A fitness journey is about so much more than muscles and toned abs, and one thing that is often overlooked is mobility. Improving your flexibility and mobility will help strengthen your joints, make your body move better and lower the risk of injuries.
So, if you regularly experience stiffness or pain in your joints (shoulders, knees, hips) or simply want a good warm up before workouts, try these 5 mobility exercises - they'll improve your movement inside and outside the gym 👇
Why is mobility important?
Mobility refers to how well we are able to move our bodies (joints and muscles) freely through their full range of motion. Having good mobility means being able to bend and stretch your joints into full range of motion without being inhibited by stiffness.
Someone with good mobility is less prone to injury to joints. Why? Because mobility strengthens your joints in various positions that we don’t typically move into in our day-to-day lives. We typically sustain injuries when performing a movement that is outside of our bodies’ “comfort” zone.
What are mobility exercises?
Mobility exercises help your joints get deeper into certain positions and exercises. They are great to do as a warm up before your workout or as a daily routine. You might even already be familiar with some of these mobility exercises we’re sharing today.
What are the benefits of mobility exercises?
We talk a lot about how important good technique is in our workouts, and mobility training goes hand-in-hand with this. Here's what improving your mobility will do:
Give you a greater range of motion and therefore move better. This is key to performing an exercise more efficiently.
Reduce the risk of injury, whether you’re working out or walking home. Nobody likes strains or pains and they’re definitely not going to help you get nearer your fitness goals!
Loosen up tight joints from a sedentary lifestyle. These days, most of us find ourselves sitting down majority of the day at work and at home. Mobility will help relax your body and tightness.
Makes for an amazing warm up before exercise because it improves blood circulation in your body.
Improve your posture. You can also try some of these stretches to improve flexibility.
5 mobility exercises for better movement
Aim to incorporate these 5 exercises in your weekly routine. You can do them every day or just before a workout. They are all equipment free, but we recommend using a mat for comfort.
#1 Snow Angels
Improves: Shoulder- and upper back mobility
Loosen up your shoulders from having been hunched over a laptop all day with this one. Over time as you do this exercise you'll be able to lift more and more off the ground.
How to:
Lay down flat on your stomach.
Stretch your arms out above you, palms facing down.
Lift your chest as much as you can off the mat. Meanwhile make a half circle with your arms and bring your hands behind your back.
Slowly return back to start position, lowering your chest and stretching your arms out in front of you.
Make sure to keep your hands off the ground the whole time.
🔥 Challenge yourself by holding a 1.25kg plate in each hand.
#2 Prone T's
Improves: Shoulders, upper back and neck
This one is incredible if you often get headaches, neck pain and hunched up shoulders.
How to:
Lay down flat on your stomach.
Stretch your arms out to the side, so you form the letter T.
Lift your arms off the ground and hold for 1-2 seconds. Don’t let your elbows bend.
Lower your arms and repeat.
🔥 Challenge yourself by holding a 1.25kg plate in each hand.
#3 Deep squat hold
Improves: Lower back, hips and ankles
If you want to be able to go deeper in your squats or have better strides when running, this exercise is amazing for you. Not only that, but so many of our workouts rely on balance, which is where ankle mobility comes in.
How to:
Stand upright with a wide stance and your feet flat in the ground.
Lower yourself into a squat and place your elbos in the insides of your knees.
With your elbows, push your knees out while opening up your chest.
Focus on keeping your feet flat in your ground.
🔥 Challenge yourself by twisting your body and raising one arm up to the ceiling, while placing the other flat in the ground. Alternate from side to side.
#4 Overhead tricep stretch
Helps with: triceps and shoulders
This is a popular stretch after upper body workouts. It’s great to help loosen up the muscles you have just used and helps range of motion in your shoulders.
How to:
Stand upright with your shoulders relaxed.
Put your left arm over your shoulder, reaching your fingers down towards your spine.
Put your right arm behind your head, and use your right hand to push your left elbow further until you feel a stretch.
Repeat the exercise with the other arm.
#5 Frog stretch
Improves: hips, groin and lower back
Poor hip mobility will hinder your workouts and your day-to-day movement by leading to lower back pain. This exercise not only improves hip flexibility, but is perfect for improving technique with lower body workout favourites like squats.
How to:
Start on your hands and knees with your knees in a wide position.
Slowly move your hips back towards your heels and reach your arms forward.
Focus on keeping your back straight / arched and feeling the stretch i your hamstrings and lower back.
Want to try another great at-home and equipment free workout? Check out this at home ab workout!
Improve your mobility with Trainn
Mobility is something we could all be doing more of, wether we’re on a fitness journey or not. It's beneficial, both for people who sit still all day, and for people who exercise frequently.
There are plenty of easy mobility exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home, we highly recommend to try some of the 200+ follow-along mobility routines on the trainn app. Save your favourites and do them again and again to see improvement.
The trainn app creates a personalised training plan based on your fitness goals and lifestyle. Adapting as you progress. Click below to download the app and start your 14-day free trial:
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