The benefits of mobility and flexibility as you age

Mobility Keeps This Champ Moving

Juaquita Gray is a 59-year-old champion athlete who can’t even imagine slowing down.

“I think, ‘I cannot get slower and jump less far if I maintain my body,’” says Juanita, an Air Force veteran, Defense Department contractor, and leading masters track competitor.

Part of her secret comes from strength training and dynamic mobility exercises. And even if you never want to compete in track and field, you need to focus on strength and mobility, too – just to enjoy your health, quality of life, and activities of your choice.

Dynamic mobility exercises are designed to increase the range of motion of a joint, but Juaquita puts them to work mentally, too.

“It conditions the body and the mind,” she says, boosting her determination and success.

First, the dynamic mobility exercises give her the flexibility in joints and muscles to run the 50, 100, 200 meters and do the long jump and triple jump. She is No. 2 in the U.S. in the triple jump for women 55-59, fourth in the 50, and sixth in the 100, according to mastersrankings.com.

Three days a week, Juaquita performs walking lunges, jumping jacks, squats, leg swings, arm swings, side lunges, and many others.

She lives on the third floor of her building and avoids the elevator. She works on the eighth floor of another building and chooses stairs.

“These dynamic moves also enhance the connection between the brain and muscle functioning,” Juaquita said. “I believe it has a positive effect on my fast twitch muscles,” which help with sudden bursts of energy involved in activities like sprinting and jumping.

Mobility and Active Adults

Mobility goes beyond flexibility, and it’s important to all of us as we age.

“Flexibility is what someone can do to you – it’s passive,” trainer Ryan Carver says. “Like when a physical therapist bends your leg into a certain position. But mobility is in another camp. Mobility is doing the work.”

And it’s key for everyday tasks like putting on a coat or getting out of bed without stiffness.

Mobility exercises usually involve bodyweight and other strength training moves, like squats and deadlifts. They give us long-lasting ability to move joints properly and avoid pain, more than mere stretching, which can bring temporary relief.

Moving with stability and control (another phrase for “mobility”) can become more challenging as we age. With poor mobility, we can lose the ability to do things we enjoy; have a higher risk of falling; and can experience social isolation.

By working out to increase our mobility, we help avoid injury; protect and support joints; and maintain a fuller range of motion.

“I’ve never really been a big competitor,” Juaquita says. “I just go out there and do it. Of course, I want to win, that’s wonderful, but I don’t mind if other people win. The opportunity to race, especially at this age, is great because not a whole lot of people are out there at our age doing this.”