Mobility Matters

Endurance athletes are notoriously not mobile. This is a problem. In the ancient days of endurance sports there were schools of thought that believed it was beneficial to be less flexible and that increased flexibility would decreaes force production of the legs during distance events. Upon investigation, however, there have been no studies that support that statement significantly. On a recent run, I was blessed to meet a young man from the Sudan who is an extremely talented runner. Upon completion of our run he began to do a series of drills that displayed (in addition to his overwhelming reserve of energy) incredible flexibility.

It makes more sense for a runner (or any athlete) to be as flexible as possible, it can only decrease the amount of work needed to complete a foot cycle. Let's think about it: the amount of force required to propel the body forward when running is going to be the same whether the runner has high or low mobility, as it relates to mass x acceleration. Mobility does not apply to mass (your body weight), and it only applies to acceleration in as much as the musculature's ability to contract efficiently. The muscles used to run do make up the tension that must be overcome to complete a foot cycle. Since mobility does not really apply to force, where does mobility affect runners?

Mobility is related to the tension that the legs must overcome to function properly. Think about your legs now: you have quadriceps in the front of the legs that flex the hips and raise the knees up. In the back, you have hamstrings and gluteals which pull the legs back down providing the force that propels the body over the foot and thus, forward. Now if you increase the tension of the hamstrings significantly, they will be in a constant state of pulling the leg posteriorly (toward the back). Now, instead of simply overcoming gravity + the weight of your leg to lift your knees to run, you also have to use that musculature to overcome the tension of your hamstrings. Initially, this is minimal, but anyone who has run long-distances will tell you, the small things begin to matter more and more the longer you run.

Still not convinced? Spend one week working on your mobility and tell me your quality of life has not improved. If you need a place to begin, look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkPLnVU1KOo&feature=player_embedded

Base Phase Workout:
Lunge Matrix: http://www.coachjayjohnson.com/2010/04/lunge-matrix-as-warm-up/
Followed by 30 minutes easy and consistent
Then, 10 x 100m (or 15 seconds) strides
Lastly, 2 x 10 pull ups with 4 minutes rest between sets.