Why Mobility Training is So Important and Powerful for Ultimate Frisbee Players
If you’ve been playing Ultimate for a while, you’ve probably run into some aches and pains, at the very least.
Many players, by the time they hit their 30s, are feeling “old,” and stuck in a constant cycle of pain, injuries, and frustration.
I got there by the time I was 24 (overachiever, ya know 😂). But fortunately things are much better now at 39.
A big reason we get stuck in these cycles is that we don’t fully recognize – or act like – the demands of Ultimate are staying the same.
And if we’ve struggled to stay healthy, feel confident, pain-free, and powerful on the field…
…that’s not going to change unless we change what we’re doing to prepare.
The demands of the sport are high: a ton of volume of running, cutting, and jumping with low rest or recovery time between practices and games.
If we want a realistic chance at feeling better, we need to elevate our body’s ability to handle these demands – and we can’t rely just on our lifting and field workouts.
If that worked long-term, we wouldn’t have these issues.
This is where smart, effective mobility training comes in. Let’s define it first by what it’s not.
Mobility training is not…
Just easy stretching
Limited to warm-ups and cooldowns
Easy “filler” exercises between lifts
The same exact thing for years with nothing changing
Now, what does mobility training do for us?
Smart, effective mobility training…
Allows us to handle more stress and still recover
Increases the efficiency and effectiveness of other training (lifting, speed, conditioning)
Helps us warm-up and recover more quickly and easily
Helps us improve our skills more easily → more effective and efficient practice
Hopefully that’s compelling. Now I’ll dive into exactly what I mean by mobility training.
Mobility training is internally-focused training, while most other training is externally-focused training.
This means we’re focusing more on what’s happening in and to the body than on optimizing a particular exercise.
For example, when I’m doing a Hip CAR (controlled articular rotation), I’m focusing only on moving my hip through its largest pain-free range of motion.
I’m paying attention to how it feels, what angles might need more attention, and I’m expressing every range possible to that hip.
When I’m doing a squat, I’m focusing on making the squat look and feel strong. I’m optimizing for the squat, not my hip.
Even when doing a “full range” squat, I’m not accessing every single motion available to my hip.
And importantly, the squat doesn’t know what my training target is. I’m not magically going to improve specific qualities of my hip simply by squatting (or lunging, or deadlifting).
I might improve some things, and lifting is still valuable, but it doesn’t address everything.
Mobility training allows us to focus on very specific priorities, which can be easy to miss with traditional lifting or other externally-focused exercises.
We might use some familiar movements or exercises in our mobility training, but it will be with a different intent: to create a specific adaptation in the body, rather than to optimize the exercise itself.
Speaking of specifics, here is what I recommend you start with to begin your mobility training journey:
1. Full Body CARs (Controlled Articular Rotations)
Try out this Intro to Upper Body CARs and this Lower Body CARs video.
See which joints feel like they could use the most love. Generally, I tell Ultimate players to prioritize the hips, shoulders, and ankles.
Next up,
2. Targeted Isometrics for Stiff, Painful, or Previously Injured Areas
Isometrics are contractions without movement. We can use them to reduce pain, improve mobility, and improve tendon/joint health.
Try some of these commonly irritated/tight areas:
There are many ways to adjust and progress CARs and Isometrics - this is just the tip of the mobility training iceberg. But it’s a very powerful tip.
And if you need some extra motivation to try it out, remember this:
CARs and Isometrics train our connective tissue (CT) far more effectively than lifting or field workouts.
The CT – joints, tendons, ligaments – is where many players develop pain, inflammation, and injuries. This is where we tend to degrade over the years if we don’t prioritize mobility.
And our muscles get strong and powerful, but our CT can't keep up, we can't fully express our strength and power.
But if we can train our CT to be stronger and healthier, we’ll be much better able to lift, condition, and play hard for the long-term.
So even if you’re the weird one among your teammates or gym buddies, it’s freakin’ worth it. Try out that mobility work, give it some real effort, and I know you’ll feel the difference.
If you want an Ultimate-specific program that shows exactly how to incorporate mobility work with strength and conditioning, check out my Ultimate Mobility Membership: https://www.skool.com/ultimate-mobility/about
We’ve got 100s of players in there bringing the joy and power back into their games 🙂
Hope you enjoyed this article,
Brian
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