I ran a marathon once. Emphasis on once. It was November 2011 and it was also the last time I ran anything that could be described as long-distance. Why? Because I don’t enjoy running. And I especially don’t enjoy running as a means of fat loss or cardio. Not because it doesn’t work. It can. Instead, it’s because I’ve simply found certain things to be more effective (like mobility circuits).
But I haven’t always known about mobility circuits.
Back in the day, running was my go-to. I ran every morning. Rain. Sleet. Snow. Didn’t matter, I’d wake up and pound the pavement. And when my mom told me she signed up for the Santa Barbara Marathon, I jumped at the chance to run my first race. I hadn’t ever run longer than a couple miles and was excited for the challenge of training.
Turns out, I was really good at distance running. Cool.
Distance running, however, wasn’t so good in return. Not to my body, at least. Uncool.
When I crossed the marathon finish line, I felt a lot more than the jubilation I had for being handed a banana as I finished the 26.2 miles. My ankles ached, my hips were unhappy, my knees were annoyed, and my achilles was angry.
Sure, running helped me be more fit. But at what cost?
Was losing a few pounds really worth the nagging aches and pains I felt from running?
There must be a better way. There is—well, are. There’s no universal best when it comes to fitness. Different things work better for different people. If running works best for you, awesome. Hats off.
It didn’t work best for me. Shoot, it didn’t even work that well. (I’m in better shape now than when I could crush a 6:13 pace for 20+ miles.) If you’re like me, don’t love running, and want—nay, need—a better way, I got your back.
Two words: mobility circuits.
I’m about to show you exactly how to work mobility circuits, the best cardio you’re not doing, into your program. But first, I have to explain something important.
Cardio Matters (Here’s Why)
In the last several years, there’s been a big push toward intense conditioning within the fitness world. Things like HIIT, Crossfit, and hardcore conditioning has become wildly popular. Mostly because they’re really effective. But high-intensity work is merely a piece of the puzzle.
Old school “cardio” isn’t dead. Low-intensity steady-state exercise (LISS) isn’t worthless. And it’s definitely not subservient to high-intensity interval training.
Both can (and should) be integral parts of a well-rounded training program. But I need to confess something…
My heart loves one more than the other. In fact, yours does too—like, literally. Even if you don’t realize it yet, your heart loves cardio. Because science. And a slew health benefits.
Do Cardio For the Health of It
“Doing cardio” simply means doing some form of exercise that elicits a cardiovascular response. In other words, something that increases heart rate over an extended period of time.
That can include everything from swimming and cycling to hiking and a rousing game of foosball. (Bt-dubs, if you’re not breaking a sweat during foosball, you’re doing it wrong.) And let’s not neglect jogging, the most classic of all the cardio.
Here are some of the health benefits you can get from cardio:
- Fat loss
- Stronger heart
- Stronger lungs
- Increased bone density
- Decreased stress
- Reduced risk of heart disease
- Reduced risk of certain types of cancer
- Better recovery
- Improved sleep
Amazing benefits, right? Even more amazing is that you don’t have to do what I did to get them. You don’t have to wake up and pound the pavement every morning to lose fat and improve overall health. I mean, you can. But if that doesn’t sound like a good time, you need to try mobility circuits.
What Is A Mobility Circuit?
Aside from a simple form of exercise you can do in your living room, mobility circuits are a fantastic way to get that health-boosting, fat-burning cardiovascular response.
They’re just like they sound, circuits filled with mobility exercises. To perform a mobility circuit, string together a series of mobility drills and perform them in a continuous, circuit-like fashion.
It’s that simple. And it’s simply effective.
Three Reasons Why Mobility Circuits Are Kinda the Best
1. The Health Benefits
Because they’ll increase your heart rate over an extended period of time, mobility circuits elicit a cardiovascular response and all of the health benefits that come along with that.
But it really shines as a means to boost recovery.
Any sort of physical activity will help your body recover. We have blood flow to thank for that. That’s why I often recommend brisk walks in the sore aftermath of a brutal leg day. Increased blood flow leads to better nutrient delivery and recovery.
Mobility circuits also help loosen tight muscles. Because dynamic stretching is built into the circuits themselves, your muscles not only receive the nutrients they need but also the mobility work to help them relax and recover.
2. Better Fat Loss
If fat loss is the primary goal, burning calories is a primary objective. Everything you do burns calories. But one thing will consistently burn more calories—inefficient movement.
The more efficiently you perform a movement, the fewer calories you’ll burn. If you’ve been running a mile every day for the last five years, you’ve gotten a lot better (read: more efficient) at running. Which is great if you want to be a runner, but not so great if you’re trying to burn fat. Thanks to increased efficiency of movement, you’re not burning as many calories today as you were a few hundred miles ago.
But this goes both ways.
The less efficiently you perform a movement, the more calories you’ll burn. For me, I’m all kinds of inefficient at dancing. (Unlike Shakira, my hips lie pathologically.) As a result, I burn calories like a madman on the rare occasion I go dancing. Which is great if I want to burn fat, but not so great if I want my dignity to remain intact.
Because burning more calories leads to better fat loss, an inefficient movement is a great way to lose fat.
Mobility drills are a perfect example of inefficient movement. Most people don’t perform mobility work efficiently, which makes it a great way to burn more fat.
3. A Happier Body
We’re all creatures of habit. We spend a lot of our time doing a lot of the same things. And the repetition leads to muscle imbalance and dysfunction.
A couple common imbalances can be found in the hips and shoulders.
Because we spend most of our day sitting down, on our phones, on the computer, or driving the car, most of us have overactive muscles in the hips and shoulders. As a result, our hip flexors get tight, shoulders round forward, and we feel it in our backs and necks.
If you’re in pain, your body isn’t happy.
Along with improving health and burning fat, a well-designed mobility circuit will also help your body be happier (aka, feel better). Can jogging help you improve health and lose fat? For sure. But it may take a toll on your body—especially your joints.
Mobility circuits give you the benefits of cardio without any backlash on the body.
Here Are A Few of My Favorite Drills to Use in Mobility Circuits:
Developmental Rolling
Deadbugs/Bird Dogs
“Broga”
Half-Kneeling Tailbone Tucks
Big Shoulder Circles (Forward and Backward)
Traveling Deep Squat
To set up your mobility circuit, choose several mobility drills and perform them in a continuous, circuit-like fashion. Take advantage timed circuits (I like 5–10 minutes) or a predetermined number of rounds (start with at least five) and rest minimally.
Use mobility circuits to help elevate your heart rate and crush your cardio. Trust me, your body will thank me later.