I’m 32 and I’ve been trying to stretch every night because my mobility for the most part, is trash. Any videos or specific stretches you guys do that has noticeable helped?
Started doing yoga twice a week after my hips got so tight I couldn't even attempt a proper guard retention. Took about 3 months before I noticed real differences on the mat. Now I'm 38 and moving better than I did at 30. Yoga with Adriene has a ton of hip opener stuff that actually translates.
It used to be. 2 / week gave me amazing results over 3/4 months, but that was 15 years ago. Now, I been doing 2 / week and it doesn’t help at all. Still can’t touch my toes.
That being said: the down dog app is great for adjusting difficulty, length of session, taking it on the go. There’s like a million free resources but this app actually makes it easier.
I’ve found the main benefit for me (I’m already pretty flexible) is in posture improvement, better breathing and activating my thoracic spine more. When I train I tend to be very curled up and favor one side.
You need private sessions with someone who can target your needs, specifically. At a certain point, doing the same things over and over that aren't for your needs aren't going to have any effect.
Ive never seen private yoga sessions. I use the app like that tho. It is what it is imo. I don’t get as much results as I used to and there’s only so much time I can put into it.
Another vote for the downdog app! The other options like boost (body part to focus on like shoulders or hamstrings), level of verbal cues etc. is great.
I just turned 47 and my mobility is awesome. I’m maybe the most flexible person at my academy and certainly the most flexible man. People always say things like “I wish I was as flexible as you” and I tell them that anyone can become flexible, they just have to set a routine and stick to it. Most people don’t have the patience for it.
My stretching routine includes:
• pigeon pose on both sides
• A modified plow position where I flow from prone, roll up on one shoulder to plow, then down the opposite shoulder to return to prone
Out of curiosity how good were you before you started this regime? I’m 48 and have good flexibility and mobility. When I used to row competitively we had a physio who checked us all out and asked what my routine was because she considered me abnormally flexible. But my routine at the time was the same as now - absolutely nothing. I don’t warm up, I don’t cool down, I don’t do any mobility work in between BJJ. I’m sure I could be better but think some people are just naturally fortunate.
Exactly. Many physios do stretches all the time, between clients. But most aren't super flexible. Sometimes people have natural talent but they like to boast about working hard.
I’ve been stretching since I was a teenager. I certainly haven’t done it every day, and I’ve fallen out of the habit a few times for extended periods of time. But since starting bjj a decade ago, I’ve done this routine basically every time I train.
So to answer your question, I had good mobility before starting. I did not have good mobility when I was a teenager
40 and not great. Ive started taking a hot yoga class earlier this year. Its just once a week. My mobility hasn't improved significantly, but my lower back has. My body just generally feels better. Less creaky.
I’ve (34) been doing hot yoga for a few months and my body feels so much better. Its stopped sounding like stepping on bubble wrap every time I stretch. Its what got me back to the point I could start BJJ.
I wouldn’t try to do hot yoga outside of a studio designed for it.
You don’t have to do hot yoga. I think a bit of heat helps warm the muscles up, and I love getting a good sweat going, but the yoga itself is more important.
The style of yoga is more important; while its not bad, you wont see as much improvement with yoga that focuses on static stretching. The yoga that helps with mobility is generally called ‘flow’ or power yoga; the particular style I practice is called vinyasa.
I’m fortunate not to struggle with flexibility but I do hot yoga every few years (in particular the Bikram series though no one calls it that now because Bikram is personal non grata). It’s a great diagnostic as I can tell particular areas that are troubling me due to difficulties with certain poses.
Too time consuming (90 minutes classes!) for me to do regularly alongside BJJ but always enjoy it when I go.
I’ve done Bikram (or whatever its called these days) and don’t hate it, but my issue with it is that its too static. Bikram is all about holding and deepening into poses rather than moving through them.
My goal with yoga these days is less absolute flexibility and more overall mobility, which static forms of yoga aren’t super helpful for.
Check out Leslie Fightmaster yoga on YouTube. Despite the name she has nothing to do with MMA.
I’m 36 and as spry as any of the 20 year olds in the gym (well… not all). I attribute that to years of single player BJJ before I ever stepped foot in a gym. Now that I’ve started doing involuntary yoga with friends my yoga game has gone thru the roof (tho I don’t do it as much since I’m spending so much time wrastlin).
Leslie herself passed away a few years ago and one of her students picked up the mat, but I recommend going back in the channel and watching the OG herself.
There is a YouTube called “yoga for BJJ” it’s really good! And they have 15-30 minute follow alongs. I used that to build my own 30 minute routine. I do BJJ 3x week and try todo yoga everyday. I’m 32 and not flexible but I’m trying damnit lol
39, super heavyweight, body is pretty busted from years in the army and doing manual labor out of it....
That considered it's pretty alright, I can invert, Granby roll (can't get both feet on the ground at the same time tho), touch one of my heels to my butt, one of my shoulders has pretty good mobility, put my palms on the mat with my knees locked, etc.. nothing freakish but considering 8yr ago I couldn't bend over to tie my boots it's way better.
I stretch for about a half hour before class... Get my back, shoulders, hips, knees and neck as warmed up and loose as I can... That's about it.
This is 100% the best video if your back is sore. It is immediate relief, and then doing it for a while makes it so you don't get hurt. I am happy to see it recommended.
My mobility, for my age, is excellent so long as I'm not hurt or injured. My strength and condition is focused on light weights high reps and functionality.
People suggesting yoga and stretching are well intentioned but are not really giving evidence based suggestions.
Since mobility is activity specific your best bet is to lift weights in positions which transfer well to bjj with a full range of motion.
Deficit RLDs with less emphasis on weight and more emphasis on the stretch, Side lateral raises with a light weight going beyond parallel almost touching the dumbbells at the top, Jefferson Curls, cambered bar bench press, incline bench dumbbell curls with an emphasis on the stretch, overhead triceps extension on a cable, rows with a cambered or w bar, deep paused squats with the heel elevated, deep Bulgarian split squats with the front foot elevated.
All of these lifts if done with full range of motion, add more to your mobility in a very relevant way than that yoga shit.
You want mobility, not flexibility, resistance training with an emphasis on full range of motion and progressive overload is way more important than the yoga guys are recommending you do.
This is what people need to here. Lifting heavy this year has turned me from a top specialist who felt like a turtle on their back if I got swept into a pretty decent guard player inverting into legs and all sorts
If you have an iPhone, Apple Fitness+ is $10 a month and has tons of yoga routines. If you're like me and just want to follow along, I highly recommend it. If you prefer to put together your own routines there is a ton of stuff on YouTube.
I'm in my 40s but got into calisthenics and mobility training as a crazy overweight office worker in my mid 30s and it changed my life. I went from struggling to walk up stairs to being able to do muscle ups and hand stand push ups.
I used a lot of stuff from GMB fitness and it's helped me so much. There's a lot of resources out there. I was in way better shape focusing on calisthenics than BJJ, but BJJ is way more fun. I need to find a healthy balance.
35, still able to damn near do the splits in both directions, good hamstrings and hip rotation. Shoulders are meh on the ROM and my knees are better than they were in my 20s.
