Mobility is a type of mobility training that utilizes training sticks to help you move better. The training is based on six core principles: leverage; stability; feedback; irradiation, isometrics; and coordination.
By focusing on these core principles, Stick Mobility can augment your training to help you move better.
10 Benefits of Stick Mobility Training
Stick Mobility Training leads to tremendous benefits. At the core, Stick Mobility benefits movement in a wide variety, with effects felt from day one and increasing from there.
Here are 10 of the best benefits of Stick Mobility Training:
1. Better MovementBetter mobility is the most obvious benefit of Stick Mobility. It’s in the name!
Stick Mobility Training prides itself on helping people move better. Training with these sticks leads to moving freely. Aside from the clear, physical benefits of unencumbered movement, the ability to move better eases stress and anxiety on the mind.
Stick Mobility training can be done at any level. There are intense workouts for those with specific physical or athletic goals in mind. Conversely, there are 5-minute daily flows that can be utilized by those who just want better movement for better physical quality of life. In fact, a few minutes a day with Stick Mobility can have an enormous impact on your ability to move freely.
A body with the capability to move freely eases the mind. A mind at ease is a healthier mind, and a healthier mind is important to overall health of the body. It sets us up and opens doors for further progress in our physical health, too.
2. Recover FasterRecovery training is an important part of any exercise. Whether it’s an intense session lifting weights or going for a run, it’s important to take care of the body after the session. Shutting down movement right after a period of heightened activity can slow recovery times.
Active recovery training increases blood flow to the muscles, which helps with DOMS (soreness). This means faster recovery. Faster recovery can lead to better gains, an increase in performance and more efficient training.
Stick Mobility is an excellent way to recover from training. Using the Training Sticks for recovery will actively stretch the muscles, improve post-workout blood flow and help with joint stiffness.
This 15-minute Maintenance Mobility Workout is an excellent source to use for simple, active recovery training exercises.
3. Better FlexibilityFlexibility is important in a training aspect, but it is also vital to our daily lives. Menial tasks, such as picking up an item off of the ground, turning around inside a vehicle or tying your shoes, require some level of flexibility.
Stick Mobility helps to increase flexibility with many of our full body drills but also in specific parts of the body.
For example, if you have back stiffness due to tight hips, there are a wide range of Stick Mobility drills that target the hips and can help reduce the strain and tightness in the back.
4. Increase StrengthStick Mobility benefits strength training in multiple ways. The built-in flex of the sticks is one of its most noticeable features. This flex works two ways to add resistance to the training. As you push the stick, this requires strength to bend. Conversely, the stick is pushing back, trying to return to form. This requires additional force, i.e. strength, to maintain the bend.
Stick Mobility Training also utilizes irradiation, a technique that increases tension in a movement. Take the example of driving a stick into the ground or a wall. When tension is created in a muscle, adjacent muscles will also contract. This increases the overall output.
In active stretching drills, such as the slap shot, you build strength as you sink into one hip. In this single drill, you are mobilizing the spine with the addition of a great lower body stretch and strengthening the hip joint.
Ready to get started and move better with Stick Mobility? See which Training Sticks are right for you.
5. Improved Coordination
Coordination in fitness is generally associated with athletics. While it is certainly an important part of competition in sports, having adequate coordination is imperative for healthy movement and effective training.
Stick Mobility improves coordination by activating muscles involved in movements via neural feedback. In other words, body position + activating muscles + hands working the sticks helps the body learn to adapt to movements and a variety of positions.
6. Increased Range of MotionStick Mobility exercises help you get deep into stretches that can quickly reveal your range of motion. The way Stick Mobility Training benefits joint range of motion is by helping you to reach these end ranges.
As you use the Training Sticks, you can slowly increase your end ranges. Along with active stretching and increasing your flexibility, Stick Mobility helps you to test and push these end ranges.
The sticks provide leverage that enables us to get deeper into stretches. Over time, this results in an increase in range of motion. A major benefit of using Stick Mobility is that the end ranges in your joints grow stronger as they increase. This makes your movement easier and more reliable.
Stick Mobility Training utilizes flexibility and strength training to expand end ranges and fortify these range of motion increases, respectively. Part of having good range of motion is to be strong in those extended positions, and Stick Mobility is an excellent tool for just that.
7. Improved BalanceA lot of mobility training requires a certain amount of balance to correctly perform exercises. Balance is directly related to flexibility, range of motion and coordination.
Stick Mobility benefits your balance by allowing you to focus on specific areas that need attention. By improving mobility in joints, balance also improves as you increase range of motion and grow stronger and more confident in your joints.
The sticks can also act as support pieces while you are able to focus on movements. Over time, you will be able to rely less on the sticks for support as your balance improves. You can eventually incorporate the sticks in different manners to add flexibility or strength aspects to your balance training.
Looking for some help to get started with Stick Mobility? Try our Online Introductory Workshop!
Individuals with better coordination and balance have greater stability in their movements. Greater stability instills confidence in movement and provides a strong base of support.
Stability is important for maintaining the position of a joint (or joint complex) against external forces. Consider athletes bumping into one another. A lack of stability in the joints can affect performance. Likewise, imagine a non-athlete bumping a leg into a table or chair. A more stable joint is better suited to handle these sudden outside forces.
Stick Mobility benefits by acting as a tool to aid in creating stability in joints. For instance, Stick Mobility hip drills can help to create a more stable hip joint.
9. Motor ControlMotor control is the connection between the brain and physical movement. Stick Mobility Training benefits motor control by teaching the brain that certain movements are normal or within an individual’s ‘arsenal’ of movement.
Using the sticks to train in familiar patterns reinforces the neurological connection, i.e. motor control, in these movements. With the sticks, we can also train for new movements or movements with which we may not be completely comfortable. As you master these exercises over time, they become learned movements.
Motor control is improved with reinforcement and repetition. Stick Mobility can help by fortifying and introducing new movements.
10. Injury PreventionAll of the previously mentioned benefits of Stick Mobility Training come together for what is perhaps the most valuable impact: reducing your risk of injury.
With greater flexibility, more strength, better coordination, increases in range of motion and stability, this makes the body better suited against potential injuries.
No form of training is an impenetrable suit of armor against injury. But if we train the body the right way, we are less prone to injury. By familiarizing our joints and muscles with a variety of positions - and, of course, building confidence and strength in these positions - injuries are less likely to occur.
Greater body awareness comes from an increase in flexibility, strength and coordination. It comes with better movement and fewer injuries. By employing Stick Mobility into your training, you will move better, move with confidence. You will own your movements.
The benefits of Stick Mobility Training enable you to take control of your movement. Improvements in mobility lead to a compound effect of improvements and capabilities. Take control of your movement, and start moving better today.