Icecold's mobility thread

You're more than welcome to try them, but the reason why everyone uses proper resistance bands is because this is partly what they were designed for.

You could just take my word for it, the price difference isn't huge.
 
Tom, it turns out it's all about releasing the fascias. This means stuff like:

- putting a ball behind your knee and putting weight on the foot of the same side and pushing your bum to your ankle (mentioned here: http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/06/episode-267365-mobrx-for-lound-creaky-knees.html )
- generally smashing a ball into the affected areas
- putting your calf on foam roller and rotate your leg so your getting your muscles laterally. Works best if someone does it for your and puts their weight into it ( http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/05/episode-258365-ankle-mobility-self-mulligan-technique.html )

Also, shin splints! http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/06/episode-270365-mobrx-for-shin-splints.html


Good to see this is helping people :)
 
bump for someone whos knees and wrists are playing up.

Obviously go and see a Dr, but there are some non-risky things you can try.

As a starting point for your wrists http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/01/episode-145365-wrist-flexibility.html

What you'll probably find with your knee is that there is some difference in the organisation at some point in your left leg compared to your right. This could manifest as different degrees of foot turn out, different leg lengths, or different degrees of tightness in the hips.

Try this http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/06/episode-267365-mobrx-for-lound-creaky-knees.html

and some of the hip opening and heel chord/calf stuff that's been posted.
 
A more complete set of mobility work for squatting

Calf/heel cord

This will allow unrestricted movement of the shin/knee over the ankle/foot.

You can do a version of this on the floor too, just push your bent knee as far forward over your toes as you can with your heel down, and lean into it.

something surprisingly simple to try.

Ball in the back of the knee from this
This also hits the hamstring a bit, but in general it's great to create some space back there.

Glutes

^be super aggressive with those, the key is to let your back leg hang and then to slump forward to add more load to the stretch. Some of the worst pain ever.


Hamstring


Hips

This stuff will also catch your quads, which is good. Also try this, where he puts the ball just above his knee. This is great for knee pain in conjunction with the ball in the back of the knee stuff.

Medial Hamstring

...and in general for people who find that having feet more parallel a problem (which is everyone, if it isn't you're lying :p)
This stuff is extremely important.

Hip Capsule

...and something I do before every squat session that isn't "stretching" exactly, but it's kind of like these two
- done on the floor
so I'm forcing the femur into the back of the socket.
 
A lot of that will be due to you missing some external rotation in your shoulder, so try these:
http://www.mobilitywod.com/2010/09/r...ulders-yo.html
http://www.mobilitywod.com/2010/09/f...your-mind.html
http://www.mobilitywod.com/2010/08/i...episode-9.html

But you will probably have a locked down scapula and thoracic spine, so take a look at these:
http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/07/episode-294365-shoulder-what-to-fix-first-and-wii-mob.html
http://www.mobilitywod.com/2010/09/free-your-scap-free-your-mind.html
http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/03/episode-209365-free-your-ribs-your-mind-will-follow.html

IMPORTANT POINT: When working on your thoracic spine, what will often happen is that your lumbar or cervical spine will flex/extend to compensate for a stiff t-spine. Do not let this happen, as this neutralises the effect on your t-spine. For example, when foam rolling your t-spine, don't let your lumbar region extend, keep your belly tight and your glutes switched on.
 
This is fine, you've probably just scared the **** out of your fascias, or it could be a result of some serious de-lamination (a good thing).

Make sure you're staying hydrated too, this could be a problem.
 
For the lordosis you really need to see a specialist. In my case all the tissues were really stuck down and stiff, so it's taken a few sessions to unglue.

Some things you can take care of yourself:

Abs - your abs will be quite weak and unable to switch on properly. Do planks as I describe here http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=19212692&postcount=6

Tight hip flexors - causes you to seek extension elsewhere, in your case your lumbar spine. Do the stretches/mobilisations I've listed under "Hips" in my post above about squatting

Body awareness - learn to be more conscious of your positioning at all times. Avoid letting your lumbar region bend like it is when you're sitting/standing/walking/etc.
 
Last edited:
You'll have probably just tweaked your TFL (tensor fascia lata).

Step 1: soft tissue work, so lacrosse ball or similar into the area. While lying on the ball, try to "smear" the tissue to separate any adhesions. Just in case your rec. fem. or sartorious have decided to join the party, try doing reps of bending your knee when you find a painful spot to pull the tissue past the ball.

Step 2: Improve the tissues ability to function as it should. This means doing the various hip/quad stretches detailed above.

If you need anything else or if I've flat out confused you, just say :)
 
I've done half of it, it turns out I remained busy for longer than I expected! Remind me, what equipment do you have access to?
 
Sounds like you need to emphasise the "mobilisation" aspect, as in, do short reps into end range.

Have you tried the one I just posted? For some reason getting the foot elevated really helped, possibly because it reduces the tension of the posterior of the leg.

Strangely, my right ankle has the worst mobility, but my left foot is really tight underneath which is causing it to collapse slightly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom