Extra Work, Pre and Post-Workout Mobility and the Benefits. Part III

WOD: 02/21/20

Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

Split Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

Endurance Club

30 minute AMRAP with a partner of:

Partner A:
Run 400m

Partner B:
1 Rope Climb
6 Burpee Sandbag Clean (20-150lbs.)

*Switch after 400m Run, start where YOU left off.

Extra Work, Pre and Post-Workout Mobility and the Benefits. Part III

by Austin Gray

Post-Workout Mobility (which is often written as Post-Mob) is the third thing that us coaches program for you members every week and is another thing that every one of you should be taking advantage of! I have already harped on about doing the Extra Work, and also on the importance of the Pre-Workout Mobility. This post is going to be about the Post-Workout Mobility and why it is just as important as everything else you are doing when you are in the gym exercise-wise.

Over the course of my career as a coach and also simply as a fitness enthusiast I have learned quite a bit. One of the most important nuggets of knowledge, one that we all know but choose to ignore, I learned was how important stretching is. Stretching is, in simple terms, holding positions that elongate the muscle beyond its resting length. Consistency in holding those positions will result in the muscle becoming longer and more flexible. Being able to elongate the muscle will help relieve stress on joints and allow the joints to move in greater degrees of range of motion thus helping minimize injuries. But stretching one or two times isn’t going to cut it. You have got to be consistent with stretching if you want to reap the rewards of it. Why that whole speech? I’ll tell you why – we all need to stretch more! And that is exactly what the Post-Mob is programmed for you to do!

The Post-Mob often consists of stretches that you hold anywhere from 1:00 up to 3:00, 4:00, or maybe even 5:00 if you choose to do so. These stretches are meant to be the final thing you do before you leave the gym. They are intended to be performed after you have completed the Workout AND the Extra Work. This process will help prevent your muscles from tightening up as you cool down and instead help them feel loose even after doing a crazy Metcon or strength day. A great way to think about your muscles is to think about them as sheets of paper. After a workout they are warm, loose, and pliable. They are papers floating in the breeze with no regard for anything but freedom. But as your body begins to cool-down they begin to settle and aren’t as pliable. If you sit down in your car and have a 10:00 drive home, your muscles will begin to laminate themselves to one another in less-than-ideal positions. You know the feeling. When you get home after working out and you step out of the car and everything in your body tells you to “slow down! We aren’t ready to move yet!” That is your muscles that have laminated themselves together, like paper, never to be taken apart again. But what if instead you were holding positions that would lengthen your muscles? Well, as your body cools down those muscles want to tighten up, so if you force them stay long while holding stretching positions, they won’t be able to tighten up nearly as much. The result? Your muscles staying looser and longer. 

Why did I just go through that whole ordeal to tell you to stretch after working out? Not only will it help you feel better after you are done working out. You will feel better the next day and even the day after that when the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) has really kicked in. Consistent stretching post-Workout will also lead to the greatest increase in flexibility and range of motion because it is when your muscles are warmest and most pliable – you will be able to stretch them significantly more than if you tried to do it at your home randomly. Doing this will also help aid in the rehab or prevention of injury. I mean, it only takes maybe 15:00 to do that Post-Mob, why not do it? It only makes sense!

Okay, that was the end of this three-part series about the extra things us coaches provide you beyond simply the workout. I hope you understand how important all three of these things are (being the Extra Work; Pre-Mob; and Post-Mob) for your general health and well-being and also your overall fitness. It doesn’t take much time to do all of these things and even doing a little bit of all of them is better than not doing any of it at all. I would absolutely love to have discussions with you about why these things are important person to person if you have questions why we do things the way we do. It’s our jobs as coaches to help you become the best person you can be and if you need help in understanding why we do things or simply need guidance on how to do these things, ask us! We want to help you in any way that we can!

Thank you for reading this three-part series, I hope you find it helpful and beneficial.

-Austin G.

P.S. It is important to note that most of the time the coaches aren’t able to fit ALL of this stuff alongside the class warm-up and workout. So, it may come down to you to do some of this stuff. Of course we always try and leave time for you to perform at least some of the Extra Work, but sometimes an hour can only give us so much to work with.