There are many ways in which we can classify and customize training. One of the most valuable models that we utilize regularly at TLA is the Mobility-Stability Continuum. Whether you’re a self-coached athlete, a lifelong fitness enthusiast, or a therapist-coach-trainer, leveling up your game in this subject area is pure gold.
Mobility is access to range of motion. It’s how much you can move in space, governed by your musculoskeletal flexibility. We use mobility to describe your overall movement capabilities as well as the specific integrity present at each joint. Biomechanically, mobility is tied to inhalation, expansion, and external rotation.
Stability is being able to manage force optimally. Can you stabilize effectively to generate efficient movement? Are you capable of resisting undesirable motion? Can you stiffen your body in a specific and pulsatile manner? The general biomechanical correlates to stability are exhalation, compression, and internal rotation.
In animals – humans in this case – the relationship of mobility to stability exists on a continuum. This continuum runs from hypermobile to hypomobile. You can think of this as your movement characteristics going from loose to stiff. Noodle to brick. This condition can be depicted as a simple line. At the extreme, the mobile end moves every which way with no control and is affected 100% by environmental influence. Likewise, the stable end doesn’t move at all. It’s completely locked up. Either end of this line represents an extreme limit which rarely exists in vivo and would also be essentially undesirable from a functional standpoint.
The Mobility-Stability Continuum can be appreciated further if we place a bell shaped curve (normal distribution) on top of the line. The apex of the curve is consistent with the midpoint of the line and is the mean. With respect to mobility-stability, most of the population will hover around the mean, within 1 standard deviation (SD) on either the mobile or stable side. Statistically, this represents about 68% of the population. Residing anywhere within that range usually indicates adequate movement capability and reasonable longevity with respect to wear and tear on joints, muscles, and connective tissues. Consequently, most people (approximately ⅔ of the population) will generally move reasonably well and may only need to occasionally tune up mobility and stability in training.
But when either mobility or stability moves beyond 1 SD from the mean, such as two standard deviations (or beyond, which would be considered a statistical outlier), long term consequences usually arise in the form of movement deficits/dysfunction and increased risk of orthopedic breakdown. This can be related to genetic traits (which we don’t choose but need to be aware of), injury, or specialized sport demands (which can lead you to pursue physiologic adaptations for performance more so than for longevity).
We should break down that last point a bit further. Our joints and connective tissues are genetically programmed to exhibit a certain level of mobility-stability. This goes along with your body type. That’s a subject I wrote about extensively in my book AnimalFIT so I won’t say more here. These tissue characteristics can be influenced by training but only to a certain degree because of the overriding genetic factors that govern them.
The musculotendionous and myofascial components of mobility and stability are more heavily impacted by behavior, i.e. exercise training and daily life habits. These bodily traits will respond significantly to the training they undergo, in accordance with the SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demands) principle.
Every Lifetime Athlete benefits from recognizing that there’s room for variance regarding mobility and stability based on body type and sports. You can be a “little loose” or a “bit stiff” and get away with it. You’ll perform reasonably well and with just a bit of awareness, won’t necessarily have a significantly higher injury risk. But when mobility or stability exceeds 1 SD, whether via genetics or athletic choice, a greater level of attention to the issue may be indicated.
For long term health, bringing your mobility or stability closer to the mean can be extremely helpful for those who were “born loose or stiff.” You’ll move and feel better, and will have the greatest chance of making it through the journey and avoiding the condition known as outliving your joints. That’s a problem where suboptimal force management leads to accelerated joint breakdown and this subsequently equates to inevitable declines in activity level and health status.
But when you choose peak performance in certain sports (and we of course respect that this is your choice), you accept some of the risks and consequences associated with these pursuits. Examples abound, but let’s look at just two…one for each case. I bet you’ll be familiar with these. On the mobility side, if you’re a ballerina, you know that being hypermobile is a prerequisite for elite performance. And if you’re a competitive powerlifter, you have to be extremely stable in order to express force under load and minimize injury risk during your sport. But either of these cases means that, in the other areas of life, you’re existing in a body which has compromised movement capability, again with respect to average mobility or stability. The secret for either individual lies in the incorporation of just enough of the indicated offsetting training to maintain a semblance of balance. And with advancing age (also known as being a Lifetime Athlete) this focus may need to be magnified.