Just staying limber and working out moderately has kept me going. Nothing special I guess, just stretching.
42, born with club feet both legs…. Surgically corrected then Achilles lengthening operations later on. Parents pushed me to do heaps of sports… boxing, football/soccer, rugby, rugby league, cricket etc.
Always had to work on mobility but even more so now. Hyper mobile hips so it can affect my back but compared to other people that have had the same procedures I have great mobility.
Dorsiflexion in both feet isn’t great hence the back needs heaps of work.
Found the best bang for buck over the years is single leg strengthening, core strengthening, extensive stretching but not aimlessly… figuring out what’s tight and targeting that and reassessing regularly. Check out Paul Chek’s stuff on core and stretching. Then foam rolling and lacrosse ball work - I have the supple leopard book which is my bible for this stuff.
Also for me foot and big toe work is massive…. Obviously it’s the start of your kinetic chain so is super important also bulletproof for Bjj is good too… I’ve heaps of experience with this stuff from a lifetime of trying to stay healthy.
Guessing it works… made it to black belt and still relatively healthy body wise. I see other people at similar age who’ve had same procedures as me and they’re walking with sticks and other aids.
Consistency is the secret to everything…. Also regular evaluation 🤙
I’m 34. My mobility is actually pretty good these days, though it was utter trash for years when I let myself get out of shape because of a bulging disc.
Static stretching isn’t really the best way to develop mobility, since it doesn’t involve much movement; if you want mobility, you need to be, well, mobile.
The way I got my mobility back was doing power yoga. I do a class (a hot vinyasa yoga class), but you should be able to find power yoga routine on youtube. Doing squats (back and front) are also great for mobility if you hit the proper depth.
(Obviously a whitebelt here so take what I take with a grain of salt as it pertains to bjj, but I was formerlly a football player through the college level (D3) and was later in the Navy, so I’m not really a stranger when it comes to physical training.)
34, 70kg and decent mobility. Can touch my toes, do a butt to floor squat and sit in it comfortably etc. My side split mobility is dogshit though, needs work.
I'd give myself the mantle of average mobility, and I try to keep on top of it as often as I can. I've recently discovered Tom Morrison on YouTube and he's been great, plenty of free stuff and follow alongs.
I've seen some mobility courses on bjj fanatics too like yoga for bjj or pilates for bjj. I'd say they're worth a punt really if the price is right.
I’ve been following Mady Morrison on YouTube for years, and her workouts have improved my performance on so many levels. I chose her channel because she doesn’t talk, just music, which makes it much easier to stick with, especially since I try to do it every morning
I am 39. I would characterize my mobility as quite good, but there is always room for improvement.
hip openers are great and easy.
when im home just watching tv or doomscrolling I sit on the floor and hold a position for as long as possible. Even a basic ass “reach for your feet” is beneficial
i am 36 and have had extreme hip mobility for as long as i can remember, but other areas not so good. I can do a 'mikey squat' for example. never did anything for it. i also had hip labrum surgery so in some other directions i have really poor mobility. pretty weird.
42, decent mobility but I didn’t hop into BJJ under conditioned. I’ve always maintained a steady gym routine that incorporated mobility/joint health and had a job where I was in my feet, moving, climbing for years. I’m not as limber as the young guys, but it also gives me ideas on how to add in certain things to strengthen for my exercise planning
I'm 37, I think I have above average mobility. I get a lot of comments on my hip mobility while rolling because I can slip in butterfly hooks with almost no space, and I go to butterfly half constantly. I do a 5-10 minute mobility routine before every class and that's it. It's basically just joint rotations from head down to feet, plus judo-style leg swings, and a few yoga poses like lizard and pigeon and Cossack squat.
30s. I am one of the most flexible people in my gym. I can easily high kick above my head and touch my toes while doing so. I can almost do the side splits, but I’m scared so I’ve never directly trained for it.
Daily stretches include hamstring, calf, quad, adductors, abductors/glutes. This keeps me limber. Resistance training using full range of is also the key for me. I make sure to warmup before sessions by moving all of my joints through their full range of motion as a I slowly increase the speed of the movement. I also make sure I don’t sit for extended periods of time without walking for a few minutes in between
There’s a video on YouTube called how to get flexible one time forever. And it’s deffo the best I’ve found. I’ve been down a massive rabbit hole on the best way to get flexible n that video n my research basically boiled down to, pnf stretching 2/3 per week is the best way to get flexible. Pnf is basically resisted stretches at end range. You can also started loading it with weights when you get more advanced. I just do pnf stretches twice per week. 3 sets of 10 second holds at end range for my ankles, hips and spine. Stay consistent n you will see gains. I started from the worse flexibility in the whole gym to now being like average / okay
Most of my mobility that was holding me back was in the hips and quite a few years ago before I even started training jujutsu I used to do this program. https://youtu.be/xT_WB7V9ZJ0?si=yvHe7x0jw-qLMADq agile 8. Really focuses on loosening up . Also helped my back pain.
Bit out of date but here is a list of mostly free resources I composed a few years ago. (I started BJJ in my 30s, now later 40s, and overall have good mobility despite obstacles)
Yoga is the answer. Did yoga for years starting at age 20 and now in my mid 30s I’ve retained a lot of that flexibility. 40 mins 2-3x a week helps a lot.
Surprisingly using a foam roller has really helped my flexibility. Even as a kid, I wasn't flexible and couldn't touch my toes but rolling out, I have found it to really increase my flexibility. My Crossfit coach used to always give me a hard time-she would say, I don't know how you do Jiu Jitsu with being so inflexible.
47f / purple belt with spinal fusion T1-L3. I have no mobility in my back because of the fusion, but my hips are good. Pilates 30 min at least every other day is awesome for core, lower back and hips.
morning stretches in bed where there is more forgiveness on joints. making an O with my hips. same with shoulders/back. also the same with knees (saw klay thompson doing it and it really works). credit track in high school for most of the isolated and dynamic stretches/exercises i do. a youtube search will give you a decent idea. my lady swears by hot yoga like others in the comments too. i like some yoga positions with weights or kettlebells but should probably do more for my lower back. mobility to me is a combo of comfort, extension, and power. what good is mobility if i can't load and deload from those positions comfortably. of course food. i eat a ton of salmon. i swear it's oiling me like the tin man from the inside.
I’m 38 and do yoga every morning, have for some time. I’ve also built up my engine over the years so my conditioning is through the roof and I run trails once a week during winter in AZ.
On top of that, I do strength and conditioning once a week, sometimes twice, at my gym that involves all sorts of exercises with weights, body weights, kettlebells, Echo bike, treadmill, all sorts of stuff that’s done in MMA cardio/strength HIIT circuits.
All that combined, I’m extremely mobile and have never felt better or stronger. I always say I’d love to go back in time and beat up my 21 year old self cause I thought I was so strong then but uh, nah. 😂
Start doing yoga and stay consistent. It’s guaranteed results and you’ll feel much better overall, mentally and physically. It’s one of the best fitness decisions I ever made in my life.
