Keeping The Body Loose

 As we get older, the numbers game when it comes to high rep isn't so much a priority as to what keeps the body flowing and being able to move with ease. Not everyone at 70 or 80 is going to be doing 500 push-ups or jacking up weights like they did in their 20's and 30's but they can learn to do things that lessens the injuries and gains certain aspects of energy. It's called mobility work.

We all at one point want to prove ourselves that we can keep up with others and fill our egos with such pride that we forget to do what keeps our bodies going even after all those "glory days." You do what you can but at some point, there's nothing left to prove unless it's to yourself and understanding that the numbers game was just part of the process and not so much the resolution or the true answer to what happens once we can't always do those things anymore.

Mobility Training and/or Joint Loosening Workouts have a much greater impact than we give them credit for, hell I've taken them for granted at times and learned some hard lessons that the less you do them, the harder things might get but if you consistently do them with intention, the more you find out that keeping the joints healthy bares greater merit than seeing how many push-ups and squats you can do. If you're consistent with certain numbers and sticking to the basics, that could be a totally different story but don't mistake what keeps the body loose yet powerful as some side piece for training. 

My style of Mobility Work consists of utilizing Joint Loosening, Flexibility and Flowing exercises that give my body the juice it needs to stay healthy. The Joint Loosening is more doing movements to relax the ankles, knees, shoulders, elbows, neck and hips, the Flexibility can be something like static or isometric stretches, DDP Yoga, Stretches from the book Stretching and other things, the flowing movements are more animal combinations and mix and matching things that go together to create a workout that can be intense but feels great at the same time. Sort of like Movement 20XX.

You don't have to turn yourself into a contortionist to have a flexible and mobile body but it is important to make sure the body is healthy for the long haul. Injuries come and go, some have been more severe than others and it is apparent that we keep our joints strong more than how big our muscles get or have some type of physique that looks like a million bucks but buckles quick after a bum knee. Our body is a tool that should last as long as possible and not go through such extremes to make it look or act like it only has a short time and the rest is just waiting for death. 

When it comes to Strength Training, you can lift weights, do bodyweight or whatever that keeps the body strong and durable but when it comes down to it, the most versatile form of Strength Training IMO is Isometrics. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Isometrics are the Game Genie Of Fitness meaning they're the cheat code to youthful strength that keeps on going and makes the joints so damn powerful that it may seem like you have an adamantium skeletal structure. If you ever heard of Wolverine from the X-Men you'll know what I'm getting at. I've had my own share of injuries but if it wasn't for Isometrics, I'd have tons more and may even be completely crippled but I do my best to not think or dwell on that kind of thing. There are many ways to do Isometrics but my favorite style is Overcoming & Hybrid. Some days, my workouts are exclusively Isometrics, others are in combination to what else I do. 

Another way to keep the body strong and loose is doing Dopa Band Workouts. You may not be as explosive, fast or even technically sound as a wrestler or MMA fighter but you can adjust things that strengthen the muscles in a variety of ways that reduces injuries and have an automatic coach that shows you what you may be doing wrong and helping you correct mistakes so you can be better at your other endeavors. I've done enough workouts now with this thing that I know what it can do in terms of keeping the body strong and healthy without needing to go full bore all the time. It stretches you, it makes you learn new ways to move effectively and you can adjust the resistance by just a few steps. 

Keep up with maintenance even when you're young, it goes a long way because the less you do mobility type training, the more it might bite you in the ass later in life and end up like a lot of injured people that do things like hardcore Crossfit, Powerlifting and other things. Be amazingly awesome.   

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