Enter the MOVEMENTSMITH, that TLA-generated creature who Owns Every Position, and who has Mastery of Motion in Every Direction. More of an ideal than a reality, but nonetheless an entirely worthy quest. A MOVEMENTSMITH is that beast we were describing earlier, whose mobility-stability status is close to the mean, certainly within 1 SD. To truly play the long game, you want your training to propagate this MOVEMENTSMITH capacity. There are almost infinite ways this can be accomplished, but a few key parameters are worth considering.
A hypermobile individual usually owns position but often lacks mastery of motion, in many cases due to a loss of force generation ability. He or she may have too much ROM and almost appear to wander in space during certain movement patterns. The major problem with this presentation is that it leads to joint surface shearing and end-range connective tissue stress.
A hypomobile person can typically move forcefully but many times lacks positional access because their ROM is less than their optimal or full potential. With regard to many positions, they just can’t get there. The result is inadequate pressure distribution and excessive point loading. Concentrated loading can cause focal breakdown such as cartilage wear or tendon rupture.
Historically, I’ve labelled training that is purposefully addressing mobility and stability with the term MOSTAT… meaning MObility-STAbility Training. This is certainly a valid categorization of exercise, but it primarily identifies how we perform resistance training, at least in the context of today’s topic. The main premise is to strategically adjust your workouts to give your body some of the qualities that it doesn’t have. Make a loose person (or isolated body area/joint) somewhat more stable. Give a stiff person some additional mobility. This is training that respects genetically-determined body types and personal athletic choices. We’re never trying to turn that ballerina into a powerlifter, or vice versa. Just enough personalized MOSTAT to keep them functioning well and orthopedically healthy over the lifespan.
Personalized adjustments in resistance training can be a powerful tool. Consistent and purposeful training can enhance tissue quality on a cellular level and it can improve the manner in which the neuromuscular system executes movement. While the methods will differ between the loose and stiff individual, the goal is similar. And that’s to move the athlete closer to the mean with respect to mobility or stability, respectively. I’ll discuss a few of the approaches we use at TLA for each of the two athletic presentations.
Hypermobile athletes benefit from work that helps them to master and control motion. Since they can usually get into almost any position (often beyond normal ROM and this is their problem), we want to avoid end-range overstress and actually pull them back toward midrange. Here, they can concentrate on overcoming isometrics and oscillatory repetitions to train that all-important aspect of control. From there we can progress them back out to full (normal but not excessive) range. All of this can happen concurrently in a training program, but we primarily need to emphasize the overriding concern for controlling motion and keeping the body stable. Initially, this may work best in squared up positions that are bilateral, sagittal plane oriented, and symmetrical – such as machine or barbell bench presses and squats. Once stable motion has been mastered with these and related exercises, the hypermobile athlete can progress toward unilateral, triplanar, and asymmetric movements which have higher degrees of freedom (and thus a greater challenge to stability). Progressively increased loads are essential in this case for the development of force generation and management ability.
It should be noted that it is usually harder to make a hypermobile athlete stable than it is to help a hypomobile person become more mobile. I didn’t say it’s impossible…just more difficult. The main reason for this challenge is that hypermobility is caused by more than just muscular flexibility. It’s a product of bone architecture, and highly extensible joint capsules, ligaments, and other connective tissues which are a part (actually a gift in some ways) of the hypermobile body type. Thus, stability-oriented training depends more heavily on motor control and body mechanics awareness than just pure tissue adaptation. Consequently, a lot of practice under manageable (but safely escalating) load, and learning to compress effectively, are keys for the hypermobile athlete.
Hypomobile (stiff) athletes need to work on expanding their available range of motion, and thus their ownership of position. Spending a significant portion of training time near the end of range (remembering that in most cases a stiff person’s end range of motion is less than ideal or typical) is the key. In this way we can restore or increase mobility to a more desirable level. This is best accomplished with yielding isometrics and slower tempos with pauses at end range, and the incorporation of expansion breathing techniques. These MOVEMENTSMITHS often do well by using less constrained positions such as half-kneeling or staggered stances, particularly while employing unilateral exercises with significant rotational components. Load should be light to moderate when we’re trying to gain mobility.
