Who said mobility is only done in a gym setting? You can do mobility work anywhere. At the gym, at your home, at your desk. The idea here is that mobility is an important part of life and that it should be a part of your daily physical practice. I am not going to indoctrinate you with the why and how of this, rather I am going to give you 5 mobility exercises that everyone should do everyday and that don’t take time at all.
So, what is MOBILITY? Mobility simply is the ability to bring you joints through range of motion. When you lack mobility, you compensate elsewhere and put other parts of your body at serious risk for injury. So let’s get that body moving through these 5 simple movements.
All 4’s hip articulation: Just the same way you run your shoulder through the gamut, you do the same for hips(They are both ball and socket joints). Your hips need love and range. They don’t get much from sitting all day, and need to be more active from all the inactivity of sitting. When doing this one, the goal is to hunt for the corners of just the hip and keep everything else still. Try and do 2 sets of 3 reps each side when you can.
½ kneeling windmill: Rotation is a huge component of life and we need to maintain it. Not only because we need to turn around to grab a pen from another desk, but also to avoid odd injuries that seem uncommon. Concentrate on dialing in that upper body rotation and avoid using other body parts to get the hand to the sky. 2 sets of 5 reps is always a fan favorite.
Active hip flexor stretch: Sitting all day really takes a toll on those hips and legs. So to counteract this, we finish up with the active hip flexor stretch. The key here is to become active for a few seconds trying to tuck your tailbone under your ribs. This is known as a Tall and Tight position or a stacked position. If you feel a stretch or pull in the hip or down the front of the leg, than you are probably doing it right. Try 1 set of 5 reps for each leg with a 10 second hold for a solid rep.
So there you have it. The 5 mobility drills we do here at Core Principles and the five that you can do anywhere at anytime. The goal would be to try and incorporate some of this mobility stuff throughout your daily life. It’s ok to take care of your health and be a bit of a strange human at the office. Just keep in mind to start small, so you can see big gains. If you have any questions or comments please let us know on Facebook or at Info@coreprinciples-sc.com .