Mobility VS Flexibility

You’ve probably heard these two words before, but what is the difference?

Aren't they both stretching? Yes, and no…

FLEXIBILITY is a person's ability to move a muscle or muscle groups to lengthen PASSIVELY through a range of motion. 

This is usually relaxed stretching, sometimes with the help of another person.

MOBILITY is a person's ability to move their joint ACTIVELY through a range of motion. 

This is how far you can move a joint with control and without restriction.

FLEXIBILITY = PASSIVE
MOBILITY = ACTIVE

The truth is, there is little benefit to being able to take your body through a large range of motion if you can't actually control it!

For example:

Folding at the hips to bring your face and torso to your knees while standing with straight legs (a standing pike or forward bend) is a PASSIVE stretch, therefore demonstrating FLEXIBILITY.

Compared to:

Hanging from a bar and lifting your legs towards your face (a hanging leg raise) is an ACTIVE stretching exercise, therefore demonstrating MOBILITY.

Both are similar in the sense that they involve the same pattern of flexing the hips while lengthening the posterior chain (back of the body).

But being able to forward bend doesn't mean that you will be able to perform a hanging leg raise!

Being FLEXIBLE doesn’t necessarily mean that you have MOBILITY.

While our Bamboo Mobility classes always begin with passive stretches (FLEXIBILITY) to open up your range of motion, we then apply progressive and safe load to this opened range, so that you build strength and control in your new range of motion (MOBILITY).

An example is this weighted variation of the standing pike stretch (pictured), which helps to both lengthen and strengthen the posterior chain of the body by safely using an external weight.

The BENEFITS of being mobile include injury prevention, pain reduction and having more freedom in your body to do the things you love!