42, black belt, doing yoga for two decades. AMA. Just had knee surgery 3 weeks ago and I’m back rolling. PT and doc said it’s due to yoga. So, yeah. I still lift just not heavy. If you can find a good ashtanga or vinyasa teacher around you (lmk where you are and I can make recos) you’ll learn some good “yoga alignment.” Also, stretch after rolling, almost immediately. The taxed muscles will get stronger from stretching after, and the heat from rolling will allow to breath a bit easier in the poses.
Yoga with Adrianna is solid YT channel. Just do her 30 day stuff. Consistency is very key imo. I went from decently flexible to Gumby during covid bc of yoga. Now I stretch while watching tv so I always have time for it
32, light stretches everyday, walk my dog about 30-45 min everyday for joint mobility, just throwing this out there for myself, but being sober definitely helped with soreness recovery and stiffness. Especially since I have arthritis in my ankles.
42, 6'6" 300lbs, people are generally impressed by my mobility. My left knee lost a bit of range after a knee surgery a couple of years ago, but overall I'm not usually limited by mobility at all. Find some stretches and do them often. Try holding a deep unweighted squat every day, and try to lengthen the time whenever you can. But also, yoga!
I'm 32. I don't particularly do a lot of stretching, but I work out a few times a week outside of BJJ and that seems to help a lot. I definitely can't jump straight into rolling as fast as I could when I was in my early 20s, but other than that, I feel like my mobility is pretty solid.
The biggest thing for me is mostly just making sure I don't have days of 0 movement, and definitely not consecutive days of 0 movement. Being sedentary, and in particular sitting at a desk all day, has a very noticeable detrimental effect that I have to make sure to counteract with movement every day or it becomes cumulative.
I’m 50! My mobility is pretty good but I train 5-6 days a week—some days harder than others. I’m a small guy for what it’s worth. In terms of maintaining and improving mobility be sure that if you’re stretching it’s not just passive stretching. You need strength and mobility. Slow yoga is very good for this provided you have a good teacher, tai chi is also really hreat for this. I mention these modalities because they benefit you for life and help with daily mobility in general. They also activate your brain. I get a bit bored with doing just movement for the sake of mobility. If these two suggestions are if no interest getting with a good sport PT/mobility trainer can help so they can provide a good routine and be sure you are doing the movements correctly to prevent injury or strain.
35 and complete dogshit. Tried mobility work, stretching etc for 4 months pretty much daily without any real results so i quit that BS and continued with strenght training.
My mobility was good, then I got distracted trying to hit some big PRs for about a year and a half, and my mobility went to shit. So bad I couldn't sleep at night for aches and pains.
Then I remembered yoga, swapped that in for 1 or 2 workouts per week, and now life is grand again.
Here's a decent one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc4JwpXwdcI
Sometimes I do one of the "Power Yoga" videos from this channel, sometimes I do one of the P90x yoga videos, and sometimes I just put on music and make it up as I go along.
My flexibility was so bad when I started my coach literally thought I was going to quit. Now I invert regularly and people often call me flexible. I still can’t squat low for my life but I’m not limited to certain moves anymore from a lack of it. Touch your damn toes everyday. Forward folds. Knees to chest. Criss cross apple sauce. knees to floor. Sit on your heels. Obviously I don’t know the terminology but any and all stretches will help be consistent and you’ll get there.
5'11 230lbs, not muscle. I can put my foot behind my head, straight ankle myself, and invert all the time in training. I do think I got lucky with genetics for external rotation though. I've improved my flexibility a lot since I started training.
Pigeon pose, Pike, whatever calf stretch, 90/90, elephant walks. Don't complicate it, just do it. If you want to invert, start inverting for like 15 seconds at a time and build up. Learn to invert well (Mikey has a good video on this but idk if its on youtube)
45, mobility isn't good but I'm not the worst, especially compared to other grey beards.
I like the gowod app a lot for brainless work that seems like it helps.
There's a little sequence for bjj where you take a kneeling split stance and do a "knight stretch, single leg hamstring stretch, a deep lunge where you put the same side elbow to the ground, and finish with a pigeon pose. A minute on each stretch daily (or as close to it as possible) and things will start to open up after a couple weeks.
61 and I'd say my mobility is much better than most 60+ people, perhaps better than a lot of 50+ people. My shoulders are in good shape, back too. I stay away from inverting as much as possible, avoid getting stacked at all costs (I'll tap quick if I get stuck there). My mobility routine covers my entire body but is focused waist & below. My ankles are really tight ... I need to work on them more.
i’m 18 and i can invert fully with my knees on the floor but i have terrible shoulder mobility and tap to shoulder locks almost instantly unfortunately
Decent. I do roughly daily (or bi-daily) work, static, dynamic and PNF work and some other stuff like nerve flossing. I go to a company called Stretched to do assisted stretching, aiming for once per month.
Still a little tight in the hamstrings and need to extend the range of motion where my shoulder feels secure.
42, but I feel my mobility and flexibility are still pretty good. I still feel like shit and ariff at times though.
I every once in awhile search mobility on social media and just emulate some of the stuff I see. I just try to have fun with it, I’ve never done a strict mobility centered plan.
42 y.o. blue belt with history of traumatic injuries. YOGA. And give yourself time to stretch before and after every BJJ session. The body will defy you, your will must be strong.
48 and sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe &$^#. Broke a couple of vertebrae in my lower back as a kid, so it hinders some of my back flexibility. That said, I can still lay flat on my back, bring my feet over my head, and touch the mat with my toes, even with a bit of a belly. Hip flexibility sucks, shoulders are a bit cooked from past injuries.
Worst then plenty of training partners but better than most. Stretching is cool but even more important is moving through range. Cossack squats, squats ass to grass. Various shoulder mobility lifts with very light weight. Zombie matches, duck walks, bear crawls etc. as corny as that animal movement stuff is that's generally more beneficial than just stretching out a weak tight muscle
I’m 34, have found some stretches for hamstrings and hip abductors have made a huge difference for me in terms of mobility as well as keeping my knees feeling safer.
Yoga is incredible for this.
I have good/great hip external mobility. My hip internal mobility is bad, and my shoulders are even worse. My ankles are also not great (I can't kneel on my feet for long). About average hamstring mobility.
On the mats it honestly doesnt feel that bad. The second I get off the mats my fingers, my knees, and my hips dissolve and I'm in mild pain and move like an old man.
I've been following this guys videos lately and have been really liking them. https://youtu.be/mTk2i_Jlpyk?si=-BLGe6dK133kq4Uz
34, I feel like my overall mobility is good. I’ve gotten more into yoga in the last year, trying to get ahead of any potential mobility issues and help old injuries feel less shitty.
31 and I’ve always had natural flexibility. Only thing I’m noticing as I get into my 30s is I have to be intentional about stretching more. Used to be something I’d do for 3-5 minutes before jumping into something, but never really took seriously. Now, stretching and foam roll a full 20-30 minute block several days per week. In addition to jiu jitsu, im also a runner. My body can’t keep up if I don’t stretch.
49 yr old - been training for just over a year - I train twice a week and try to get a private lesson in every other week - the other days I am working on cardio and stretching especially the muscles that are need to do BJJ like hip flexors, abductors, and the like. Although not necessarily enjoyable, the stretching is a real essential for mobility, especially as we get older.
34 y/o, 74kg, I'm the most flexible guy at my gym.
