OpinionsFit to FunctionBuild your base first

Build your base first

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Fitness Training has many modalities. A wide variety of exercise programs coming out from the market in such a quick pace. A lot of “fitness gurus” are creating their own training systems, and most of them claim that their specific system is “complete” or “the best” there is. Try it yourself and go online. You will find one easily enough through search engines and the social media. Some will promise you weight loss, a flat belly, or superior sports performance in just a week or so.

Regardless of whether their claims are indeed true, effective, or merely a marketing strategy, an ideal training system should emphasize on one element:  mobility. 

Mobility has one of the most important roles in movement. Mobility Training is a set of drills with specific sets of significance. 

When we speak about mobility, it refers to all the joints throughout the body. This includes the ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, and wrists. The joints must be mobilized, and moved in full ROM (range of motion). 

Most fitness enthusiasts miss the mobility factor in their workout routines. This is especially true in sports strength and conditioning for athletes. 

But for them to achieve their full potential, they need to prepare their joints before anything else. 

This column this week will be the first in a series five, focusing on mobility training. Let us start from the most abused part: the ankle joint. 

Our ankles are designed to absorb impact in any direction. It must be mobilized regularly to be able to work at its peak. 

Because it is located at the bottom part of our legs, our ankles work a lot harder compared to the other joints in the body as the ankles absorb all the pressure. 

This holds a lot of truth during ultramarathons as an endurance race. The runners cover 50 to 100 kilometers (or more, like 160 kilometers) in a single race — which can be too much for the human body,  as they usually run for 10 to 24 hours with little or hardly any rest. 

The role of the ankles in proper dorsiflexion (bending) and extension is vital. Having tight ankles restricts a full range of movement. This, in turn, affects the surrounding connective tissues (fascia), ligaments, and other joints. 

Restricted movement will result to movement compensation that will eventually cause movement dysfunction. It’s a domino effect. 
The ankle is the base joint of all other joints, being situated as the foundation of all mobility joints. 

Let me give you a clearer understanding of how important ankle joint is, with respect to other joints. The following is a chain of the body joints and its corresponding purpose (bottom to top order): ankle for mobility, knee for stability, hip for mobility, lumbar spine for stability, thoracic spine for both mobility and stability depending on the movement requirement, wrist for mobility, and shoulders for mobility. 

The body must move as one unit, therefore, joints must move as one in a kinetic link. There is a chain in the body, or shall I say, different lines of group muscles linked together as one with respect to a specific movement. 

A squat, for example, is a multi-joint movement involving the ankle, the knees, and the hips. It is linked with the glutes and hamstring, as primary movers from the posterior (back) side. 

When the ankles are not working in its prime, it affects the entire body in every specific movement. This is especially true for those movements involving the lower limbs. 

To support ankle mobility, a MyoFascial Release (MFR) is required for the soft tissues (the muscles) involved in the movement. 

This brings us back to the essence of having a proper dynamic warm-up before engaging in any physical activity or sport. 

Mobilize your ankle first, and you will be fit to function.

__________________________________

Author’s email: [email protected]

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