That’s not very many, but hey, that’s okay. I’m not here to tell you that you need to have an extended stretching session after you do a workout. If you enjoy it, then by all means, keep doing it. It’s not going to hurt you, but in terms of making you better? It won’t do much. To date no studies have confirmed that stretching either reduces the incidence of injuries or improves athletic performance. Benefits of traditional stretching after a workout are that it feels nice and can have some meditative qualities, and that’s about it.
 
Because here’s the thing: mobility work should be WORK. Anything that’s going to make you a better athlete is going to require an investment of time and focus and effort. So whether or not you need to spend your limited resources on mobility work can be answered with this question: do you have sufficient range of motion to do the snatch and the clean and jerk? If not, you definitely have some work to do. And even if you do, could you do it better if you had a larger range of motion or more control?
 
Let’s take a moment to define the difference between mobility and flexibility. Flexibility simply describes a joint’s passive movement capability. Variables that affect a joint’s flexibility are bone structure, any capsular (soft tissue) restrictions, and the length of the muscle tissue (sarcomeric length and number of sarcomeres in the series). Flexibility without control is a liability. Mobility is how much range of motion you have control over, or the joint’s active capability. Mobility is what makes you a better athlete.
 
If you’re a weightlifter, you need to have good mobility, or active control over a wide range of motion in your ankles, hips, thoracic spine, and shoulders. So, if you go back and answer the question, “Could you be a better weightlifter if you had a larger range of motion or better control over *most* of your joints?” in most cases the answer is yes, absolutely you could.
 
Let’s make that happen, from the ground up.
 
Ankles
 
Getting into a good squat position requires the ankles to dorsiflex comfortably. Lifting shoes help with mitigating the demand on the ankles, but you are always better off having more mobility there, just in case you have to fight to save a lift once in a while.
 
Can you squat down and get your butt to your heels in bare feet? Rock from side to side? Most ankles could benefit from some focused work. Try these two exercises:
 
Ankle CARs: five slow, maximal-intensity rotations in each direction for two to three sets
Ankle liftoffs: Do two to three sets of eight to 12 reps, holding each rep for a count of three
 
Hips
 
Weightlifting places a huge demand on the hips in all planes of motion, so we need to train hip mobility and control in flexion, extension, rotation, and circumduction. Controlled Articular Rotations (or CARs) make a great warm-up exercise for the hips that hits all four movements.
Approach these exercises with the same intent and focus as you would a heavy squat or deadlift and they will reward you with bulletproof glutes, abs, hip flexors, adductors, and hamstrings.
 
Standing Hip CARs: five slow, maximal-intensity rotations in each direction for two to three sets
Quadruped Hip CARs: five slow, maximal-intensity rotations in each direction for two to three sets
*to add extra intensity and block unwanted compensatory motion, place a foam roller against the wall
 
Thoracic Spine
 
The thoracic spine really doesn’t require a big range of motion in weightlifting but it’s included here because building sufficient extension to bear loading overhead is often a stumbling block for weightlifters.
 
Try these T-spine drills to build sufficient extension and control.
 
Foam Roller T-spine extension: make sure breathing stays even and keep the rib cage packed in.
Controlled T-spine rotation: five slow, maximal-intensity rotations in each direction for two to three sets
Pigeon Pose T-spine Rotation: five reps per arm, then switch legs and do five reps per arm
 
Shoulders
 
The shoulder is such a complicated series of joints with so much going on that it’s often the first place that things fall apart. As such, healthy and mobile shoulders take a little bit of extra attention to maintain. Here is a shoulder series that will cover all the bases, building healthy, mobile joints that won’t fail you!
 
Shoulder CARs:  loaded option
Scapular CARs: five slow, maximal-intensity rotations in each direction for two to three sets
ITYW - 10 reps in each position for two to three sets (this one does double duty and will help your thoracic extension)
Prone Hand-to-hand Drill - five reps in each direction
 
Add one exercise from each group here to your warm up for six weeks and see where it takes you! It will take an additional time commitment of about 10 minutes for each workout, but the results will be worth it.
 
In most cases, if you have the mobility required to complete the snatch and the clean and jerk, what you need to work on is building strength and control into the range of motion you have. This is good news because stretching with the goal of actual tissue change requires a static stretch of 30 minutes or more—any less has little to no benefit.  Adding some intense training that targets the ends of your joints’ range of motion, on the other hand, will make you stronger, more resistant to injury, and get more weight on your bar. And isn’t that what life is about?