It might be time to harness your inner Ninja and grab some sticks to find your fit. Mobility stick workouts that incorporate long dowel-like rods are slowly, but surely garnering attention, and rightfully so. While it seems like it might be just another newfangled fitness craze, there are many reasons why you might want to take a look at what can be done with an unassuming, humble stick.
Stick Mobility is Legit.
It is grounded in traditional health practice. If you’ve ever been to physical therapy, at one point or another, a therapist might have handed you a dowel rod or told you to find a broomstick and introduced an exercise to improve your alignment or range of motion. Sticks have been used in physical therapy settings for years to help patients overcome leg, back, shoulder injuries and more. In addition, they can be used to help patients recover from various surgeries.
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Slow moving stick mobility might not have the glitz and glamor of a speedy, sweat-soaked cycling session or the grit of grinding out hard-core heavyweight reps. But, the simple stick can help you make serious balance, range-of-motion and fitness gains. Stick mobility exercises can help you learn or re-learn proper joint alignment, correct muscular imbalances and train tendons and muscles to get into position so you can reap the most from resistance-based exercises. Sticks can help you perfect your form when it comes to foundational fitness movements and positions like planks, basic posture, squats, lunges, and bridges.
Stick Fanatics Work With One Stick or Two at a Time.
Single stick work can involve fluid full-range of motion movements that improve thoracic and shoulder mobility. Grab a towel and check out this video for a short upper body workout series. The flowing movements help develop muscular body balance, but mind-body balance as well. Movements involve mental focus. Introducing a second stick adds even more possibility when it comes to fitness. Some avid weight lifters use two sticks to warm-up in order to better their resistance based lifts.
Chances are as more and more people recognize the foundational benefits of mobility stick training, the method will continue to grow in popularity throughout the world of fitness. But, what is apt to give mobility sticks the greatest boost is the fact that some of the movements look pretty cool when performed masterfully. The tools tap into a martial arts vibe that awes both body and brain. If you want to give it a try, there are ample videos online to get you started that demonstrate that anyone, even the most brawny and buffed, can benefit from stick mobility.
*Featured image courtesy of Stick Mobility
