Noun – Mobility – the ability to move freely and easily
With the passage of time, things always tend to fall into a rut or ravine…depending on how bad it gets. Because we focus so much of our time on getting physically stronger to accelerate our health, we forget that regular maintenance should always be included in that formula for peak performance. As I have been battling a nagging achilles injury for over six (6) months, it’s time, to be honest with myself and be intentional about working on my mobility. Now I know you might be thinking out loud, “but we do a stretch at Broga or when we do the Abe Vigodas or grass grabbers in our warm-up.” Well, mobility and flexibility are somewhat related but put simply, flexibility is the ability of a muscle to lengthen and mobility is the ability to control movement through a range of motion.
WARMUP – I went through a series of slow, methodical movements of squats, butt kicks, hacky sacks, high knees, merkins, etc.
THANG – I focused mainly on mobility exercises for the Wrists/Hands, Shoulders, and Hips. I led the PAX through the instructional videos and mobility diagrams found at GMB Fitness.
Shoulder Pain: Shoulder Exercises & Movements for Pain Relief
COT – I closed with a prayer of gratitude and that God would provide peace for those who are suffering and encouragement for those who are leading (that’s all of us if you didn’t know by now). In the COT, I shared a wonderful poem from Red Turtle titled ‘The Last Stop’ from F3 St. Louis. Enjoy!
THE LAST STOP
Bent and Broken. Wounded and Torn
Life ripped apart by the ceaseless storm
Crashing waves blinding the eyes
Drowning and consuming him with pain and lies
The clown wakes
With Shoulders slumped and knees creaking
It’s 6 am and he is unsure of what he was thinking
Into the gloom, he decided to stumble and stand
Surrounded by strangers in a foreign land
Now he stands, the world still and silent
Focusing the clown on a cold most violent
“Back to comfort” whispers the clown
Back to the warmth to lay it back down.
The whispered words crawl around inside his head
Telling the man to go back to playing dead
Abandon all hope. The man is not enough.
But as the Man thinks to turn and flee
To abandon all of the hope he had started to feed
His friend, like a warrior, appears out of the dark
Hefting a brick upon his shoulder with an F3 Mark
The warrior is filled with love, hope, and fire
Rescuing the sad clown his singular desire
It was an Emotional Headlock gently and routinely applied
That had finally brought his broken brother, now OUR Man, to the Pride
As the warrior hands the brick to OUR Man
He grins in delight at the outcome of his Plan
With love in his heart and hope in his eyes, he gives to OUR man a final instruction
“This is your Coupon which you must not Drop!
Welcome FNG, you’ve arrived at The Last Stop.”
– Red Turtle F3STL
