Can you do this? Excessive mobility and injury prevention

[Christopher John]

I originally posted this video in Adam's log.

Can anybody reading this thread actually perform this test? Curious to hear other's thoughts.

Jordan made a point about mobility and stability being inversely correlated at one of the seminars. I don't think excessive mobility work is beneficial or even necessarily a positive thing. That doesn't mean necessary mobility work isn't necessary.

I'm not sure if I've adequately addressed your question. Let me know if I've come up short.

What does Jordan define as excessive mobility (not excessive mobility work, just excessive mobility)? From reading his log, it looks like he was having knee pain and part of fixing that issue was incorporating more prehab/mobility work into his training. Could he have avoided the knee pain if he had more flexible quads, as an example (I don't know exactly what he dealt with)? Maybe he can comment if he sees this thread.

I guess my ultimate question is this: will crappy mobility affect my lifting longevity? If I'm not capable of executing the test in the above video (I'm not even close), should I be?

If you (or Jordan, or anyone) consider this video an example of excessive mobility, where is the sweet spot for both A) long-term injury prevention and B) proper execution of the lifts? I'm operating under the hypothesis that mobility does have an influence on point A, but my n=1 suggests that greater mobility = fewer problems from lifting.

(To give some context, I started thinking about this with respect to Olympic weightlifting. Any lifter in that sport who can hit the proper catch position in the bottom of the clean or, especially, the snatch is going to be very flexible. If you're putting 500+lbs overhead, my assumption is that the strength of the muscles around the joints provides plenty of stability.)

To apply this more to powerlifting, the shoulder flexibility test mentioned in Adam's log Legitimacy first, then greatness. Adam Skillin is a competitive powerlifter. - do you think lifters would be less susceptible to shoulder issues from bench press if they weren't so tight?

Or am I asking the wrong questions?

[lou t]

I do a fair amount to mobility, dynamic stretching. My thought is I only need to have flexibility necessary to perform a particular lift properly with full ROM.

[OCG]

Not even remotely. I am way too huge, as most of this board should be.

I can however, overhead squat quite well when I bother to.

[B-MoreBeast]

An adequate understanding of physiology is paramount when one decides to embark on the journey that is mobility. Honestly the term mobility really isn't the best because every individual will require different levels of "mobility" to perform as they want to in life. For example someone with knee pain would need to identify the deficiency whether it be strength or flexibility and address it with the respective training modalities. If flexibility is the issue targeted foam rolling of the IT Band, Quads, and Hamstrings will do the trick for most individuals. If it is a strength based issue it is typically harder to correct because the individual may not initially be able to perform the basic movements needed to strengthen the musculature. Finally one will learn best by essentially finding out what works for them via trial and error. Individuals function differently and finding your personal best methods of "working" on yourself will be of the most benefit. Apologies for any typos or grammar as this was rushed.

[idlehands]

saw happy body and immediately made me think of happy tree friends.

what is wrong with me?!

[Erok]

just watched the video. This appears to be an inferior version of an overhead squat. Why does the spine have to extend so? Why do the femurs need to smoosh into the gut? Why do the feet need to be together that way? Is it possible to lift anything heavier than a book using this method? Even if I could perform this move, what good would it do me?

I don't like it. Severe Mechanical Disadvantage. Reminds me of this:



Sure, your shoulders are 'open'. So what?

[Charlie Davies]

The original post's question is about whether there's an optimal level of flexibility to avoid barbell-related injury.
And if so, how to measure it and improve it.
(no opinion on this from me, I'm not a coach)

I can't come anywhere close to the squat video above.
My thoracic vertebrae would never allow that much extension and that isn't fixable.

Besides, I'm a little fat, have ordinary ankle ROM, and a frozen shoulder.
I squat below parallel anyway (shoes, high bar, hooker-handles).

I would fire the trainer in the video, if he told me to stop squatting until I had excellent mobility.

[vanslix]

Sure, your shoulders are 'open'. So what?

Funny. I thought the exact opposite. I can, ahem, think of a LOT of ways this would come in handy.

[Christopher John]

cwd is correct. I'm curious if, in the long-term especially, the kind of flexibility or mobility or whatever you want to call it displayed in that video is useful for preventing injuries.

@Erok, I don't think you'd ever try to load this movement. It's just a test that you fail if you're limited at the wrists, shoulders, hips, or ankles with respect to mobility. Having a weight as light as the book actually makes it harder to do.

One of the arguments in the context of Olympic weightlifting (I'm not saying this is correct, just that I've read it before) is that greater flexibility is energy sparing (an eg: your abs don't have to work as hard to prevent lumbar flexion in a deep squat because the muscles with more limited ROM don't reach the end of their extensibility as soon in the movement). So maybe this has some applicability in the context of powerlifting and injury prevention?

[mrflibble]

I'm curious if, in the long-term especially, the kind of flexibility or mobility or whatever you want to call it

I call it dangerous hyperextension.

displayed in that video is useful for preventing injuries.

Nope. It's useful for being weak and prone to injury.