Ultimate Human Performance is the most comprehensive mobility program I've used and I've tried many. Eddie Bravo was talking about it on JRE one time so I managed to acquire a copy and haven't really bothered with anything else since. The entire routine takes me 60-90 minutes to complete but it's legit and I've stuck to this for the past 2-3 years.
Just a year older than you, 33. My shoulders are all messed up. But thankfully hips and knees are still good. I can invert with no issues and guard retention is still good. Luckily I can still place my legs behind my head, but any sort of torque from a kimura and or americana, I’m tapping right away. I just try my best to stretch as much as I can. No special videos other than simple stretches is all I do. Maybe try yoga like others have suggested or pilates too.
Look up PNF stretching. I just started doing it a week ago and it’s pretty amazing how quickly your body will adapt to it compared to regular static stretching.
32 and could not care less about mobility and never had issues with injuries and still can’t touch my toes. Pretty sure most mobility and stretching work doesn’t matter at this age.
18 and damn, I need help immediately. I'm only flexible in very specific parts of my body (shoulders, back, wrists, and a little bit of my neck). My mobility is actually pretty good, considering I haven't seen any position or drill in Jiu-Jitsu that I can't do yet. However, everything I do causes me pain. I have many injuries. For example, I can have very flexible wrists, which makes me immune to wrist locks, but if I rotate my wrists outward or inward, I feel a lot of pain. The same goes for my knees. I think that once I gain a lot of muscle mass, explosiveness, endurance, and strength, I'll prioritize mobility and flexibility.
I can put my palms on the floor, squat ass to grass, but can't do a proper plough pose. My side split is good enough for fundamental jiu-jitsu and lightly weighted cossack squats. I gave up most inversions in rolling a decade ago anyway.
Steve Maxwell and the Bulletproof for BJJ guys have the best mobility content for jiu-jitsu imo.
Being really flexible isn't necessarily a great idea as you age. I know a number of strikers who developed full side split and were fantastic kickers but required double hip resurfacing or replacement in their late 50s or early 60s. Bill Wallace is one such example. I'm no expert, but I think lots of rounds kicking heavy bags at extreme range of flexibility is probably the major contributing factor. A kempo guy I know said that all his kempo friends have had few hip problems because they avoid high kicks, where many of the TKD people they mix with have required surgery at similar ages.
50 and mine is WAY better than it was pre BJJ, still not great but I've spent so long just training bench and deadlift it's not overly surprising. I had some serious hip issues which resulted in a replacement 5 years ago.
49, and I think it's decent? Depends on what the criteria are, of course. I've always had decent mobility, I can stuff my big toe in my mouth if I want (I don't recommend it after being on the mat though), I have 20cm left before I can do a front split. Shoulders are somewhat stiffer, but not compared to most people my age, I have a desk job.
I think just generally moving, you know getting into squats, bending and twisting regularly, accepting a bit of discomfort at the end of the range, just moving, basically. I went through lumbar fusion a year and a half ago (today it's 18 months actually), and my mobility dropped in the first three months. Then I started bending and moving again, and in a few weeks I could touch my toes, and then after a while I could put my head on my knees again. You just have to move.
But the truth is, I don't think my age has much to do with it. My mobility has always sucked. In elementary school we did the sit and reach test and I was dead last in my class. I don't know why but I've always been horrible with flexibility and stretching doesn't seem to help.
Nearly 40. My mobility is mixed. Not great, but not bad. I did Yoga for three months but I didnt see a lot of improvement. Now I do the Fabulous 50 hip mobility videos daily. I'm seeing a good improvement.
39, and I'm actually surprised by mine so far. But I've been able to stay away from any major injuries and don't try to test my mobility to extremes. But I'm also 5'8" 160, so my mobility is probably just default setting for a guy my size🤣
I did yoga for years and tbh while it was really fun I didn't actually find it improved my mobility that much. In the last couple of years I made step changes through first doing kin stretch / PAILS RAILS kind of stuff and then latterly heavy barbell lifting. The common thread between kin stretch, barbells and mobility is putting load through joints through their full range of motion.
In two years I've gone from barely being able to lift my hips off the ground to being comfortable inverting into bolos and all kinds of shit.
Everyone's body is different obviously but that progression has really worked for me. In that order as I don't think I had the mobility for eg a low squat past parallel before doing the previous rounds of bodyweight mobility.
Edit: search YouTube for PAILS and RAILS and starting strength for barbells
37.... Not quite as good as it was late teens-mid 20s but next it's been since late 20s/early 30s. Adding yoga 1x/week + general mobility/stretching sessions 1-3x a week has been huge.
Yoga is your friend, tons of resources on YT
Also kneesovertoesguy is an amazing resource for knee health
Started doing yoga twice a week after my hips got so tight I couldn't even attempt a proper guard retention. Took about 3 months before I noticed real differences on the mat. Now I'm 38 and moving better than I did at 30. Yoga with Adriene has a ton of hip opener stuff that actually translates.
It used to be. 2 / week gave me amazing results over 3/4 months, but that was 15 years ago. Now, I been doing 2 / week and it doesn’t help at all. Still can’t touch my toes.
That being said: the down dog app is great for adjusting difficulty, length of session, taking it on the go. There’s like a million free resources but this app actually makes it easier.
I’ve found the main benefit for me (I’m already pretty flexible) is in posture improvement, better breathing and activating my thoracic spine more. When I train I tend to be very curled up and favor one side.
You need private sessions with someone who can target your needs, specifically. At a certain point, doing the same things over and over that aren't for your needs aren't going to have any effect.
Ive never seen private yoga sessions. I use the app like that tho. It is what it is imo. I don’t get as much results as I used to and there’s only so much time I can put into it.
Another vote for the downdog app! The other options like boost (body part to focus on like shoulders or hamstrings), level of verbal cues etc. is great.
Ddpyoga is incredible
45 and it's trash. It's always been trash, so I can't even blame my age.
I did the Functional Movement Screen cert 1&2 and learned a ton of actionable stuff. Lately I'm getting good results from KneesOverToes/ATG.
It's a journey.
I just turned 47 and my mobility is awesome. I’m maybe the most flexible person at my academy and certainly the most flexible man. People always say things like “I wish I was as flexible as you” and I tell them that anyone can become flexible, they just have to set a routine and stick to it. Most people don’t have the patience for it.
My stretching routine includes:
• pigeon pose on both sides
• A modified plow position where I flow from prone, roll up on one shoulder to plow, then down the opposite shoulder to return to prone
• Seated single leg forward fold on both sides
• standing forward fold
• Wide angle seated forward fold
• butterfly stretch
It takes me about ten minutes.
Out of curiosity how good were you before you started this regime? I’m 48 and have good flexibility and mobility. When I used to row competitively we had a physio who checked us all out and asked what my routine was because she considered me abnormally flexible. But my routine at the time was the same as now - absolutely nothing. I don’t warm up, I don’t cool down, I don’t do any mobility work in between BJJ. I’m sure I could be better but think some people are just naturally fortunate.
Exactly. Many physios do stretches all the time, between clients. But most aren't super flexible. Sometimes people have natural talent but they like to boast about working hard.