You’re probably well aware that at TLA, we refrain from the use of always and never when describing a lot of behaviors, and that’s certainly true of these exercise approaches. In both of our examples, the athletes are squatting, pressing, and using most of the classic training options available. It’s just that some of the time, or even most of the time at first, these cats are using exercise variations which best fit the needs of their bodies. Over months and years of training, the more these folks become truly versatile and durable, they can do just about any exercise or sport they choose. But they’ll always notice that some movements feel better than others. These will become their go-to’s because they have almost medicinal or magical qualities in addressing the athlete’s unique bodily requirements.
It’s important to recognize that hyper/hypo status in mobility is not just genetic (congenital), it is also acquired. This means that our chronic habits, postures, activities, etc. can make us more loose or stiff. And, this can be quite dynamic at times in response to activity, work, travel, and the like. You can be temporarily stiff when you slither out of your vehicle after a long road trip. Or a bit more locked up if you were figuratively chained to your desk for a week. Or have a back that wants to “go out” if you’ve been bent over in the garden for hours (this creeps or slackens connective tissue once muscles get fatigued). Lots more possible scenarios exist but I’m sure you get my point.
There is also great value in developing athletic stiffness where that’s indicated. The ability to jump, land, throw, change direction – or move explosively in practically any context – is dependent upon the ability to generate focal, instantaneous stiffness. You orient your body in a certain manner, compress, and execute. Athletic movement is unique because this stiffening process happens wherever it’s indicated in the body, and often concurrently with relaxation in other areas to facilitate, and not inhibit, proper movement. There is an intricate, and beautiful, harmony of stiffening and relaxing in the athlete. This capacity generally needs to reach the level where it is automatic and subconscious. That stated, athletic stiffness can be trained. Practice improves the development of motor skills and connective tissues, particularly tendons, adapt by becoming thicker and stronger relative to the application.
Athletic looseness is the converse. You have to be free of restriction to necessary movement and also be limber and flowing as you move. Being tensed up mechanically is like driving with the brakes on. It doesn’t look or feel good and it’s both inefficient and hard on the body. The quality of supple fluidity is critical for the agile athlete. This too can be trained, both through repetition and by identifying and addressing any movement deficiencies which may be present.
As we consider all the aforementioned considerations in this discussion, there will always be a tendency for your body to drift toward its genetically-oriented body type characteristics. Inherent traits should be viewed as gifts, not curses. They tend to steer us toward the sports and training behaviors at which we excel because these have a natural, almost instinctive best fit. The limber, slender female will often gravitate towards being a ballerina or yoga instructor. The relatively stiff, heavily-muscled male typically winds up in strength sports. Success breeds confidence and it is important for everyone to find an athletic home base.
But even when you do what you’re best suited for and absolutely love what you do (so to speak), it’s important to have an awareness of balance. Too much of one thing for too long leads to very specialized adaptations. Your body gets the message that you only need to do that one thing. Consequently, at some point and to some degree, it will ballast everything else. This is an example of the “use it or lose it” principle. The problem is that this ultimately ends up being the road to the cliff. The crash in this case is the body breaking, often spectacularly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with a passionate single-sport (and training) devotee who eventually reached the point where an imbalanced body led them to not being able to do their jam anymore. This was usually preventable. And they expressed much lamentation. Wished they would have balanced mobility and stability a decade or two earlier so that they preserved their athletic longevity.
Training within the mobility-stability continuum doesn’t have to be complicated. And it also doesn’t take too much time. Just try to be aware of how your body is moving and feeling. In your chosen sport, yes, but also in other activities and areas of life. Make sure that, on a baseline level, you really do own just about every position and have reasonable mastery of motion in most every direction. Gain a feel as you go through your workouts. Make changes, subtle or drastic, as needed. And if you need assistance in customizing your training, consider working with a professional who is skilled in movement analysis and exercise prescription. If you’re a subscribed member in The Lifetime Athlete App, grab a Personal Coaching Consultation. Or anything else that suits your fancy. Just keep training…for LIFE!