Welcome to PATHFINDER Horizon! This content is exclusive to PATHFINDER Horizon subscribers. New classes begin monthly. Contact support@pathfinderrucktraining.com to find out how you can join today!
Mobility is Key
Mobility is a key part of the PATHFINDER Horizon program. To feel confident, injury proofed and ready to ruck your long-distance event, it's important to stay flexible, strong and stabilized.
Each week, we will select three mobility videos that we think will best suit your goals for the Horizon programming. These videos will contain yoga, various forms of stretching, foam rolling or the use of a trigger point ball (or tennis ball). These videos will require little in the way of equipment and we feel are the best YouTube currently offers.
Why You Should Mobilize
Sometimes, mobility may not feel like "a lot." If you're used to punishing your body through grueling workouts and miles, you may wonder why your time is best spent here. We're here to tell you flat out: IT IS. As an athlete, you expect your body to perform on-demand. But over time, those demands cause your body to get stiff, (even immovable) and when that happens, your body begins to compensate. Compensations often lead to injuries. It's important to rewind a little bit...slow down...and focus on quality over quantity. (And maybe even re-learning certain movements to facilitate more muscle control instead of forcing your body into whatever position you want it to get into.)
It's also important to learn how to properly use the tools that provide pain relief, soothe tight muscles and generally learn how to be your best body mechanic. Everybody has a foam roller by now, and you might even use it occasionally. But how many of us know how to use it properly? The use of foam rollers, lacrosse or tennis balls is a form of myofascial release that can "unstick" sticky tissues that might be impeding your overall mobility.
Now You're Going to Tell Me to Breathe...Right?
So breathing is a pretty automatic phenomenon, right? Why is breathing technique important to mobility? Why is breathing technique important to rucking? Why do I need to be all New Age about my breathing?
To be obvious about it: breathing is life. It's also stress relief, mind-clearing, and even a pace coordinator. You don't need to align your crystals to learn a breathing technique - my personal favorite is to just breathe in for four counts, and then breathe out for four, while out on a ruck. Making sure your brain has enough oxygen literally puts you in a better frame of mind, and you're going to need that when you're trying to coordinate navigational elements during your long-distance event.
Now that we've got you convinced, here are three '30-minute or less' videos to bring on that new mobility feeling!
FINALLY, the Work!
Go on, just pick one! This week's offerings are a Mobility WOD, a Yoga practice, and a Flexibility WOD. Choose based on your needs or interest.
20-minute Beginner Mobility WOD | HASFit
30 Days of Yoga: Forget What You Know About Yoga | Yoga with Adriene
20-Minute Full Body Flexibility Routine | Tom Merrick