Slow Down, Take Your Time

It’s a well known rule that we’re supposed to brush our teeth for two minutes. This is a good reminder, that we need to spend time doing things for them to be effective. When we stretch or do mobility work in the gym, it would benefit you to think of this teeth brushing rule. 

The longer you’re able to hang out in a stretch, or create active movement in a mobility drill, the more effective it will be. People often rush through the mobility work or warm up drills at the gym. These things, while time consuming, are intended to slow you down. If we have a hip mobility drill paired with a deadlift, we want a couple things to happen. 

We want to let your muscles recover from your deadlift set. You may feel ready to go, but with a heavy weight, we want to make sure the muscles are ready to again to produce the most force. A mobility drill is a way to slow you down, because the more you hang out, the more change you’re going to see. Which is our second point. We want to slow you down, but also, we want to improve your deadlift position while you're working out. If you really take your time, focus on your mobility work, you’ll hopefully come back to the bar in a more comfortable position than before.

Don’t rush. Give your tissues time to relax. When we first get into a stretch, it can be uncomfortable and burn quite a bit. Get through that initial discomfort and you’ll notice a big difference. The longer you can last, the more results you’ll see.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach