Increasing Mobility for an Active Lifestyle

In order to stay active and continue participating in the activities you enjoy, you need to maintain your mobility, especially as you age. Fortunately, exercises and other fitness methods and practices can help people of any age increase their mobility and strength, so they can continue living a fulfilling life and pushing past their mental limits.

Ingrained & Balanced is a podcast about health, fitness, and a well-balanced lifestyle. On this episode, hosts Lonnie and Marty are joined by guest speaker Bobby Aldridge, a physiotherapist and educator of physical movement. With his program BAMmetrics, Bobby shares his proprietary system to fulfill his mission of helping people move with ease, grace, and power to eliminate pain, reduce the chance of injury, and maximize performance. 

Listen to Lonnie, Marty, and Bobby discuss mobility practices for maintaining an active lifestyle.

Introducing Bobby (0:00)

On this episode of the Engrained and Balanced Podcast, our hosts introduce Bobby, a physiotherapist with over three decades of experience as an athlete, student, and educator of physical movement. As a double division one college athlete playing basketball and baseball, Bobby faced an injury that impacted his athletic success, leading to his interest in prehab and rehab. Now he is the developer and founder of Bobby Aldridge Method (BAM)metrics. He is sharing his proprietary system used by professional athletes to help people increase mobility, unlock joints, and eliminate dysfunction while alleviating pain, preventing injury, and improving performance. 

Daily habits for physical health (2:27)

Bobby shares the habits he practices in the morning to start the day. As a 53-year-old, he shares how practicing runners stretches for mobility helps him feel better throughout the day. He explains that stretching throughout the day is a lifestyle people should adopt to feel better and improve their movement, strength, and functionality. Bobby, Lonnie, and Marty also discuss cold showers for inflammation and the best mobility exercises to perform in the evening to reduce pain.

Mobility Training and Powerlifting. (8:59)

Bobby and Marty discuss mobility and powerlifting and how to alleviate some of the pain that these exercises can involve. For example, practices like foam rolling and stretching before lifting can be helpful for taking out knots and stretching without causing pain. In addition, Bobby shares some of the key insights he learned about pain relief for powerlifting from other professionals in his field. 

The limits of what you can do. (14:59)

According to Bobby, mobility is critical to improving performance, reducing pain, and letting you do what you love. Although we often set limits for ourselves, Bobby explains how he and others have discovered their true physical potential through mobility training. By practicing his mobility exercises, he has increased his functionality and enabled his body to push past his mental limits. 

The power of the mind and strength (20:25)

Many adults, especially men, suffer from lower back pain. This can often stem from poor habits, like posture and diet. Bobby uses a balance ball, explaining that the more movement someone participates in, the less pain they experience. He also believes in the power of the mind when it comes to physical pain, in that the more you think about and focus on the pain, the more present the pain will seem. Bobby believes that the power of the mind can influence our perception of pain. Our speakers also discussed the cause of pain, the importance of being familiar with muscle groups and incorporating full squats into everyday life.

Soft tissue work, stretch, then lift. (27:28)

Soft tissue work and stretching before lifting are essential for avoid