There have been several “ah-ha!” moments in my career – moments of clarity as it were – when I learned something new, or something I believed was verified, brought into question or flat out disproved.
Basically these were times when my thought processes as regards training took a significant step forward from where it was and I felt I had reached a new level.
While talking to Mike Boyle at a recent seminar we were together at, I shared this idea of the “Ah-ha!” moment with him and he suggested that it would make a good article to share. I guess that was another “ah-ha!” for me.
Anyway – here are a few things that I became aware of at some point over the past couple of decades that made a significant change in how I do things.
- Is lack of range of motion actually a mobility or stability issue?
This was from a Gray Cook presentation. Look at the two guys pictured left performing an overhead squat. The guy on the right can’t get the depth. He’s well above parallel with angles of above 90 degrees at the hip and knee.
So it’s obvious that he has a mobility issue right?
Is it tight lats, tight hip flexors, or maybe a restriction at the ankle?
Maybe none of these.
Because when we put these guys on their backs (and essentially take out the load) –
The mobility issue seems to resolve itself – not completely – but very considerably. The person who couldn’t get below 90 degrees has achieved a range well beyond 90 degrees.
So the difference in squat form and depth was not a mobility issue – it was a stability issue. Essentially the body is shutting down the range of motion – not because of tightness or a restriction – but because it perceives a threat due to the lack of stability.
Up until this point – I’d used a Vladimir Janda approach to movement dysfunction i.e. – if hip flexors are tight, we stretch them and strengthen the antagonist. Gray opened my eyes with this.
Conclusion – a range of motion deficit or asymmetry may not be related to tissue length or tension at all. It could be related to core stability.
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Alwyn
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