Mastery schedule for mobility

Hi All,

During the Foundation courses there is a pattern of increasing reps and sets (and weight sometimes) for each individual strength workout, but I'm wondering about a recommended schedule for mobility.  For the single leg squat series there is a schedule for increasing weight for lunges (25% bodyweight, 50%, etc), for example.  But every mention about weighted mobility (like for weighted dislocates, jefferson curls, or even hurdler stretches) does not include a plan for increasing the weight.  Even though I remember hearing coach say things like "the goal for jefferson curls is to get to 1.5x your bodyweight", I don't see a plan for getting there.

Since mobility is kind of like stretching I reviewed the stretch series, but the plan for those seems to be "do what you can do comfortably, and eventually it will get easier".  That's fine for a stretch where you are just watching to see how close you can comfortably get to the floor, but what about weighted mobility?  I can pick a comfortable weight now, but how do I know when to increase the weight and by how much at a time?  Is there any schedule that can be applied in general or is this really something unique for every person and exercise?

The motivation for this question is that I dislocated a rib last week during Jefferson Curls with 60lbs (which I had been using for a few weeks) so this week I took it down to no weight.  But I have no experience with Jefferson Curls before 2 years ago when I started learning about GST, so the weights I've used have always been sort of arbitrary.  Recently I decided to use the same weight as I use for lunges just for convenience, but if there is some rule of thumb I'd love to hear it.  I want to ramp back up but I'm not sure how fast to go.

Thanks,

Robert

Hi Robert,

First off, be sure that rib gets the attention it needs. Take some time off to ensure it is not causing any pain. For a weighted iM progression strategy, I prefer to remain on the same weight and rep scheme for 3 months before increasing the weight. The weight should always feel easy, even when increasing the load. If, after 3 months, you increase the weight and it feels more than mildly difficult, you likely added too much weight. This applies to movements like Jefferson Curls where only the weight used is being manipulated. For the HS/iM's, progression is detailed in the H1 forum, but I prefer a similar strategy. The only difference is that the appropriate grip width must also be achieved before adding more weight. Go slow with weighted mobility to avoid injury. This is not strength work so progression should be tackled at a slower pace.  

Thanks @Everett Carroll, 3 months (or I assume you mean 12 weeks) for increasing weighted mobility does sound familiar, I think I may have read that in the transcripts of one of Coach's podcasts with the paleo guy awhile ago.  I went to the chiropractor 3 times last week, my ribs feel pretty stable at this point but I've added a "torso" section to my daily joint prep routine as a preventative measure.  I've currently defined it as a set of 5 slow pushups and 5 front lever pulls.

I did an empty bar last week (after a day off) for jefferson curls, and I've decided to do a set of 10 daily.  But an empty bar didn't feel like I was getting full range so I added a 2Kg weight yesterday and I'll stick with that for 12 weeks before trying more.  If I go slow enough in the jcurls I can feel several weak spots which I must have glossed over before.  Those will need to be flushed out before moving on, hopefully 12 weeks will do it.