On 26 October 2025 I made a decision:
to take mobility and flexibility seriously — and do it daily, not “when I remember”.
I started with Calisthenics Movement – Mobility 2.0.
The content is solid, but the sessions slowly expanded from 10 minutes to nearly 30.
That structure didn’t fit my day, and I couldn’t sustain it consistently.
So I switched to GoWOD, and honestly: it was exactly what I needed.
What worked extremely well:
- built-in progress measurement (and yes, I cared about the number)
- personalized routines
- three simple modes: Daily, Activation, Recovery
- I choose how much time I have (I usually picked 8 minutes)
- I could do it anytime: during a work break, while cooking, between tasks
Because of that flexibility, it became a real habit.
Over ~2 months I kept a strong streak and averaged ~12 minutes/day.
And the results looked great:
my GoWOD mobility score improved by ~17%.
For a moment, it felt like I had finally cracked the code:
a sustainable mobility system that fits my lifestyle and supports my training.
Then reality showed up. With a receipt.
The “pancake” incident (18 Dec 2025)
On 18 December 2025 I did my usual session.
During pancake and some hip “push-out” style drills, I felt something in my back. Not dramatic — just a warning.
Later that same day I still went to the gym (because of course I did) and trained lower body: Bulgarian split squats and Romanian deadlifts.
That’s when it happened: a sharp, shooting pain on the right side of my lower back, close to the spine — an acute low back spasm kind of moment.
Two years ago I had a similar episode on the left (likely around L5/S1).
This time it was the mirror version: right side.
The day after was brutal.
Day two wasn’t worse — just not better — and I took a tablet to help it release faster.
Then it started to release — I could run again, walk, train — but something still felt “off” in the background.
Round two (26 Dec 2025)
On 26 December 2025 I tried to “help it” in the morning with passive stretching:
- long-sit: legs straight forward, folding
- hip rotations
- more end-range work
Same story: irritation came back.
And here’s the uncomfortable pattern:
two years ago, my worst back episode happened right after I massively improved my forward fold flexibility — then I did a twist while playing soccer and got the biggest back “shot” of my life. I could barely walk.
So this isn’t random bad luck. It’s a repeated script.
What I learned (the hard way)
1) “More flexibility” is not automatically “more resilience”
I was treating increased range of motion like a pure upgrade.
In practice, more end-range can also mean more opportunities to irritate tissue — especially if you combine:
- deep flexion (pancake / forward folds)
- rotation
- and then load it in the gym the next day
That trio is not a heroic mindset. It’s just physics.
2) Passive stretching can be a trap when something is already irritated
Passive end-range work felt like a “recovery tool”, but for my back it can act like gasoline on a small fire.
3) Mobility without stability is an incomplete system
The app optimized my flexibility.
It did not guarantee that my spine and hips were prepared to own that range under load.
My mistake was assuming that a mobility routine automatically translates into safe movement quality in strength training.
About GoWOD as a product
The app itself is good — the programming and UX fit my lifestyle better than structured follow-along videos.
But their customer support / subscription handling was disappointing.
I asked for two very reasonable things:
- a blacklist option for certain exercises (so the app never serves movements that irritate a known issue)
- a pause / a few weeks extension after the injury and forced downtime
The answer was essentially “no”.
So: solid tool, weak client approach.
Where I go from here
I’m not quitting mobility work. I’m quitting the idea that mobility is always harmless.
From now on:
- less passive end-range flexion (especially pancake variants)
- no “let’s add rotation because why not” when the back is even slightly irritated
- more focus on active mobility, core endurance, and owning ranges under control
- and if something feels wrong: I don’t “stretch through it” to prove a point
Mobility is still a system I want in my life — just with guardrails.
Because the goal is not to win a flexibility score.
The goal is to stay durable enough to train tomorrow.
One more thing: I’m done outsourcing this to an app.
I’ll build my own short mobility routines as a Garmin workout list, tailored to my body and my history — and I’ll run them daily on my terms.
The habit is already built. Now I just need a safer system, with my own “do-not-do” exercise list and zero randomness.