Recommendations/advice on improving mobility?

[JimmyBlundell]

So I can work with static stretches all day, but I feel that's only going to get me so far. Mobility is an extreme hindrance for me.

I greatly struggle with hip/shoulder separation, for starters. No matter the amount of drilling I do, I won't see improvement here. And I can still feel it in my throws - I can't feel myself truly getting into a separated position and being able to move powerfully through that. Long story short, my throw is stiff.

Does anyone here have recommendations on how I can improve this? Specific exercises or drills that will improve my problem areas? I'm 28 years old now.. I'd like to right some of these wrongs before it gets any harder to

 

[ChrisWoj]

So I can work with static stretches all day, but I feel that's only going to get me so far. Mobility is an extreme hindrance for me.

I greatly struggle with hip/shoulder separation, for starters. No matter the amount of drilling I do, I won't see improvement here. And I can still feel it in my throws - I can't feel myself truly getting into a separated position and being able to move powerfully through that. Long story short, my throw is stiff.

Does anyone here have recommendations on how I can improve this? Specific exercises or drills that will improve my problem areas? I'm 28 years old now.. I'd like to right some of these wrongs before it gets any harder to

Has anyone recommended yoga?

You don't need much, just like 10x10 feet of space, and a rug thats not too soft. There are YouTube channels with great free content ranging from beginner to legit feats-of-strength. When I was learning I went with a channel that is very careful to explain the poses, and take time to allow you to get used to getting into them. And then once I felt like I had all the basic poses down I moved on to one with a broader range of videos, to ease into advanced stuff.

The beginner channel is called Yoga with Adrienne
The more broad/advanced channel is called Breath & Flow

Although there is plenty of static holding, the real challenge is the movement and flow between the poses. The goal of the entire exercise is to improve your body's ability to move from position to position while maintaining a fully balanced and strong position and controlled breathing. And honestly that second channel I recommended DOES also have high intensity work that incorporates the yoga poses.

The reason I think it will help you out is because I've noticed a translation from yoga to other work: throwing, resistance training, running.... I think that it helped me a TON with the mind-muscle connection that allows you to really feel the functioning of your muscle groups, and thats helped me build balanced flexibility and the ability to generate power out of positions that are a little more toward the edges of my mobility.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

There is also a thread here "disc golf doctor" or something like that... might be worthwhile to search it up and post in there too.

 

[JimmyBlundell]

Has anyone recommended yoga?

You don't need much, just like 10x10 feet of space, and a rug thats not too soft. There are YouTube channels with great free content ranging from beginner to legit feats-of-strength. When I was learning I went with a channel that is very careful to explain the poses, and take time to allow you to get used to getting into them. And then once I felt like I had all the basic poses down I moved on to one with a broader range of videos, to ease into advanced stuff.

The beginner channel is called Yoga with Adrienne
The more broad/advanced channel is called Breath & Flow

Although there is plenty of static holding, the real challenge is the movement and flow between the poses. The goal of the entire exercise is to improve your body's ability to move from position to position while maintaining a fully balanced and strong position and controlled breathing. And honestly that second channel I recommended DOES also have high intensity work that incorporates the yoga poses.

The reason I think it will help you out is because I've noticed a translation from yoga to other work: throwing, resistance training, running.... I think that it helped me a TON with the mind-muscle connection that allows you to really feel the functioning of your muscle groups, and thats helped me build balanced flexibility and the ability to generate power out of positions that are a little more toward the edges of my mobility.

I'll check out those channels
My wife is pretty into yoga. Maybe if I do some with her, she'll be convinced to go out on the course with me. Haha

 

[Countchunkula]

Agree with what Chris said. I was having back issues over the past few years that got way better after doing yoga regularly for a few months. Overall flexibility and core strength also improved and I could move more like I could when I was younger and in better shape. I need to get back into that routine, because I can feel things getting tight again.

 

[nothinbuttree]

Has anyone who is 30 or so years past OP's age of 28 tried yoga? Are ligaments and joints too far gone at that point or can there be some benefits to us old-timers as well?

I feel like I have good form, but watching videos of me throw is like watching slow motion. Very low forward arm speed thru the pocket. Wondering if it is lack of flexibility?

 

[jupiterboy]

I'm getting close to 60. I have some arthritis, which is highly variable. I've been interested in Yoga since I was young, but rather than classes, or something formal, I sort of incorporate it into whatever I'm doing. I think you learn to notice the differences, and be a little in touch with how much inflammation you have. Pay attention to where you get sore and counter that by increasing bloodflow in those areas. I'd also keep a focus on your feet. Get one of those massage balls and stand on it. Switch from foot to foot while you are watching TV or something else. If you push a joint one way, give equal time pushing it the other way.

If you do think you have some inflammation, food is gonna be key. I don't think you can go far afield with some Magnesium at night. I start every day with a shake—flax seed, chia seed, fruit, turmeric, barley grass, plain yogurt, fresh ginger, soy milk. That's a big blast of Omega 3 and good fat. I think good fat makes everything work better.

In terms of disc golf form, I'm gaining mobility as I play. My hips are moving better than they were two seasons ago, and I don't think there's any magic stretch. If I backslide in my form, I get sore in the wrong places. The better my form, the more I can play, the looser I get. I also have to lay off some times even though I want to play around.

 

[HyzerRoc]

Not sure if this will help with your specific problem as it might as well be something entirely different, but for me it helped to get the upper body a little looser by working on the range of motion of my upper body. The Discgolf Doctor has some mobility exercises to improve spine mobility and he also explains why spine mobility is useful to have for discgolf.



I also like the way this guy goes about explaining the different exercises.



If you notice you have trouble with these exercises you might have found one answer how you can improve your hip/shoulder separation.

Before every day of play I also do a version of this dynamic stretch as a warm-up and noticed it helped me to get my upper body loose for throwing.

 

[timothy42b]

Has anyone recommended yoga?

The beginner channel is called Yoga with Adrienne
The more broad/advanced channel is called Breath & Flow

Thanks. My daughter told me about Adrienne but I hadn't run into Breath & Flow. Looks like good stuff there.

 

[Brychanus]

I have needed to learn & work on several types of dynamic stretches just to get into a full range of motion. E.g.:






Good to get arms and shoulders loose + limber and wake the muscles up at the same time (3:20):



Mobility and kinetics can also matter in very small-looking motions. I started doing this with a resistance band with a very small weight on the end (two metal clips) during warmup and try to make it whirrrrr through the air as loud as possible with the least effort/most efficiency. To the side, big over your head, both directions. I shit you not, it will make your chain and arm kinetics and movement better if you learn to do the move from the feet up. My arm always feels much better as soon as I start throwing, and I have noticed less little tweaks the next day in general.

(3:45)



As usual, Sidewinder noticed this a long time ago: