What are Mobility Drills + Why do you need them?
- Desirée Lee
- Nov 6, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 25
Are you a bare-minimum kind of lazy, or are you very active and maybe even hyper-flexible?
We all know that exercise releases endorphins, but what happens when the body is unable to move the way it once was? Our ego is certainly crushed and we might feel the onset of negative emotions flooding through just thinking about doing x,y or z. So how should someone overcome this?
Scientists can tell you to workout 20 minutes 3 times a week at a certain cardio level and body builders can tell us to train at our max load for a certain number of reps, but I say otherwise. I believe it is absolutely game changing (from personal experience) to set a 10 minute timer.
It really doesn't matter what you do within those few minutes as long as you are mindful and enjoy it at least a tiny bit. This will help you continue your game changing journey. You can modify what you do within those 10 minutes of course, but the goal is for the routine to turn into a habit and for the habit to become a source of satisfaction and accomplishment that you can have at any part of your day. You forget to do laundry and run out of time? No problem, take ten minutes to yourself and move your body in a place that supports your sense of self.
It takes 10 minutes a few days per week to improve your agility, body awareness, flexibility, joint health, motor control, muscle strength, range of motion, and more. With all of these present in mobility training, your mobility will increase and time will tell! No matter if you are working out for pleasure, performance, or general health, moving mindfully will help you long term - as much as you give, it gives back.
The key is to know which mobility drills are meant for you specifically according to your body’s needs and what you pack into your weekly routine. According to the National Library of Medicine, “mobility is the ability of a [person] to change and control their body position”.
This is where Stretch and Mobility Coaching comes into play: we can design a progressive mobility practice that improves the way you move week after week, year after year. “With mobility training, the focus is on how you function and move as an entire body, rather than individual muscle groups.”
Imagine if you could feel your body simultaneously stronger and more relaxed as you go about your day. This is a balance that we all want to have, but only few attain it. Why? With so much information floating around it’s no surprise we struggle to sift through what is important and good. To help, I will provide key resources I’ve found in my research and training, supporting the blogs I share.
“Good mobility involves many components, including muscle strength, flexibility, joint health, motor control, body awareness (a type of sensation called proprioception), agility, and more. This makes sense; after all, mobility serves as the basis for everything you do. Muscle mass decline, reduced bone density, slower nervous system responses— With mobility training, the focus is on how you function and move as an entire body, rather than individual muscle groups. It also targets movement patterns that are fundamental to daily life as well as specific types of athletic performance. You might consider mobility training the best of all possible worlds: it takes a more comprehensive and holistic approach than simply stretching or foam rolling.
Mobility and stretch exercises that can benefit virtually anyone include:
Leg Swings or Kicks
Stand next to a wall, hold onto it for balance, and swing one leg forward and back like a pendulum. This can help improve hip mobility.
Shoulder CARs
Extend your arm and rotate as slowly as possible while beside a wall.
This is a common in yoga; feel free to move your hips side to side or in circles, allowing the tailbone to release and come back to neutral.
Ankle Circles
While seated, extend one leg and draw circles with your toes. This exercise can increase the mobility in your ankle joint.
Glute bridges with both feet planted or single leg bridges have proven beneficial for hip, back and knee health.
90/90 Stretch
While seated on the floor, make sure your hips, knees and ankles have a 90 degree angle while moving into this stretch.
Start by sitting in a chair and grab the outside of one knee with the opposite hand. Press your knee to your hand and pull while reaching up and over with the other arm.
Take your palm and press your hand onto a flat surface - both palm up and palm down.
To improve mobility in the hips, kneel or stand while lifting one knee parallel to the floor placing in front of you.
Kneel on one knee, with the other foot flat on the floor in front of you, knee bent. Push forward gently while keeping your back straight to stretch your hip.
Place your foot out in front on an elevated surface (chair or sofa for example). While flexing your quad, press down and hold the press for a few seconds. Release and repeat.
Thoracic Spine Rotation
Lying supine, bring your legs to a figure 4 stretch but slightly unfold with enough release to allow the bottom leg to fall to the floor as you reach your arms out wide. Press the knee of the top leg into your hand or push the back of the knee into your hand.
You can learn more by following the links above. If you would like your own mobility plan, reach out anytime.
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