Mobility Myths: What Actually Improves Range of Motion

Why Mobility Matters

Mobility isn’t just flexibility—it’s the ability to move your joints through a full range of motion with control. Good mobility improves strength, power, coordination, and injury resilience. In CrossFit and functional fitness, it’s the difference between a deep, strong squat and one that stalls halfway down.

Mobility Myth #1: Static Stretching Before Training Improves Performance

Long static holds before lifting or high-intensity work can actually reduce short-term strength and power output. This doesn’t mean stretching is bad—it just means timing matters.

What to do instead:

• Use dynamic warm-ups—movements like walking lunges, leg swings, or inchworms that actively take joints through their range of motion.
• Save long static holds (60+ seconds) for after training or separate recovery sessions.

Mobility Myth #2: Foam Rolling Fixes Everything

Foam rolling can temporarily increase range of motion and reduce soreness, but it’s not a magic fix. Its effects are short-lived unless followed by strength work through the new range.

What to do instead:

• Foam roll for 30–60 seconds per muscle group before training to reduce tightness.
• Immediately perform mobility drills or loaded movements in that same range (e.g., ankle dorsiflexion drill → goblet squat).

Mobility Myth #3: Only Stretching Improves Flexibility

Eccentric strength training—slowly lowering under load—can be just as effective (or more) than stretching for improving range of motion. It also builds strength in those positions, making them more usable.

Examples:

• Slow Romanian deadlifts for hamstring mobility
• Cossack squats for hip mobility
• Overhead squats for shoulder and thoracic mobility

How to Structure Your Mobility Work

Before Training:

• 3–5 min light cardio (row, bike, jump rope)
• 5–7 min dynamic mobility targeting the day’s lifts or skills
• Optional foam rolling on tight areas

After Training or on Rest Days:

• Static stretches (hold 30–90 sec) for hips, hamstrings, quads, shoulders
• Eccentric mobility exercises
• Controlled articular rotations (CARs) to maintain joint health

The Bottom Line

Mobility isn’t about chasing extreme flexibility—it’s about building usable, strong range of motion that makes you more effective and resilient in your training and daily life.

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