I’ve been stretching since I was a teenager. I certainly haven’t done it every day, and I’ve fallen out of the habit a few times for extended periods of time. But since starting bjj a decade ago, I’ve done this routine basically every time I train.
So to answer your question, I had good mobility before starting. I did not have good mobility when I was a teenager
40 and not great. Ive started taking a hot yoga class earlier this year. Its just once a week. My mobility hasn't improved significantly, but my lower back has. My body just generally feels better. Less creaky.
I’ve (34) been doing hot yoga for a few months and my body feels so much better. Its stopped sounding like stepping on bubble wrap every time I stretch. Its what got me back to the point I could start BJJ.
Honest question! Can I just do yoga in like … a lot of clothes? Or do I need to crank the heat up?
I wouldn’t try to do hot yoga outside of a studio designed for it.
You don’t have to do hot yoga. I think a bit of heat helps warm the muscles up, and I love getting a good sweat going, but the yoga itself is more important.
The style of yoga is more important; while its not bad, you wont see as much improvement with yoga that focuses on static stretching. The yoga that helps with mobility is generally called ‘flow’ or power yoga; the particular style I practice is called vinyasa.
A+ reply. Thank you.
I’m fortunate not to struggle with flexibility but I do hot yoga every few years (in particular the Bikram series though no one calls it that now because Bikram is personal non grata). It’s a great diagnostic as I can tell particular areas that are troubling me due to difficulties with certain poses.
Too time consuming (90 minutes classes!) for me to do regularly alongside BJJ but always enjoy it when I go.
I’ve done Bikram (or whatever its called these days) and don’t hate it, but my issue with it is that its too static. Bikram is all about holding and deepening into poses rather than moving through them.
My goal with yoga these days is less absolute flexibility and more overall mobility, which static forms of yoga aren’t super helpful for.
Don’t ask me homey
I’m 44 and focus more on getting good angles than flexibility. Basic stretching.
Check out Leslie Fightmaster yoga on YouTube. Despite the name she has nothing to do with MMA.
I’m 36 and as spry as any of the 20 year olds in the gym (well… not all). I attribute that to years of single player BJJ before I ever stepped foot in a gym. Now that I’ve started doing involuntary yoga with friends my yoga game has gone thru the roof (tho I don’t do it as much since I’m spending so much time wrastlin).
Leslie herself passed away a few years ago and one of her students picked up the mat, but I recommend going back in the channel and watching the OG herself.
TLDR yoga
There is a YouTube called “yoga for BJJ” it’s really good! And they have 15-30 minute follow alongs. I used that to build my own 30 minute routine. I do BJJ 3x week and try todo yoga everyday. I’m 32 and not flexible but I’m trying damnit lol
39, super heavyweight, body is pretty busted from years in the army and doing manual labor out of it....
That considered it's pretty alright, I can invert, Granby roll (can't get both feet on the ground at the same time tho), touch one of my heels to my butt, one of my shoulders has pretty good mobility, put my palms on the mat with my knees locked, etc.. nothing freakish but considering 8yr ago I couldn't bend over to tie my boots it's way better.
I stretch for about a half hour before class... Get my back, shoulders, hips, knees and neck as warmed up and loose as I can... That's about it.
I like this video by Foundation Training, especially with any lower back, hamstring, and hip tightness: https://youtu.be/4BOTvaRaDjI?si=YWi-ksPIAugNfv6F
Try to do it a couple times a week, and incorporate parts into warm ups/movement throughout the day.
This is 100% the best video if your back is sore. It is immediate relief, and then doing it for a while makes it so you don't get hurt. I am happy to see it recommended.
32 also. Hot yoga is the answer. Hot yoga
I'm 55 and don't know what normal mobility is for my age. I don't have any issues on the mat. I hit at least 5 classes a week.
People suggesting yoga and stretching are well intentioned but are not really giving evidence based suggestions.
Since mobility is activity specific your best bet is to lift weights in positions which transfer well to bjj with a full range of motion.
Deficit RLDs with less emphasis on weight and more emphasis on the stretch, Side lateral raises with a light weight going beyond parallel almost touching the dumbbells at the top, Jefferson Curls, cambered bar bench press, incline bench dumbbell curls with an emphasis on the stretch, overhead triceps extension on a cable, rows with a cambered or w bar, deep paused squats with the heel elevated, deep Bulgarian split squats with the front foot elevated.
All of these lifts if done with full range of motion, add more to your mobility in a very relevant way than that yoga shit.
You want mobility, not flexibility, resistance training with an emphasis on full range of motion and progressive overload is way more important than the yoga guys are recommending you do.
This is what people need to here. Lifting heavy this year has turned me from a top specialist who felt like a turtle on their back if I got swept into a pretty decent guard player inverting into legs and all sorts
35, have hip dysplasia, no amount of yoga is gonna fix it
If you have an iPhone, Apple Fitness+ is $10 a month and has tons of yoga routines. If you're like me and just want to follow along, I highly recommend it. If you prefer to put together your own routines there is a ton of stuff on YouTube.
I'm in my 40s but got into calisthenics and mobility training as a crazy overweight office worker in my mid 30s and it changed my life. I went from struggling to walk up stairs to being able to do muscle ups and hand stand push ups.
I used a lot of stuff from GMB fitness and it's helped me so much. There's a lot of resources out there. I was in way better shape focusing on calisthenics than BJJ, but BJJ is way more fun. I need to find a healthy balance.
35, still able to damn near do the splits in both directions, good hamstrings and hip rotation. Shoulders are meh on the ROM and my knees are better than they were in my 20s.
Just staying limber and working out moderately has kept me going. Nothing special I guess, just stretching.
42, born with club feet both legs…. Surgically corrected then Achilles lengthening operations later on. Parents pushed me to do heaps of sports… boxing, football/soccer, rugby, rugby league, cricket etc. Always had to work on mobility but even more so now. Hyper mobile hips so it can affect my back but compared to other people that have had the same procedures I have great mobility. Dorsiflexion in both feet isn’t great hence the back needs heaps of work.
Found the best bang for buck over the years is single leg strengthening, core strengthening, extensive stretching but not aimlessly… figuring out what’s tight and targeting that and reassessing regularly. Check out Paul Chek’s stuff on core and stretching. Then foam rolling and lacrosse ball work - I have the supple leopard book which is my bible for this stuff. Also for me foot and big toe work is massive…. Obviously it’s the start of your kinetic chain so is super important also bulletproof for Bjj is good too… I’ve heaps of experience with this stuff from a lifetime of trying to stay healthy. Guessing it works… made it to black belt and still relatively healthy body wise. I see other people at similar age who’ve had same procedures as me and they’re walking with sticks and other aids. Consistency is the secret to everything…. Also regular evaluation 🤙
I’m 34. My mobility is actually pretty good these days, though it was utter trash for years when I let myself get out of shape because of a bulging disc.
Static stretching isn’t really the best way to develop mobility, since it doesn’t involve much movement; if you want mobility, you need to be, well, mobile.
The way I got my mobility back was doing power yoga. I do a class (a hot vinyasa yoga class), but you should be able to find power yoga routine on youtube. Doing squats (back and front) are also great for mobility if you hit the proper depth.
