We all know that mobility training is important, but a lot of people, including myself, tend to
prioritize training strength over mobility. It doesn't seem to matter initially because I was
learning all kinds of muscle-ups at a very fast pace, but things started to slow down. When I
learned the handstand, it took me way longer than it should because I lacked basic overhead shoulder
mobility. When I attempted the press handstand, it felt absolutely impossible because of my stiff
back, hips, and hamstrings. A lot of people told me the back lever is easier than the front lever,
so I tried it out of curiosity, but it felt impossible because of my lack of shoulder
extension mobility. A lot of people wanted to see me learn the planche, so again I tried it
out of curiosity, but it felt impossible because of my wrist mobility. Therefore,
I came to a very logical conclusion that I needed to start dedicating myself to training mobility
if I wanted to progress further in calisthenics. I decided to buy the mobility training program from
my favorite calisthenics Youtuber, the legendary blue shorts, Calisthenics Movement. I also want
to make it clear that this video is not sponsored. I happened to have the need for some guidance on
mobility work. On top of that, I learned so much from the free videos on their YouTube channel
and I feel compelled to support them. Prior to starting the mobility training, I decided to do
5 tests to measure my mobility. First, I tested the standing toe touch to measure my forward fold
mobility. I was able to get my fingertips to touch the ground. I tried to push further, but I almost
got a cramp because of it. Second, I tested the archer squat side bend position to measure my side
fold mobility. Since I never ever had to fold my body to the side, I was extremely stiff and could
barely bend my body to the side. Like an old man! I know it looks like I wasn't trying but in fact
I was trying pretty hard. Same situation for the other side. Third, I tested the sitting leg raise
to measure my compression mobility. This might look easy, but it's actually really hard. I could
barely lift my legs off the ground, and it felt like my core muscles might cramp at any moment.
Fourth, I tested the stick shoulder extension to measure my shoulder extension mobility. Since
I have never ever had to extend my arms backwards, I was pretty stiff and could barely lift the stick
up. Lastly, I tried out the easy bridge to see how mobile my entire front side was. It was doable but
it wasn't easy. The goal is eventually being able to do the back bridge. After doing the initial
measurements, I started following the mobility training program from Calimove. Besides what's
mentioned in the training program, I also want to say that it's very important to find a camera
to film yourself. There are a lot of techniques to memorize in order to do each exercise in the
correct form. In addition, it happens quite often that what your mind thinks your body is doing
is different from what your body is actually doing. Having yourself recorded in a video
will help minimize these problems. After training mobility for some time, I discovered that mobility
training was the perfect active rest day for me. I don't know why, but my muscles seemed to recover
faster from intense workouts like one-arm pull-up or weight training when the rest day was mobility
training instead of completely doing nothing. I also discovered that it's quite tricky to do
the back bridge. If I push mainly towards my lower body, it will be impossible to open up the chest.
If I mainly push towards the ceiling, it will be easier to open up the chest,
but it will be extremely difficult to straighten the arms. The force of the pushing direction
has to be a mix of up towards the ceiling and horizontally towards the lower body,
so that it's possible to open up the chest and at the same time straighten the arms.
I trained and trained and trained. I was making progress steadily. On day 78, this happened.
Oh, I got it. This has to be it. This has to be it! This has to be it, man.
Okay. Okay. Let's take a look. Therefore, on day 80, I decided to redo the 5 tests I did on day 1.
First, for the standing toe touch, I was super surprised to be able to get my entire palms on
the ground. This is a huge improvement that I never thought would be possible. It seems that
learning the press handstand is becoming more and more possible. Alright! Second, for the
archer squat side bend position, now I can bend a lot lower to the point where I can touch my toes.
This proves again that if you are a beginner at something, all you need to do is put in the work,
and you will see results, and I have similar improvements on the other side as well.
Third, for the sitting leg raise, I was able to lift my toes as high as to my neck.
This to me is also a huge improvement. Fourth, for stick shoulder extension, now I can almost
lift my arms all the way to 90 degrees. Maybe it's finally time to start seriously training for the
back lever. I just need to plan it out and find an opening to make it happen since I am training
for too many different things at the same time. Lastly, I have to move my camera to a better angle
to show you again my back bridge. I am very happy that I have improved my overhead shoulder mobility
to the next level, and also my spinal mobility in order to achieve this milestone. Thanks for
watching. Would increased mobility really speed up my progress in calisthenics? I hope so,
and if you are interested in finding it out, you should definitely subscribe for future videos.
If you are interested in mobility training, you should definitely click the link in the
video description below to check out the mobility training program from Calimove. Full disclosure,
the platform Calimove uses to host their training program allows me to generate a referral link,
and if you use my link to sign up for their mobility training program, I will receive a small
commission. If you google hard enough, can you possibly find every information by yourself that's
in the program? It's definitely possible, but if you value your time as I do,
it's definitely worth paying for distilled information that is organized by an expert.
Again, make sure to click the link in the video description below. See you in the next video.