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The Liquid Motion System – Gentle Movements for RAPID Mobility Gains
This is what training for mobility usually looks like: you get down into your deep lunge, your straddle stretch, or whatever else. You reach the point where it’s uncomfortable – not painful but certainly not pleasant. Then you hold it for 30-60 seconds. It hurts and it’s boring.
I wonder why so few people dedicate any real time to their mobility?
Why can’t it just be pleasant and easy? That’s foreshadowing, by the way.
There have been other methods, of course. PNF stretching involves contracting your muscles deep in the position. And weighted stretching involves holding a weight at the end range, or performing weighted movements with a larger-than-usual range-of-motion.
But it’s still uncomfortable and it still kind of sucks.
Lately, though, I’ve found a method that’s a lot more enjoyable. And it also happens to have been significantly more effective. That’s simply to move gently around the position and explore the range of motion.
I call it “The Liquid Motion System.”
How is this different?
Well, let’s take the example of a deep squat. Instead of getting into the deepest position right away, forcing the heels onto the floor, maybe holding a weight or something to keep you in position… fighting back the tears and holding the position for 30 seconds…
Instead, you’re going to gently go down as deep into the squat as you can, comfortably. Stop at the point where you start to feel resistance and just slowly move around at that point. Back out of it again, then sink a little deeper. Move left to right.
Don’t worry if your heels aren’t flat on the floor. Let them raise ever so slightly, if they need to, as the weight you’re applying to the ankle joint will be naturally improving mobility in that area.
Just explore the range of motion and make subtle adjustments to it for 30-60 seconds. Never getting uncomfortable in the process and always maintaining strength, control, and body awareness.
If you’re feeling tired, stiff, achy, or just not in the mood… this is significantly easier to motivate yourself into. At least I find it is. After all: the whole point is to move only where you can with minimal discomfort.
So, you might actually do it. But the great part? This works better than most other methods in my experience!
And we can apply this to any movement. I do it with wall bridges, with shoulder openers in a doorway, with deep lunges, with Cossack squats, with one legged bodyweight good mornings… the list goes on.
Never forcing myself. Just exploring and playing with the movement. No pressure.
Why this Method Works Better
When I started doing this – when I took the pressure off myself to get into gruelling positions and hold them – I found I got the fastest mobility gains of my life. My full bridge when from a bent armed, straight-backed mess, into something still-rubbish but much closer to what it’s supposed to look like!
Pistol squats are easier for me than they ever were. My handstands have improved.
So, what’s going on?
Firstly: avoiding discomfort helps to keep the body relaxed. This is important, as it’s actually a defence mechanism that normally causes the muscles to contract and seize up. This is called “muscle guarding.” By remaining comfortable you are showing your nervous system that this is a safe range of motion to enter.
Because you’re moving and exploring around the area, you’re also building strength and control. This likewise helps to relax the body as you are able to get out of the position easily at any time. And, by building strength in the agonists and antagonists for any given movement, you’re learning to control these positions – resulting in much better movement. This also translates to superior performance in a range of lifts; you can say goodbye to sticking points in your squat!
The kind of real-time feedback this gives you is also excellent. It allows you to feel which positions are difficult and how to work around them. It lets you think about your position – is your back straight? Where is the tension? And the result is massively improved proprioception, leading to yet more control.
The gradual exposure is significantly less daunting as well. And you’ll be surprised just how quickly you can go from finding a position quite difficult, to getting into a pose relatively easily.
The Other Piece of the Puzzle
The other key piece of this puzzle is to use these movements throughout the day. Not all at once in one gruelling regime, but as movement “snacks” as some people call them, or as incidental training.
First thing in the morning, I now like to “test out” my deep squat by moving around in that area. Some mornings I drop straight into it. Some mornings, it’s more difficult at first. But after doing this once I usually find I’m significantly more fluid going forward.
I might do it again while taking a break from editing or typing. I might do it while playing with the kids. Or I might do it when picking something up from the ground.
Likewise, when in the kitchen I often do shoulder openers and wall bridges while the kettle is boiling. And I like doing it in the bathroom in the evening after a warm shower, while I’m all loosey goosey.
This has multiple benefits. It once again means you’re not looking at a big, gruesome workout, but instead a very manageable few minutes of gentle movement. It also means you’re going to avoid seizing up throughout the day. What this can do for your general mobility and energy levels is huge.
As I’ve said before, what we often think of as being tired all the time is actually lethargy from lack of movement. By moving throughout the day, you frequently elevate your heart rate and release more excitatory neurotransmitters. That brain fog you feel at the end of the day might not come at all, as a result!
And likewise, it means you stay mobile all throughout the day. You don’t get to the point where your joints feel locked up and you struggle to get up off the sofa.
That means you’re ready to go at a moment’s notice. You’re constantly “warmed up,” at least to some degree.
And to me, this is just a far healthier and more natural way to feel and perform.
Give it a go!
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Hi. I am 65 and have lifted most of my adult life. I’m still fairly strong. But prone to injury or tight muscles. I don’t see a price for the easy-flow product.