(Obviously a whitebelt here so take what I take with a grain of salt as it pertains to bjj, but I was formerlly a football player through the college level (D3) and was later in the Navy, so I’m not really a stranger when it comes to physical training.)
48 and it's definitely not as good as it used to be. It's not terrible, but it used was better 7 or 8 yesrs ago.
Turning 35. I started TKD at a young age and kept my flexibility from it since them. Stretch machine!
34, 70kg and decent mobility. Can touch my toes, do a butt to floor squat and sit in it comfortably etc. My side split mobility is dogshit though, needs work.
I'd give myself the mantle of average mobility, and I try to keep on top of it as often as I can. I've recently discovered Tom Morrison on YouTube and he's been great, plenty of free stuff and follow alongs.
I've seen some mobility courses on bjj fanatics too like yoga for bjj or pilates for bjj. I'd say they're worth a punt really if the price is right.
I’ve been following Mady Morrison on YouTube for years, and her workouts have improved my performance on so many levels. I chose her channel because she doesn’t talk, just music, which makes it much easier to stick with, especially since I try to do it every morning
I am 39. I would characterize my mobility as quite good, but there is always room for improvement.
hip openers are great and easy. when im home just watching tv or doomscrolling I sit on the floor and hold a position for as long as possible. Even a basic ass “reach for your feet” is beneficial
35 and not that good but I’m working on it
i am 36 and have had extreme hip mobility for as long as i can remember, but other areas not so good. I can do a 'mikey squat' for example. never did anything for it. i also had hip labrum surgery so in some other directions i have really poor mobility. pretty weird.
42, decent mobility but I didn’t hop into BJJ under conditioned. I’ve always maintained a steady gym routine that incorporated mobility/joint health and had a job where I was in my feet, moving, climbing for years. I’m not as limber as the young guys, but it also gives me ideas on how to add in certain things to strengthen for my exercise planning
27 almost 28
Non existing, especially upper body
52 and ok, relatively speaking. My groin is the one constant problem. It’s like beef jerky, especially in an early morning class
I'm 33 and these stretches helped me a bunch.
90/90s, Pigeon pose, Frog stretch, Thread the needle, Slavic squats, Toe touches
It takes a while, but dedicating 10-15 mins a day is going to make a big difference
33 and pretty poor. Doesn’t help that I’m fat.
I'm 37, I think I have above average mobility. I get a lot of comments on my hip mobility while rolling because I can slip in butterfly hooks with almost no space, and I go to butterfly half constantly. I do a 5-10 minute mobility routine before every class and that's it. It's basically just joint rotations from head down to feet, plus judo-style leg swings, and a few yoga poses like lizard and pigeon and Cossack squat.
Check out the local yoga studio for some inspiration
32 and I’m deceptively flexible with my legs for a big guy lol
43 and I feel like I'm carved out of stone. I'm like the tin man with no oil.
30s. I am one of the most flexible people in my gym. I can easily high kick above my head and touch my toes while doing so. I can almost do the side splits, but I’m scared so I’ve never directly trained for it.
Daily stretches include hamstring, calf, quad, adductors, abductors/glutes. This keeps me limber. Resistance training using full range of is also the key for me. I make sure to warmup before sessions by moving all of my joints through their full range of motion as a I slowly increase the speed of the movement. I also make sure I don’t sit for extended periods of time without walking for a few minutes in between
There’s a video on YouTube called how to get flexible one time forever. And it’s deffo the best I’ve found. I’ve been down a massive rabbit hole on the best way to get flexible n that video n my research basically boiled down to, pnf stretching 2/3 per week is the best way to get flexible. Pnf is basically resisted stretches at end range. You can also started loading it with weights when you get more advanced. I just do pnf stretches twice per week. 3 sets of 10 second holds at end range for my ankles, hips and spine. Stay consistent n you will see gains. I started from the worse flexibility in the whole gym to now being like average / okay
just did a session of this, damn my hamstrings are on fire. thanks for the vid
My skeleton shatters when my head falls off my pillow
Most of my mobility that was holding me back was in the hips and quite a few years ago before I even started training jujutsu I used to do this program. https://youtu.be/xT_WB7V9ZJ0?si=yvHe7x0jw-qLMADq agile 8. Really focuses on loosening up . Also helped my back pain.
i have one mobility exercise that helped my hips a lot and that’s seated good mornings. life changing rly
Bit out of date but here is a list of mostly free resources I composed a few years ago. (I started BJJ in my 30s, now later 40s, and overall have good mobility despite obstacles)
https://drdos.website/bjj/youtube-channel-suggestions/#yoga
59 and it's straight up shite.
Yoga is the answer. Did yoga for years starting at age 20 and now in my mid 30s I’ve retained a lot of that flexibility. 40 mins 2-3x a week helps a lot.
Surprisingly using a foam roller has really helped my flexibility. Even as a kid, I wasn't flexible and couldn't touch my toes but rolling out, I have found it to really increase my flexibility. My Crossfit coach used to always give me a hard time-she would say, I don't know how you do Jiu Jitsu with being so inflexible.
47f / purple belt with spinal fusion T1-L3. I have no mobility in my back because of the fusion, but my hips are good. Pilates 30 min at least every other day is awesome for core, lower back and hips.
I’m 38 and do yoga every morning, have for some time. I’ve also built up my engine over the years so my conditioning is through the roof and I run trails once a week during winter in AZ.
On top of that, I do strength and conditioning once a week, sometimes twice, at my gym that involves all sorts of exercises with weights, body weights, kettlebells, Echo bike, treadmill, all sorts of stuff that’s done in MMA cardio/strength HIIT circuits.
All that combined, I’m extremely mobile and have never felt better or stronger. I always say I’d love to go back in time and beat up my 21 year old self cause I thought I was so strong then but uh, nah. 😂
Start doing yoga and stay consistent. It’s guaranteed results and you’ll feel much better overall, mentally and physically. It’s one of the best fitness decisions I ever made in my life.
I do Astanga yoga and its great for bjj
42, black belt, doing yoga for two decades. AMA. Just had knee surgery 3 weeks ago and I’m back rolling. PT and doc said it’s due to yoga. So, yeah. I still lift just not heavy. If you can find a good ashtanga or vinyasa teacher around you (lmk where you are and I can make recos) you’ll learn some good “yoga alignment.” Also, stretch after rolling, almost immediately. The taxed muscles will get stronger from stretching after, and the heat from rolling will allow to breath a bit easier in the poses.
Yoga with Adrianna is solid YT channel. Just do her 30 day stuff. Consistency is very key imo. I went from decently flexible to Gumby during covid bc of yoga. Now I stretch while watching tv so I always have time for it
28 and still feeling good so far….
32, light stretches everyday, walk my dog about 30-45 min everyday for joint mobility, just throwing this out there for myself, but being sober definitely helped with soreness recovery and stiffness. Especially since I have arthritis in my ankles.
50 next month. Even as a kid I had horrible flexibility but I can move my body really well for my make and model.
43 and it’s OKish for bjj but overall better than most guys my age. I also do Muay Thai so that might be helping as well.
Can kick above my head but somehow can’t do anything near a split.
Just listened to the BJJ Mental Model episode with the yoga guy yesterday.
BJJ MM ep- https://youtu.be/DOGnjqsqMKY?si=SnCEsPLpV_V2ixgA
Yoga vids- https://youtu.be/a9ucW32RdFQ?si=x9kaIkRB0l56NbVO
https://youtu.be/Wns78rDPbYM?si=nnRujCgV6IzCpnPd
42, 6'6" 300lbs, people are generally impressed by my mobility. My left knee lost a bit of range after a knee surgery a couple of years ago, but overall I'm not usually limited by mobility at all. Find some stretches and do them often. Try holding a deep unweighted squat every day, and try to lengthen the time whenever you can. But also, yoga!
I'm 32. I don't particularly do a lot of stretching, but I work out a few times a week outside of BJJ and that seems to help a lot. I definitely can't jump straight into rolling as fast as I could when I was in my early 20s, but other than that, I feel like my mobility is pretty solid.
The biggest thing for me is mostly just making sure I don't have days of 0 movement, and definitely not consecutive days of 0 movement. Being sedentary, and in particular sitting at a desk all day, has a very noticeable detrimental effect that I have to make sure to counteract with movement every day or it becomes cumulative.
31m, shit. fuck i should train this alongside my dailys
I use the GoWod App.
I’m 50! My mobility is pretty good but I train 5-6 days a week—some days harder than others. I’m a small guy for what it’s worth. In terms of maintaining and improving mobility be sure that if you’re stretching it’s not just passive stretching. You need strength and mobility. Slow yoga is very good for this provided you have a good teacher, tai chi is also really hreat for this. I mention these modalities because they benefit you for life and help with daily mobility in general. They also activate your brain. I get a bit bored with doing just movement for the sake of mobility. If these two suggestions are if no interest getting with a good sport PT/mobility trainer can help so they can provide a good routine and be sure you are doing the movements correctly to prevent injury or strain.
35 and complete dogshit. Tried mobility work, stretching etc for 4 months pretty much daily without any real results so i quit that BS and continued with strenght training.
32 and mobility is great, def one of the most flexible people in my gym. But that also comes from practicing yoga for about 10 years or so
38 and the oak tree in my garden has more mobility
37, and not bad. Yoga, weight lifting, and trying to be as active as possible during the day.
In my thirties. What helped me the most by far was loaded stretching I learned from the kneesovertoes guy.
30s with zero mobility. I’m as stiff as morning Wood.
My mobility was good, then I got distracted trying to hit some big PRs for about a year and a half, and my mobility went to shit. So bad I couldn't sleep at night for aches and pains.
Then I remembered yoga, swapped that in for 1 or 2 workouts per week, and now life is grand again.
Here's a decent one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc4JwpXwdcI
Sometimes I do one of the "Power Yoga" videos from this channel, sometimes I do one of the P90x yoga videos, and sometimes I just put on music and make it up as I go along.
My flexibility was so bad when I started my coach literally thought I was going to quit. Now I invert regularly and people often call me flexible. I still can’t squat low for my life but I’m not limited to certain moves anymore from a lack of it. Touch your damn toes everyday. Forward folds. Knees to chest. Criss cross apple sauce. knees to floor. Sit on your heels. Obviously I don’t know the terminology but any and all stretches will help be consistent and you’ll get there.
Almost 37 with just about 25 years of skateboarding and never stretching. I’m pretty beat up.
I stretch now. My mobility sucks and I’ve been working on it with a private trainer in the gym. Might try yoga but don’t know where to start.
I’m 32 I’m blessed to say my mobility is great
36 and have been better, but I am working on it 💪
Pigeon pose, Pike, whatever calf stretch, 90/90, elephant walks. Don't complicate it, just do it. If you want to invert, start inverting for like 15 seconds at a time and build up. Learn to invert well (Mikey has a good video on this but idk if its on youtube)
Strenght side on youtube is great for that kind of stuff
45, mobility isn't good but I'm not the worst, especially compared to other grey beards.
I like the gowod app a lot for brainless work that seems like it helps.
There's a little sequence for bjj where you take a kneeling split stance and do a "knight stretch, single leg hamstring stretch, a deep lunge where you put the same side elbow to the ground, and finish with a pigeon pose. A minute on each stretch daily (or as close to it as possible) and things will start to open up after a couple weeks.
61 and I'd say my mobility is much better than most 60+ people, perhaps better than a lot of 50+ people. My shoulders are in good shape, back too. I stay away from inverting as much as possible, avoid getting stacked at all costs (I'll tap quick if I get stuck there). My mobility routine covers my entire body but is focused waist & below. My ankles are really tight ... I need to work on them more.
47 and im more mobile than young guys. Just dont be lazy and train it like any other atribute or skill
i’m 18 and i can invert fully with my knees on the floor but i have terrible shoulder mobility and tap to shoulder locks almost instantly unfortunately
69 - can stand and put my hands flat on the floor. Decent amount of leg flexibility. No real issues. Stretching in a hot sauna helps me a lot.
Still a little tight in the hamstrings and need to extend the range of motion where my shoulder feels secure.
42, but I feel my mobility and flexibility are still pretty good. I still feel like shit and ariff at times though.
I every once in awhile search mobility on social media and just emulate some of the stuff I see. I just try to have fun with it, I’ve never done a strict mobility centered plan.
40 almost 41. Still super flexible. I laugh at deep half. Been lucky enough to be flexible my whole life without having to do crazy stretching.
42 y.o. blue belt with history of traumatic injuries. YOGA. And give yourself time to stretch before and after every BJJ session. The body will defy you, your will must be strong.
48 and sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe &$^#. Broke a couple of vertebrae in my lower back as a kid, so it hinders some of my back flexibility. That said, I can still lay flat on my back, bring my feet over my head, and touch the mat with my toes, even with a bit of a belly. Hip flexibility sucks, shoulders are a bit cooked from past injuries.
I’m 34, have found some stretches for hamstrings and hip abductors have made a huge difference for me in terms of mobility as well as keeping my knees feeling safer. Yoga is incredible for this.
10 minutes of mobility yoga every morning my friend.
do you have a specific focus?
identifying that list accurately is half the battle.
49 it's pretty good. I became a yoga teacher because of BJJ. More flexible than most of the 20 year olds I train with.
Stretch every day and you'll see benefits. If you have someone to assist you so you can get deeper into the stretch, that will help a lot.
Stretch your quads with the lightning pose. Helps tremendously with knee and lower back pain.
33 mobility is trash
Better than most 20 somethings at 37. I've been blessed with good knees despite growing up wrestling
Early 40s and pretty good. I climb ladders and roof etc and do outdoor carpentry for a living and so it keeps me young lol.
36 pretty good. No real pain I stretch and lift most days stretch before bed and active stretch before working out or BJJ.
40+, never stretch, and fine.
People overthink it.
about to turn 39. My mobility is the best it has ever been. Better than when I was a teenager playing varsity hockey and football.
Knees over toes. Lifting. yoga.
DO IT
https://youtu.be/mTk2i_Jlpyk?si=-BLGe6dK133kq4Uz
34, I feel like my overall mobility is good. I’ve gotten more into yoga in the last year, trying to get ahead of any potential mobility issues and help old injuries feel less shitty.
31 and I’ve always had natural flexibility. Only thing I’m noticing as I get into my 30s is I have to be intentional about stretching more. Used to be something I’d do for 3-5 minutes before jumping into something, but never really took seriously. Now, stretching and foam roll a full 20-30 minute block several days per week. In addition to jiu jitsu, im also a runner. My body can’t keep up if I don’t stretch.
Yoga for BJJ
49 yr old - been training for just over a year - I train twice a week and try to get a private lesson in every other week - the other days I am working on cardio and stretching especially the muscles that are need to do BJJ like hip flexors, abductors, and the like. Although not necessarily enjoyable, the stretching is a real essential for mobility, especially as we get older.
I did DDP yoga and developed crazy mobility
34 y/o, 74kg, I'm the most flexible guy at my gym.
Ultimate Human Performance is the most comprehensive mobility program I've used and I've tried many. Eddie Bravo was talking about it on JRE one time so I managed to acquire a copy and haven't really bothered with anything else since. The entire routine takes me 60-90 minutes to complete but it's legit and I've stuck to this for the past 2-3 years.
45 and my mobility is shot
50 and its great. And I'm terrified of having it messed up by a BJJ injury that makes me have to stop all exercise for a while.
18, I have incredible mobility 🙂
Just a year older than you, 33. My shoulders are all messed up. But thankfully hips and knees are still good. I can invert with no issues and guard retention is still good. Luckily I can still place my legs behind my head, but any sort of torque from a kimura and or americana, I’m tapping right away. I just try my best to stretch as much as I can. No special videos other than simple stretches is all I do. Maybe try yoga like others have suggested or pilates too.
Look up PNF stretching. I just started doing it a week ago and it’s pretty amazing how quickly your body will adapt to it compared to regular static stretching.
32 and could not care less about mobility and never had issues with injuries and still can’t touch my toes. Pretty sure most mobility and stretching work doesn’t matter at this age.
If you have submeta.io check out Lachlan Gile's Stretching for Grappling course. Dude is also a PhD in Physiotherapy.
18 and damn, I need help immediately. I'm only flexible in very specific parts of my body (shoulders, back, wrists, and a little bit of my neck). My mobility is actually pretty good, considering I haven't seen any position or drill in Jiu-Jitsu that I can't do yet. However, everything I do causes me pain. I have many injuries. For example, I can have very flexible wrists, which makes me immune to wrist locks, but if I rotate my wrists outward or inward, I feel a lot of pain. The same goes for my knees. I think that once I gain a lot of muscle mass, explosiveness, endurance, and strength, I'll prioritize mobility and flexibility.
Animal flow 👍
Steve Maxwell and the Bulletproof for BJJ guys have the best mobility content for jiu-jitsu imo.
Being really flexible isn't necessarily a great idea as you age. I know a number of strikers who developed full side split and were fantastic kickers but required double hip resurfacing or replacement in their late 50s or early 60s. Bill Wallace is one such example. I'm no expert, but I think lots of rounds kicking heavy bags at extreme range of flexibility is probably the major contributing factor. A kempo guy I know said that all his kempo friends have had few hip problems because they avoid high kicks, where many of the TKD people they mix with have required surgery at similar ages.
I'm 33. Yin Yoga was very helpful for me.
67 work pro patrol T Norquay. Enough said.
50 and mine is WAY better than it was pre BJJ, still not great but I've spent so long just training bench and deadlift it's not overly surprising. I had some serious hip issues which resulted in a replacement 5 years ago.
29, just started BJJ and my mobility (or lack thereof) has been so humbling but this post makes me feel better
I know there's probably too many comments here already but I think it's important to point out
Stretching does not equal mobility.. to a point
Stretching is how far your limb/whatever can be moved
Mobility is how far you can move it yourself without external help (ie pulling with hands/body weight against the floor)
So stretching a lot does not guarantee you can move to that depth on your own, you have to practise the movement itself
Hope that helps
Never did any stretching, but I'm very flexible. 35.
49, and I think it's decent? Depends on what the criteria are, of course. I've always had decent mobility, I can stuff my big toe in my mouth if I want (I don't recommend it after being on the mat though), I have 20cm left before I can do a front split. Shoulders are somewhat stiffer, but not compared to most people my age, I have a desk job.
I think just generally moving, you know getting into squats, bending and twisting regularly, accepting a bit of discomfort at the end of the range, just moving, basically. I went through lumbar fusion a year and a half ago (today it's 18 months actually), and my mobility dropped in the first three months. Then I started bending and moving again, and in a few weeks I could touch my toes, and then after a while I could put my head on my knees again. You just have to move.
I'm 49 and my mobility sucks.
But the truth is, I don't think my age has much to do with it. My mobility has always sucked. In elementary school we did the sit and reach test and I was dead last in my class. I don't know why but I've always been horrible with flexibility and stretching doesn't seem to help.
Nearly 40. My mobility is mixed. Not great, but not bad. I did Yoga for three months but I didnt see a lot of improvement. Now I do the Fabulous 50 hip mobility videos daily. I'm seeing a good improvement.
I would say on this topic that there’s too much of it on YouTube. Has fit is your friend
I'm over 30 and i can put my legs behind my head without using my hands. My knees can touch my ribs when i invert. Also my ankles bend to like 70°.
I never stretch or do anything related to mobility, thanks EDS
31
My mobility isn't bad, but my joints aren't always as good as I'd like them to be. There's plenty more agile people in my gym
40s. Flexibility was never great, but after staring kickboxing I noticed an improvement in both my cardio and mobility.
39, and I'm actually surprised by mine so far. But I've been able to stay away from any major injuries and don't try to test my mobility to extremes. But I'm also 5'8" 160, so my mobility is probably just default setting for a guy my size🤣
35 and hot yoga twice a week has honestly probably kept me training so frequently because before that I was getting hurt too much.
40. Don't work out or practice any stretching or anything outside of BJJ. I've always had good flexibility and core strength.
Luckily I haven't noticed any loss of mobility yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon. Or maybe it's happening gradually and I just haven't noticed.
I did yoga for years and tbh while it was really fun I didn't actually find it improved my mobility that much. In the last couple of years I made step changes through first doing kin stretch / PAILS RAILS kind of stuff and then latterly heavy barbell lifting. The common thread between kin stretch, barbells and mobility is putting load through joints through their full range of motion.
In two years I've gone from barely being able to lift my hips off the ground to being comfortable inverting into bolos and all kinds of shit.
Everyone's body is different obviously but that progression has really worked for me. In that order as I don't think I had the mobility for eg a low squat past parallel before doing the previous rounds of bodyweight mobility.
Edit: search YouTube for PAILS and RAILS and starting strength for barbells
37.... Not quite as good as it was late teens-mid 20s but next it's been since late 20s/early 30s. Adding yoga 1x/week + general mobility/stretching sessions 1-3x a week has been huge.
I'm 40 in 5 months ... I'm constantly active. I'm a farmer who lives in the north east, so I also cut my own fire wood for heat.
I train 7 days a week, and just won M2 no-gi worlds, light weight blue belt. AMA lol